She gave me a look that was equal parts warning and amusement. “Don’t start.”
“Who, me?” I said. “I’m just here for the arts and crafts.”
“Uh-huh.”
The corners of her mouth twitched, and I couldn’t help it. I laughed.
There it was again. That spark. That pull. The reminder that no matter how much we tried to pretend otherwise, there was something between us neither of us could quite walk away from.
The snow had started again, soft flakes drifting lazily through the air as the afternoon festival kicked into full gear. Vendors called out prices, kids ran between booths like sugar-powered elves, and the smell of cider and pine needles mixed into something weirdly perfect.
Melanie was humming under her breath, a tune I couldn’t quite place, her hair falling loosely from her hat. There was a smudge of glitter on her cheek from earlier, catching the light every time she turned her head.
“You’re still at it?” I asked, straightening a crooked sign that readWreaths & Reindeer Wishes.
She looked oddly peaceful for someone who claimed not to enjoy the slower activities in life.
Melanie glanced over her shoulder. “I’m improving on my earlier design.”
“Your earlier design won with the heart-shaped addition.”
“That was an accident,” she said, reaching into the bin for another branch. “I’m going minimalist this time.”
“Minimalist, huh? So just pine needles and attitude?”
She shot me a look. “Exactly.”
I laughed, shaking my head. “You’re something else, Mel.”
“Is that supposed to be a compliment?”
“Always.”
She rolled her eyes but smiled and then froze.
“Um,” she said, her voice high and strange. “Something… moved.”
I frowned. “What?”
“In the bin.”
“It’s just the branches settling.”
“Nope,” she said quickly, shaking her head. “That was not settling. That waswiggling.”
Before I could respond, she reached back into the pile and yanked out a handful of pine.
And attached to it, clinging for dear life, was a very disgruntled-lookingsquirrel.
The thing blinked, equally shocked by the situation.
Melanie’s eyes went wide. “Oh my gosh.”
“Mel—”
“It’s alive!”
“Yeah, I see that.”
