with mocha cream frosting and shaped to look like a Yule log. I baked it myself from a special recipe of the owner’s.”
“Bûche de Noël,” K.O. repeated. It sounded perfect.
“They’re going fast,” Alix pointed out.
“Sold,” K.O. said as the young woman went to collect one from the refrigerated case. It was then that K.O. noticed Alix’s engagement ring.
“Will there be anything else?” Alix asked, setting the pink box on the counter and tying it with string.
“That diamond’s new, isn’t it?”
Grinning, Alix examined her ring finger. “I got it last week. Jordan couldn’t wait to give it to me.”
“Congratulations,” K.O. told her. “When’s the wedding?”
Alix looked down at the diamond as if she could hardly take her eyes off it. “June.”
“That’s fabulous.”
“I’m already talking to Susannah Nelson—she owns the flower shop across the street. Jacqueline, my friend, insists we hold the reception at the Country Club. If it was up to me, Jordan and I would just elope, but his family would never stand for that.” She shrugged in a resigned way. “I love Jordan, and I don’t care what I have to do, as long as I get to be his wife.”
The words echoed in K.O.’s heart as she walked out of the French Café with a final “Merry Christmas.” She didn’t know Alix Townsend all that well, but she liked her. Alix was entirely without pretense. No one need doubt how she felt about any particular subject; she spoke her mind in a straightforward manner that left nothing to speculation.
K.O. passed Susannah’s Garden, the flower shop, on her way to the bank. The owner and her husband stood out front, wishing everyone a Merry Christmas. As K.O. walked past, Susannah handed her a sprig of holly with bright red berries.
“Thank you—this is so nice,” K.O. said, tucking the holly in her coat pocket. She loved the flower shop and the beauty it brought to the street.
“I want to let the neighborhood know how much I appreciate the support. I’ve only been in business since September and everyone’s been so help ful.”
“Here, have a cup of hot cider.” Susannah’s husband was handing out plastic cups from a small table set up beside him. “I’m Joe,” he said.
“Hello, Joe. I’m Katherine O’Connor.”
Susannah slid one arm around her husband’s waist and gazed up at him with such adoration it was painful for K.O. to watch. Everywhere she turned, people were happy and in love. A knot formed in her throat. Putting on a happy, carefree face was getting harder by the minute.
Just then the door to A Good Yarn opened and out came Lydia Goetz and a man K.O. assumed must be her husband. They were accompanied by a young boy, obviously their son. Lydia paused when she saw K.O.
Lydia was well-known on the street.
“Were you planning to stop in here?” she asked, and cast a quick glance at her husband. “Brad convinced me to close early today. I already sent my sister home, but if you need yarn, I’d be happy to get it for you. In fact, you could even pay me later.” She looked at her husband again, as if to make sure he didn’t object to the delay. “It wouldn’t take more than a few minutes. I know what it’s like to run out of yarn when you only need one ball to finish a project.”
“No, no, that’s fine,” K.O. said. She’d always wanted to learn to knit and now that LaVonne was taking a class, maybe she’d join, too.
“Merry Christmas!” Lydia tucked her arm in her husband’s.
“Merry Christmas,” K.O. returned. Soon they hurried down the street, with the boy trotting ahead.
Transfixed, K.O. stood there unmoving. The lump that had formed in her throat grew huge. The whole world was in love, and she’d let the opportunity of her life slip away. She’d let Wynn go with barely a token protest, and that was wrong. If she believed in their love, she needed to fight for it, instead of pretending everything was fine without him. Because it wasn’t. In fact, she was downright miserable, and it was time she admitted it.
She knew what she had to do. Afraid that if she didn’t act quickly, she’d lose her nerve, K.O. ran back across the street and into her own building. Marching to the elevator, she punched the button and waited.
She wasn’t even sure what she’d tell Wynn; she’d figure that out when she saw him. But seeing him was a necessity. She couldn’t spend another minute like this. She’d