“Quiet. I’m winning an argument with you. Also, we need to talk aboutGroping the Grinch.”
“Uh, no. We absolutely don’t.”
Joe took another bite of his danish, his eyes sparkling with mischief. “I didn’t know you carried books like that at the bookstore. I’m impressed. Five stars from me, and I hope you have the sequel in stock.”
Uriel groaned. “The sequel?”
“Riding Rudolph. Sounds amazing, doesn’t it?”
“Amazing? Is that what we’re going to call it?” Uriel asked.
Joe leaned forward, and Uriel couldn’t resist moving closer.
“I had to stop reading it in front of Eldon,” Joe whispered. “It was hot enough to melt my snowman, if you catch my drift.”
Uriel swallowed hard. “Good to know.”
“And on that note, I’ve decided we’re going to read the series for our book club. The cozy mysteries are good, but I think we should shake things up a bit. And lemme tell you, these will shake it like apole-aroid picture.”
“Veto,” Uriel said. “Especially after that pun. I keep telling you to stop spending so much time with the spr…uh, the cousins.”
“Ohhh, now I want to know what you were going to call them. Tell me. Tell me! I was thinking coalition of cousins, as in coalition of cheetahs. Coalition fits because, let me tell you, when those guys decide you’re doing something, you somehow find yourself with a bag packed and on your way to the airport. They ganged up on me, Uriel. Even Linus. Wait, where was I? Right. Your word. What did you come up with?”
“A murder,” Uriel said.
“As in crows? No, that doesn’t work. Besides,” Joe said, “we’ve already decided to pause on the cozy mysteries for a while. Murder isn’t the reason for the season and all that.”
“I’m not going to win this fight, am I?”
“Do you ever win?” Joe asked. “Okay, well, you do win, but not when I really want to win. And whew, that espresso kicked in. Let’s go pick out a tree. And bring the pastries. I’m starving. Airplane food in the middle of the night is the worst.”
“Airplane food is the worst period. The air pressure messes with your taste buds, so they flavor the food atrociously in an attempt to appease the masses.”
Joe paused with his danish halfway to his mouth. “Really? Is thatfactfact or internet fact?”
Uriel ignored the question and drank the rest of his coffee.
Joe yawned. “Remind me to look it up later. I need to see if you made that up. I never know with you.”
Uriel grinned and closed the box of pastries. He led Joe to the door, then took the shop’s keys from his hands when Joe couldn’t stop yawning long enough to get them into the lock. They walked down the block to Uriel’s house, and Uriel guided Joe into the passenger seat of his car.
Joe generously took the box of pastries and sat it on his lap. With an eye roll he knew would get a laugh out of Joe, Uriel walked around the front of the car and slid into the driver’s seat.
“Have you thought about what size tree you want?” Uriel asked. “Leif’s working this morning. He’ll have very specific questions for you.”
“Not really.” Joe shrugged. “I’ve never had a real tree before. And don’t make fun of artificial trees. They’re wonderful.”
“I agree. Both have their merits.”
“See? That’s what I think. I want to try a real tree, though. The Tinseled Inn always smells so good when Linus puts his up. You know he uses some real and some artificial? His decorating skills are pro-level. I swear, he could open a business doing nothing but decorating for the holidays and make a mint. Ha!A mint.”
“Exactly how much espresso did you have before I arrived?”
“Hey, how about those gorgeous lights? It’s nice to see everyone getting their houses decorated before the parade this weekend. And how cool is it that we have a walking parade that raises money for charity? This town is the best.”
“All the espresso,” Uriel said. “Got it.”
“What? I’m just…happy to see…uh…be home.” Joe leaned his head onto the headrest, then rolled his neck so he could look at Uriel.
