She exhaled, her shoulders finally lowering from her ears as she handed the mic back to the mayor.
“Oh, before I forget,” Mayor Bloomfield said. “What is your charity of choice?”
Cassidy cleared her throat. “For my charity, I chose the children’s hospital in Mount Holly. I spent a Christmas there as a kid after my parents died, and I’ve always wanted to pay the kindness I felt there forward.”
A soft murmur passed through the crowd. Some seemed surprised, others, touched.
Cassidy wasn’t sure how many people knew that she had lost her parents at Christmastime. She had told Liam and a few people around town, but she didn’t think it was public knowledge. Then again, news traveled fast in a small town.
Mayor Bloomfield stepped up. “A beautiful sentiment. Without further ado, Cassidy, please reveal your lovely chocolatey Christmas display.”
She took a steadying breath and nodded to Julian and Miles.
The crowd hushed.
A moment later, the curtain began to lower—and just as it fell away, the display behind the window lit up in an instant.
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
Behind her painted front glass window was a miniature chocolate wonderland framed in warm white twinkle lights. The window display looked like something out of a storybook with handmade buildings, marshmallow trees, and gumdrop forests. It was Maple Falls come to life in cocoa and sugar.
A hand-painted village scene stretched across the back wall, snowy rooftops glittering with sugar-dusted shimmer. The shops of Oak Way were there, hand-sculpted out of chocolate. There was the Cinnamon Spice Inn, the Pumpkin Pie Bakery, the Hot Honey Farm Shop, the Little Lantern Bookshop, the Cherry Crush Flower Shop. Soft warm lights glowed from within each shop, casting flickering shadows that made the whole village feel alive. Each one was decorated for Christmas with miniature decorations—three-inch Christmas trees with real working lights, tiny, multicolored bulbs along the roof line. Even the chocolate streetlamps glowed onto the sugary snow.
But at the center stood Cassidy’s crown jewel, the idea she’d finally settled on after wavering over the train set idea for a while. It was a charming, old-world chocolate shop, complete with a golden sign that read “The Cocoa Corner.” She had a tealight inside of it, so it glowed from within. Icicles strung from above sparkled in the light, catching the movement of the softly falling snowflakes drifting down from the hidden blower above. The smell of chocolate wafted through the air from the hidden scent diffuser Cassidy had hidden nearby. It worked like a charm.
On the outside of the window stood a photo station. She had found an antique wooden sleigh and draped it in cozy tartan blankets. Nestled beside it was a sign that read “Cocoa & Kisses.” A bucket of candy canes sat to the side, and another sign encouraged visitors to snap a photo and donate to the Mount Holly Children’s Hospital.
For a long moment, no one said a word.
Cassidy couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe.
Then Tyler’s daughter, Emma, whispered, “It’s magic.”
Julian let out a low whistle. “Cass… this is insane. Like, next-level chocolate shop fantasy.”
Miles stepped forward, crouching to get a better look at the tiny truffles in the window. “Are these handmade?”
She nodded, wordlessly.
“I can’t believe it. Even the brushstrokes… Wow, Cass, this is art,” Miles continued.
Someone behind them clapped. Then another. And suddenly the street was filled with warm applause, as if the whole town had just exhaled all at once.
This. This was what made it all worth it. The stress. The hours spent pouring chocolate into molds. The late nights.
The townspeople were smiling. People were pointing, whispering to one another, taking photos in front of her display. Children tugged at their parents’ sleeves, asking for cocoa, for a picture, for just one more look.
And Liam was there too. He was standing a few feet back, smiling, really smiling. Hands tucked in his coat pockets, like he didn’t have anywhere else he’d rather be.
He held her gaze for a moment. Nodded, once.
Then he turned to walk away.
Cassidy didn’t even hesitate in following him. Her heart was already moving before her feet.
FIFTY
LIAM
