Page 78

“There you go again,” I mumble, and he grins.

It’s like my whole body is in tune with him, and his closeness feels like decadent chocolate being drizzled over Christmas candy. Warm and sweet and leaving me wanting more.

“Next weekend,” Jack responds to Elena. “They’ll stay for Christmas and New Year’s.”

“They’ll be around for the Christmas Dash, then. How perfect!”

I lean toward the tree and start to tip, but Gabe reaches out and grabs my waist to steady me. His hands linger for a second longer before he pulls them away, and the skin above my hip bones is tingly with the remnants of his touch.

“Thanks.” I breathe out the word and focus all my attention on the strands of garland, which—in their many forms—seem like they might be the death of me this holiday season.

“How are you feeling about the upcoming Dasher Valley 8 selection, Beth?”

My stomach rolls. “Pretty good, I guess. I’ve done what I can—now I feel like it’s kinda out of my hands.”

“The committee would be foolish not to select Dash Away Books.” Elena sounds confident, and I’m grateful for that. I feel like I should be a lock, but I’ve been wrong before, and there are a ton of businesses who are deserving of recognition in downtown Dasher Valley. It’s hard to pit myself against any of them.

“I hope you’re right,” I tell her. I fiddle with a couple more ornaments, redistributing them evenly as Elena asks Gabe about our progress on the Christmas Dash, and he tells her and Jack and Ivy about how I’ve got him coming up with rhymes for each of the different stops.

“I knew you two were the right people for the job. It’s gonna be a great event.”

“I think it’ll be a lot of fun.” I carefully step off the stool to assess my handiwork from the base of the tree.

“There, now that looks beautiful,” Elena says. “Don’t you think so, Gaber?”

“Yep.”

I flick my eyes in his direction to find him staring at me, and my heart does what feels like a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree flip in my chest before settling back into place and hammering with the force of a snare drum.

“So, I’ve got a proposition,” I say around a squeak.

Gabe wiggles his eyebrows at me. “What kind of a proposition?”

“Okay. Okay. There will be none of that.” Jack holds up his hands, and Ivy laughs.

“But seriously,” he adds on a chuckle, “Beth had a good idea.”

“Not surprising.” Gabe grins at me. “What’s up?”

“Well, Jack is worried about a lack of attendance at the Christmas Market over at the high school.”

“We’re really trying to drum up interest in the event,” Jack puts in. “The kids put so much time and effort into it, and the crowds have been small the past couple of years.”

“We were hoping you could help.” Ivy bats her eyelashes.

Gabe looks thoughtful. “Sure. But how?”

“How would you feel about putting on a little impromptu Christmas concert?” I ask.

Gabe perks up like a dog at the sound of the word bacon.

“I could do that.” Gabe gets a faraway look in his eyes. “I could almost do a soft launch of my Christmas special. I’ve got some new songs I want to try out.”

“What a great idea!” Elena beams. “I want to come. Can someone give me a ride?”

“Of course we’ll get you there.” I nod.

“This is going to be great.” Ivy grins, and Jack slaps Gabe on the back.