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“Mmm-hmm...” After she swallowed, she said, “So good.”

“Am I still allowed some?”

She paused as though giving his question serious consideration. “I suppose so. But I’m telling you once you taste it, you’re going to be addicted.”

He let out a laugh. “We’ll see.”

“I guarantee that you’re going to love it.”

He never heard anyone go on the way she did about this cake. It surely couldn’t be that good. He sank the fork into the cake. It was certainly light and fluffy.

When he went to lift the fork to his mouth, Leah said, “You have to get some of the frosting too.”

He wasn’t much of a fan of frosting, but because she looked so eager, he got some. When the cake touched his tongue, he was pleasantly surprised. It was moist and light. The chocolate wasn’t overpowering. And the frosting wasn’t too sweet. It was creamy and complimented the cake. He would definitely agree to eat this cake again.

Leah looked at him with happiness twinkling in her eyes. “See. I told you. It’s amazing. Right?”

He nodded. “It’s the best cake that I’ve ever tasted.”

“I was right.” She sank her fork into the cake and had another bite.

“You know, we could skip the meeting and order another piece of cake.”

“You have no idea just how tempting that is.”

“But we’re still going to the meeting, aren’t we?”

She sighed. “I guess if I’m going to make this my home, I need to learn more about the place. And I need to know more about this parade. I might have to back out. I’m not sure I’m up to the challenge this year.”

He checked his watch. “In that case, eat up. The meeting has already started.”

Her bottom lip stuck out. “But I can’t rush something this good. Besides, the beginning of the meeting is probably boring.”

“Into each life some sacrifices must be made.”

She scowled at him. “You aren’t playing nice.”

He knew exactly how she felt. He didn’t want this evening to end. If only it could go on forever.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Thirteen minutes late and counting...

Leah had seriously considered skipping the town hall meeting, but she wanted to know as much about Kringle Falls as she could before her decision to move there was final. Right now, she still had time to change her mind, but once she quit her job—once she gave up her apartment—it would be too late to go back to the life she’d made for herself in California.

There was also the issue of the Christmas parade. It weighed on her mind. The parade was only a couple of weeks away. There was no way she could come up with something in that short amount of time. Maybe next year...

They parked and walked up to the Gingerbread Playhouse. Interesting. She would have thought the meeting would be in an actual city hall.

The building was painted a warm brown with white trim, the walls decorated with what was supposed to look like white frosting. There were large red and green fake candies on the walls. And next to the front door was what appeared to be a giant gingerbread man. Someone definitely had a lot of imagination when they built this place.

There were gas lanterns on either side of the double doors. Shaun reached for the brass door handle and pulled the door open for her. Immediately, she was greeted with a cacophony of agitated voices. Maybe this meeting wasn’t going to be boring after all.

She stepped inside, anxious to learn what had everyone so upset. There was a small lobby with a popcorn and refreshment stand at each side. Only no one was manning them that evening.

There were two sets of interior doors that were propped open. Now they just had to slip inside unnoticed and find a couple of vacant seats. It sounded simple enough.

She headed for the door on the left for no particular reason. When she stepped inside, she found that all of the overhead lights were on. They were surprisingly bright.