“Oh, good, you two made it! We were starting to worry.” Mallory handed over two aprons, but Brayden hardly realized it until she shoved it at his chest. He was too enamored with Ava and how adorable she looked in a snowman apron with her hair pinned up. He’d always found his duplex neighbor attractive, but something was different now. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but whatever it was might have something to do with why his pulse tripled at the very sight of her cute smile.
“Hey,” he said, like a shy teenaged boy who was lucky enough to secure one date with the prettiest girl in school. Brayden hadn’t felt this way in years. It didn’t matter what major life decisions waited for him or what might break them apart. He was falling for Ava, that much was clear.
“We weren’t sure you were going to make it,” Ava said, tucking a loose strand behind her ear, drawing his gaze to her exposed neck. Was he imagining the light flush of her cheeks, or simply taking credit for it? He yearned to nuzzle that soft spot with his lips. Would she giggle at the graze of his beard or complain that it was too scratchy?
“Mom got into the fudge.”
Ava’s face lit up. “She likes the basket?”
“I almost got her to admit it.” They laughed together, reminding Brayden of the early days when he’d bought Mom gifts she scoffed at. They used to joke about it when Brayden stopped at the store and picked up yet another item. It wasn’t the quality of the gifts, only that they’d come from the very place Brayden moved away to.
“C’mon, you two lovebirds,” Mallory said, tugging on his arm. “Time for the briefing.”
Brayden tried, oh how he tried, to listen to the rules, the time, the way the cookies would be judged. But he kept stealing glances at Ava, feeling a small victory every time she flashed him her shy smile. Something was definitely changing between them. He could turn down the CEO position. He’d have to come clean about his extra efforts to help save Ava’s store and hope she understood why he kept it from her.
Brayden didn’t want secrets between them anymore. Once the store was officially saved from foreclosure and that weight was off Ava’s back, he’d confess it all, including how he didn’t want their relationship to be fake, but real.
“Contestants, to your stations!” the mayor, Lee Daniels, announced. “We’ll start in five minutes.”
“Isn’t this fun?” Mallory cooed, her arm latched around Mom’s. Oddly enough, Brayden’s mom only looked mildly uncomfortable, and he hadn’t caught her once checking her phone while they were in the building. “I don’t care which one of us wins,” she added to the group, her voice dropped low. “So long as one of our teams beats Tillie Grant.”
Ava laughed. “What do you have against her anyway?”
“Nothing,” Mallory answered, though Ava suspected she wasn’t being honest. “She’s the one to beat. One of us beats her, we win the whole shindig.”
“She has a kid as her teammate,” Brayden added.
“Thatkidis Sophie’s daughter, Caroline,” Mallory explained. “Practically an understudy for Tessa Whitmore, well, Davies now. But you know what I mean. That girl’s learned most of what she knows from a professional chef. Don’t underestimate our competition.”
At the chime of the timer, contestants instantly got to work. Glancing around the room, Brayden recognized nearly everyone competing, even if he couldn’t place names to all of them. This place was special. “You remember when we used to make these?” Brayden asked, following Grandma’s recipe to a tee. “Should’ve bought the sticks of butter sooner so they could soften.”
“We improvise,” Mom said clamping the foil-wrapped sticks in her hands. “Keep going. These’ll be softer in a few minutes.”
They worked in silence, like a well-oiled machine. They had the same business relationship as well, and he wondered if that was why Mom had never considered Sarra taking over the company. Mom and his sister often butted heads because they operated differently. Sarra was much more like their dad, bold and unafraid to speak her mind, even if her opinion was unpopular. “You used to love Christmas,” Brayden said.
“I still love Christmas.”
Brayden pinned her with a questionable stare. “You’re more of a Scrooge than Ebenezer himself.”
“Am not!”
“Do you remember when Christmas took over the entire house the weekend after Thanksgiving? When everyone else was out Black Friday shopping, we pulled out all the decorations from the attic.”
Mom smiled fondly as she added the vanilla. “We had so much tinsel garland that you and your sister used to pretend to swim in it.” Her smile faded. “I didn’t realize how much we stopped doing after your dad . . .”
Brayden squeezed Mom in a side hug. “I’m glad you’re here for Christmas this year.”
“Me, too.”
As Brayden rolled out the dough, Mom turned his sloppy circles into perfect ones, adding garnishment for the Santa effect. Maybe they wouldn’t win, but Brayden already felt he was strides ahead when it came to his relationship with his mom.
“Better make two sheets, just in case,” Mom said, breaking off a piece of dough and slipping it to him. Just like old days.
“Good plan.”
As Mom slipped the first pan into the oven, Brayden met Ava’s glowing gaze. It warmed him from the inside out, making it harder to deny his growing feelings. Maybe he didn’twantto deny them any longer.
“I like her, you know,” Mom said as the mayor strolled from station to station, reporting the progress of each pair of contestants to the audience. “She’s independent. Smart. She doesn’t put up with any of your slack, but she cares a great deal about you. I recognize that look. I wore it often enough years ago.” Mom swiped at her cheek with the side of her hand. “Flour, I think.”
