“Exactly,”Mabel insisted. “You should make time for it, yourself. You deserve happiness too.”
“I know. Maybe one day I’ll get around to it. Now, what did you come in for? I know that look, you’ve got aSweet Confections.” Imogen grinned at her own joke, and Mabel chuckled.
“I’ll take some peppermint bark.”
“Coming right up—” Imogen paused as she reached for a box, as the bell over the door chimed again. Mabel saw her eyes widen slightly, and turned around to see Lincoln Blackwell walking into the shop. A small smile curved Mabel’s lips instantly. By thetime she turned back to the counter, Imogen’s expression had smoothed over, but Mabel knew what she’d seen.
Just like she knew exactly how much history there was between the two of them.
“Lincoln!” Mabel called out cheerfully. “What brings you away from the rink in the middle of the day? It must be difficult to sneak away when things are so busy with all the holiday events, and skating lessons.”
Lincoln chuckled as he approached the counter, pausing to lean against one corner as he looked at Imogen briefly, then back at Mabel. “Well, picking up the chocolates I’m buying in bulk from Imogen is just as important as anything else I have going on. Can’t keep the customers happy at the rink without the best hot chocolate supplies in town… and the new chocolates that I’ve got everyone so excited I’m selling now.”
“I—well, that’s very generous,” Imogen said quickly, and Mabel saw a blush starting to creep up her neck. “You’re just doing it to make things easier on me, I don’t want to make anything harder on you. I could easily drop them off at the rink along with the hot chocolate mix.”
“It’s no trouble at all,” Lincoln said firmly. “Besides, it gives me an excuse to sneak samples in the middle of the day.” He held up a bit of maple fudge he’d snagged on the way in, grinning. “Where else am I going to get this?”
Imogen’s cheeks turned pink, and Mabel’s mind instantly started to race, her imagination going wild. She could envision a romance between them as easily as she could picture a display for her toy shop, and this was only making it even more evident. The two of them were perfect for each other, and she knew it. Lincoln had always been a polite, generous guy, but this went beyond that, even if she knew Imogen wouldn’t admit it.
She remembered seeing them around town when they were in high school, young and adorably in love. No one could faultthem for going their separate ways back then, theyhadbeen young, and needed to follow what they’d each wanted for their lives, which Mabel knew had been very different. Buttheywere different now. And she thought that now, as adults, they’d be as perfect for each other in new ways as they had been as teenagers back them. She couldn’t help the urge to nudge the two of them toward their happy ending.
Lincoln was steady and reliable and kind, and he loved the small town that Imogen had put roots down in. He’d wanted to leave Fir Tree Grove when he was younger, but he’d come home, and Mabel didn’t think he had any intention of leaving again. And Imogen was warm and creative and devoted. They had history together, but they were older now, more mature and settled and ready to find that spark again with the new foundation of being able to withstand life’s challenges.
Mabel was sure she was on to something.
“I’ll let you know how these do at the rink,” Lincoln said, jarring Mabel out of her thoughts. He smiled at Imogen, hefting the large box filled with trays of chocolates. “People have been wild about the fact that I’m going to be selling them there. A little sophisticated, grown-up treat for the adults, I thought, but honestly the kids are crazy about them too. Everyone loves your chocolate.”
Mabel didn’t miss the way his eyes lingered on Imogen’s face for just a moment longer than strictly necessary. Or the way she blushed, waving a hand at him.
“You’re exaggerating,” Imogen said with a small, bashful laugh. “But I hope they do well.”
“They will,” Lincoln said confidently. “See you around.”
“Take care, Lincoln,” Imogen called after him, and Mabel couldn’t help but think that her tone was just a touch warmer than a friend’s would be.
As Mabel paid for her box of peppermint bark and headed back out to her car, her mind was already racing with possibilities. If Lincoln and Imogen needed a little nudge toward romance, she was more than willing to figure out how to provide it. After all, she had firsthand experience now with how wonderful unexpected love could be, and she wanted that same joy for her friends. She couldn’t wait to mull it over with Vanessa, and though George would pass the gossip off as silly, she was sure, he’d be amused by her attempts at matchmaking.
Love was in the air in Fir Tree Grove, and Mabel intended to make sure it found its way to everyone who deserved it.
CHAPTER SIX
The warm, spicy aroma of gingerbread filled every corner of Vanessa’s kitchen as she pulled a tray of muffins from the oven. She’d never been much of a cook or baker—that was definitely Jackson’s domain—but she’d been trying to learn how to make some holiday treats herself. She’d been experimenting with this recipe for a while now, and as she tapped the domed top of the muffin and watched it spring back into place, she thought she might finally have perfected it. The house smelled like molasses and cinnamon and ginger, and she beamed as she set the muffin tin on the cooling rack before dusting a light sprinkle of coarse sugar over the tops.
She felt very proud of her accomplishment, especially considering that a little over a year ago, she’d barely ever touched her kitchen in her San Francisco apartment. She was still learning her way around, but she felt a lot more confident than she had before.
Through the kitchen window, she could see Jackson balanced on a ladder against the front of their house, carefully stringing lights along the roofline. He’d been out there for the better part of two hours, working on putting up the decorations she’d managed to talk him into. He still wasn’t convinced thatthey needed a display to rival everyone else on the street, and she got the impression that, despite his love of Christmas, he thought the neighborhood competition was a little over the top. But he was trying to make her happy, and she loved that about him, even if it had taken some time to win him over to her way of thinking.
She couldn’t wait to see how it looked. She’d loved their house from the moment it had first gone on the market, before it was even theirs, and she’d known it would be perfect for them. Would she still have bought it if she’d known that there would be so much holiday pressure to come up with the perfect decorations?
Probably, she told herself. And anyway, she thought it was fun. Jackson had been the one to encourage her to open herself up to the over-the-top kitschiness of Fir Tree Grove’s Christmas traditions, so she thought it was only fair that he support her desire to fit in with the neighborhood tradition.
She wanted to feel like they belonged, and even though Jackson had suggested that, since they were new, it might not be that big of a deal to participate this year, she thought that made it an evenbiggerdeal. When she’d first come to visit, it had felt like a lot of residents had thought that she felt as though she was too good for them. She didn’t want her new neighbors to feel like that too.
Jackson had capitulated with good-natured resignation this past weekend, and they’d gone to the Holly and Ivy Market to pick out some lights and decorations. He’d warned her that while he always had fun with the Snowdrift Diner display, he wasn’t exactly Clark Griswold when it came to home decorations for Christmas, but Vanessa was excited all the same. She was sure he’d pull off some kind of magic, and she watched him as he moved the ladder to the next spot, wondering what it would all look like when he’d finished plotting it out and hangingthe decorations. The houses on either side of them had already finished going all out—besides the synchronized lighting display across the street, their neighbors to the left had decorated every tree in their yard, their fence, and the entire exterior of their house in lights, complete with an animatronic sleigh and reindeer in the front yard. On the other side, there was a life-sized nativity scene and a small barn with lit-up animals, along with a family of snowmen and more colorful lights everywhere.
Vanessa tested one of the muffins with a toothpick, then set it on a little China plate decorated with holly around the edge, and poured a glass of cold milk to go with it. Jackson had been out there for two hours now, the least she could do was bring him a Christmassy snack, she thought.
The afternoon was bright and cold and crisp, and she drew a deep lungful of the fresh, pine-scented air. Everything out here always smelled fresh and clean, and she smiled as she looked around the snowy yard. She couldn’t imagine anything more perfect. Their house looked lovely in the afternoon light, the sage green exterior and cream-colored trim blending with the oak trees flanking the house. It was nothing like Vanessa had ever imagined herself owning, and it was better than anything she could have ever dreamed of.
