slid a marshmallow onto her plate.
Katie held her hot cocoa with both hands. “So many people I interviewed said the same thing. They came here for Christmas, and Evergreen captured their hearts.”
“Wait. That didn’t happen to you?” Ben teased.
“Are you kidding?” Katie made a face, but there was that playful edge again.
She was capturing his heart. Was that possible? “Really. If not, maybe you should stay a day or two longer,” he said. “You could stick around too, ya know.”
“I’m looking forward to Christmas with my mom. It’s our tradition, and if we start skipping them, do they then become less special?”
Family was important to her too. He felt the same way about tradition. “Not as long as you keep some of them alive. The ones you really love.”
“Our traditions are simple, but amazing. Just me and her. You know, we watch the old Christmas movies. We have these blueberry pancakes from this restaurant in town. They’re amazing. We have them all season long. They’re so good.” She sat quiet, thoughtful. “Back when I lived at home, we used to get a tree at the lot on Seventh Avenue. We haven’t done that in years. Now that we both live in apartments, we can only have fake ones.”
“Oh, I remember walking through the city and smelling the trees being sold.”
“Yes! It’s so great!”
“Because it’s out of place, I think. It always reminded me of home.”
“I can see how that would remind you of this place.”
Ben felt the time slipping away. He wanted to know more about her. Hear her get excited about the mystery of things. “Do you want to know a secret?”
“Of course.”
“That day on the train when we met, I was coming back from a job interview. I had applied on a whim, and then…”
“How’d it go?”
“Awful,” he admitted. “All my bylines were too old. I don’t have recent publications.”
“So, are you going to try again?”
“I don’t know. I’m out of practice. It’s not easy going back.”
Hannah screamed “fire” as her marshmallow turned into an inferno. Elliott grabbed the stick, and they both blew on it. Unfortunately, the charred mess fell off and plopped right into the dirt, leaving the two of them gooey and laughing as they tried to rescue the mess before someone stepped into it.
The buttery, sugary, smoky aroma of the toasted marshmallows added to the enchantment of the evening.
Michelle hugged Thomas’s well-muscled arm. The two hadn’t been apart since they’d reunited at the rink the other night. “The other day I was walking by the library,” she said. “And the town tree was up, and it was snowing a little, and I’d just heard ‘Do You Hear What I Hear?’ Which, you know, is my favorite song. And I thought to myself…why am I so happy?” She looked into his eyes.
The smile on his face told its own story.
“And then I saw you in my mind. It hit me.” Michelle grasped Thomas’s hand, lacing her fingers through his. “I realize I’ve fallen completely head over heels in love with you. I think I fell in love with you the moment I saw you. I am so happy that I met you, and that you and David are in my life.”
Ben watched Thomas and Michelle nuzzle closer. He knew that feeling of wonderment over being so happy. The source of his happiness recently stood in front of him. Katie. The fire made her hair appear as shiny as spun gold. He was tempted to lean in closer and whisper into her ear, but he didn’t take the chance. “You could stay?” Ben wished she would. “I mean, like, a day. You know. Figure out what’s missing from your article. Or just have some fun?”
“Stay in Evergreen another day?” Katie glanced over at the other carolers, all of them so in love, even if they didn’t realize what she could so easily see already. The snow fell around her. The fire snapped and crackled. It all felt so perfect. “Yeah. I can do that.”
Ben smiled at her, and the snow fell heavier.
The others gathered their things and headed indoors.
Katie stood, and Ben faced her, taking both of her hands in his. “Thanks for coming tonight. For staying one more day.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Staying another day in Evergreen meant Katie could get one more visit in over at the Kringle Kitchen, which seemed to be the heartbeat of this town. When she walked inside, it was comforting to recognize others in the diner this morning, including Nick, who sat