“Thanks for stopping by you two,” Cami says, after we’ve taken yet another photo.
Claire begins to write down her scores as we walk away, and I peek over her shoulder.
“Hey,” she scolds. “You can’t copy me. Pick your own scores.”
“Come on,” I whisper. “Let me see what you gave her.”
“That’s not how it works.”
“I’ll trade a kiss to see your scores.”
“No.”
I bend down close to her ear. “I’ll do that thing with my tongue that you like if you?—”
She shoves me away, a blush covering her face. “Tempting, but no. We have to do it right.”
“Fine,” I grumble as I do my best to judge Cami’s latte.
Three Down. Five to go.
Chapter 40: Say, Cookie
Claire
“The decorations look good,” I say as we approach Lolly’s booth.
“I’m just glad they didn’t kill me,” Lolly says, cutting a look toward Stella.
“I told you, you and Chip were the right people for the job,” Stella sings. “Now what did you make our king and queen?”
“Oh, I like that necklace,” Lolly says, ignoring her.
My hands find the small snowflake, and I run it along the chain. “Everett gave it to me last night.”
“It’s really?—”
“Ladies, please focus. We do not have all day. Lolly, what did you make?” Stella cuts in.
“Peppermint bark, of course.” She smiles, tilting her head to the side.
On top of a Christmas plate covered with colorful lights and ornaments sits a stack of peppermint bark. Unlike Chip’s, Lolly’s has only two layers of chocolate—milk and white—and on top is a mix of peppermint, red and green chocolate candies, and festive sprinkles. A white chocolate drizzle zigzags across the tops of each piece. It’s not cut perfectly, but instead broken into different sized pieces.
“This looks great,” I say, reaching for a piece at the same time Everett does.
“I want that one,” he says, our hands colliding. A spark shoots up my arm at the feel of his touch.
Popping up on my toes, I whisper into his ear, “I’ll do that thing with my tongue you like if I can have it.”
He swallows hard. “It’s all yours, babe.” I let out a snicker, and Lolly’s eyes crease as she studies me.
The candy is scrumptious, and the added texture from the sprinkles and chocolate candies make it even more delicious.
We pause for a photo, and then we move on to the next booth.
“We’ll catch up in a bit when this is all over,” I say, marking my scores.
“We better. I want all the details about last night,” she teases. “Good luck.”
