“I only speak the truth.” Sophie pressed her free hand against her heart.
Jules kissed her cheek, her lips cool against Sophie’s skin. “You’re sweet. And you also look lovely all bundled up in winter gear.”
They made their way into the plaza, weaving through the crowd as they drew closer to the tree. They waited for a spot to open up against the railing above the ice-skating rink, the perfect spot for a selfie.
“Just don’t try to get me down there,” Sophie joked, gesturing to the ice.
“God, no,” Jules said. “I’m pretty sure any kind of winter sport would be frowned upon this close to making my off-Broadway debut.” She paused, and a funny look passed across her face. “Wow, I think that just hit me a little bit.”
“Starting to feel real?” Sophie gave her hand a squeeze.
“Maybe,” Jules said, “but I doubt it’ll really sink in until the curtains go up on opening night.”
“Wish I could be in the audience to watch you,” Sophie said.
“But I’m more glad you’ll be on stage with me.” Jules squeezed her hand back.
A family stepped away from the railing, and she and Jules moved in before someone else could snag the spot. They leaned in close, framing the tree over the ice-skating rink behind them as they snapped selfies with both of their phones.
“Mind if I share these on my social media?” she asked Jules.
“No, I was going to share one too. Just, you know, don’t caption me as your girlfriend or anything.” She ducked her head. “At least, not yet.”
“Don’t worry. It’s a bit soon to make that kind of announcement anyway. Maybe I’ll be sick of you by Monday.” She elbowed Jules in the ribs as they stepped away from the railing, making room for the next group.
“Hey,” Jules said in mock affront.
“You never know,” Sophie said with a shrug. “You might be hiding a super annoying habit I don’t know about yet.”
“I might,” Jules agreed, giving her an amused glance.
They leaned against the side of the nearest building as they uploaded pictures. Sophie didn’t have much of an online following. She’d followed Jules on Instagram shortly after they met and knew Jules had a much more active presence, with most of her photos garnering several hundred likes. She combined vibrant, engaging photos with witty captions, documenting behind-the-scenes moments of her life as a theater actress with snapshots around the city and funny pictures of her cats. Her personality shined in her posts, and no wonder so many people followed her. Sophie couldn’t imagine meeting her and not wanting to spend more time with her. She’d been captured by Jules’s presence from the moment they’d met.
They spent the next hour wandering midtown Manhattan, taking in all the Christmas sights and doing some shopping at the craft booths in Bryant Park, before Jules exclaimed dramatically that she needed to get inside before she caught hypothermia.
“I know just the place,” Sophie told her. “And it’s not too far from here.”
“Lead the way,” Jules said.
Sophie led her down the street, around the corner, and a few more blocks down a quiet, mostly residential street. Jules followed willingly, her expression bemused. Clearly, she had no idea where they were going. “I heard about it from a friend of mine. It should be romantic…and also warm you up.”
“Sounds perfect.”
At the end of the block, the bar came into view. Its windows had been spray-painted around the edges to appear frosted. The interior glowed with hundreds—maybe thousands—of twinkling, multicolored Christmas lights. Glistening ornaments and glittering garland were strung across the ceiling, and as the front door opened, the chorus of “Jingle Bells” spilled into the otherwise hushed street.
“Oh,” Jules exclaimed, her face glowing almost as brightly as the bar. “Wow.”
“I don’t think Josie will mind if we visit another bar just this once,” Sophie joked as she held the door for her.
“Definitely not.” Jules looked around in awe as they stepped inside. The whole place smelled vaguely like peppermint and spice, and the bartenders wore green-tassled elf hats.
Sophie and Jules headed for a small table in back. The art on the walls had been wrapped to look like gifts, a combination of Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa paper on display. A variety of holidays were represented in the decorations around them as well.
“I love it already,” Jules proclaimed, reaching down to untie the belt on her coat. Drink menus rested on their table, and naturally, the drinks were all holiday inspired. They hung their coats on a nearby hook before settling in to peruse the drink options, although Sophie was halfway distracted by the woman on the other side of the table, smiling delightedly as she slid a finger over the menu, her red sweater shimmering beneath the strands of lights crisscrossing the ceiling overhead.
“I know what I want,” Jules announced.
“Wait. Let me try to guess.” Sophie scanned the list of drinks in front of her. “The Peppermint Party.”
