After she sank her putt, we drove down the cart path to the next hole.
“I heard about the mistletoe festival tonight,” Margaret said as I hopped out of the cart to grab my driver.
A groan rumbled from my chest. “Yeah, I know.”
“Are you going?” she asked.
I walked over to my tee box and set up my ball. “I think I’m going to pass on it.”
“Is that because Lydia will be there?”
My jaw clenched so hard it hurt. I averted my gaze to the fairway and huffed. “Yep. She’s going with the other guy. I was hoping she would go with me, but . . .”
“If you really love this woman, don’t let her slip away.”
I turned my focus back to Margaret. “What if she doesn’t choose me? What happens then?”
She smiled sadly. “Then you find someone whodoeschoose you. But I have a feeling this Lydia wants to be with you.”
“What makes you think that?” I asked.
She shrugged. “I just do. Call it a Christmas magic sense. I have a knack for it.”
Margaret was a woman who did seem wise beyond her years. A part of me wanted to believe in Christmas magic.
“I sure hope you’re right.” I moved over to my ball and got into position. There was something in Margaret’s words that rang true, like I could feel it within me. But I was also reluctant to allow myself to be hopeful.
I just hoped Lydia made the right choice.
24
LYDIA
“Dinner was amazing. I could eat that Cajun pasta every day,” Violet said as we exited the restaurant.
We all chose to eat at a place downtown to experience the full ambiance of the mistletoe festival. All the business owners around the park had decorated their doorways with mistletoe. Even I had hung some up over the gallery’s doorway.
Ben grabbed Violet’s hand, and she snuggled up against him as we walked down Main Street to the park. The more I saw them together, the happier I became.
Max chuckled and glanced back at Violet and Ben. “I could, too. It was so good.” Then he looked at me. “Your pecan-crusted salmon looked delicious as well. I’ll have to try that next time.”
“Oh, it was fantastic,” I claimed, “but you know nothing is as good as . . .”
He chuckled and finished my sentence. “The lobster mac and cheese balls from The Refined Roadster.”
“Exactly,” I said, laughing along with him.
“Sis, I think Ben and I are going to walk around and grab some treats.”
I glanced back at them and winked at her. “Have fun. We’re going to do the same.”
Couples were everywhere, holding hands and grabbing delicious treats from the various booths around the park.
Max flourished a hand around the park. “Making December fourteenth a Christmas version of Valentine’s Day is pretty awesome. How long has this been a thing?”
I think of the old box of photographs my mother had stored in her spare bedroom. In there were photographs of her attending Mistletoe Mania with her parents, as well as older photographs of my grandparents at the festival when they were younger.
“It’s been big here for a very long time,” I replied. “My mom has pictures of my grandparents kissing in the gazebo when they were just teenagers.”
