Page 41 of Christmas By The Book

And I wasn’t jealous at all of all the attention Seth got. He was so gracious about it, but so firm in laying down his boundaries, making sure everyone knew that he was interested in me and me alone. Nobody in town could have missed that; he held my hand everywhere we went, and he would gush about me to anyone who would listen. At least, that was what Haley had told me. It was super sweet, and I couldn’t have been happier with his newfound presence in the store.

And at my place, too. Though we weren’t officially living together yet, he had been staying at my grandmother’s house most nights, and the place finally didn’t feel too big for me and Mia with him in it.

“How are you guys getting along?” Haley asked me, dropping her voice so Seth wouldn’t be able to hear us. She had been more than a little smug when she had returned from her trip to find the two of us together. I was pretty sure she took pride in the fact that she had nudged me toward accepting that first date.

“Really well,” I replied. “And he gets along with Mia, too. But the only problem is, I think she’s starting to like him more than me.”

“What a little traitor!” Haley exclaimed, just as the door chimed. I glanced up, to see Mrs. Braithewaite from the craft store down the street stepping inside.

“Oh, hello!” I greeted her. I was a lot more confident these days with Seth around, knowing I was the first choice for someone like him, it was enough to boost anyone’s ego, and, with everything he had told me about taking risks, I had decided that my resolution this year was to be a little more forward when it came to socializing.

“Hello, dear,” she greeted me, and she reached into her purse to pull out her wallet. “I was wondering if you had anything more in that brilliant series you got me into.”

“The horror short stories? Let me have a look,” I replied, as I headed into the stacks to see what I could find. I wouldn’t have imagined someone like her would be into horror, but she had torn through about three of the books in the last few weeks, and I was so glad she was enjoying them. Matching someone with their perfect story was a special feeling, and I planned to do it as much as possible over the course of this year.

“Here you go!” I told her brightly, as I arrived back at the counter with the next in the series. “You let me know if you enjoy it, okay?”

“I will,” Mrs. Braithewaite replied, giving me a smile, before she headed to the door. On her way, she passed Councilman Barrett, the head of our county council, who held the door for her as she went.

“Is there anything I can help you with, Councilman?” I greeted him, as he made his way over to the counter.

“I’m actually not here about books today, Jorja,” he remarked.

I furrowed my brow, and saw Seth glancing over behind him, a look of concern on his face.

“Is everything all right?” I asked, anxiety creeping up my spine. Had something happened with Wharton again? I was so worried that I was going to lose this place, after everything we had done to keep a hold on it.

“Nothing to worry about,” he promised, lifting his hand to soothe me. “I just wanted to let you know that Mr. Wharton has been removed from his position as head of business development on the council. It turned out he had been using some... less than savory methods to get what he wanted.”

I winced. That didn’t sound good.

“And, as far as I know, he’ll be leaving Mastin Falls at the end of the month,” he continued.

I breathed a sigh of relief. Knowing that I wasn’t going to have to deal with him again, it felt like a gift.

“That’s such a relief,” I confessed. “But I’m not sure why you’re telling me this?”

“Because we’re going to need someone to step up and take his position,” he explained. “And, well, given how long your family business has been in Mastin Falls, we thought we would ask you to run for it.”

I gaped at him for a moment, too shocked to reply. “You want... you want me to run for it?”

“Yes,” he replied. “Your grandmother’s business is one of the oldest in the town these days. And her legacy lives on through you. There are a lot of people who think you would be a wonderful fit for the position, should you be interested in taking it.”

“I’ve never even thought about getting involved in politics,” I blurted out. “I don’t know if I could even do it.”

“Of course you could,” Seth told me as he joined us at the counter, flashing me one of those dazzling grins that still made me swoon a little bit.

“I don’t know,” I replied. “I... I’ll think about it. Is that okay?”

“There’s no rush,” Barrett replied with a smile. “Take your time. Just know that you’ll have my full support, should you decide to go down that route.”

“That’s good to know,” I murmured, and Seth cocked an eyebrow at me. I knew what he was thinking, I could tell just from a glance—he was reminding me how good it could feel to take a risk, to dive head-first into something you might never have been able to imagine before. This was pretty far out of my comfort zone, but at the same time, this community had come together to help me when I had needed it most. Maybe this could be my way of paying them back?

Barrett left, and Haley nudged me.

“Look at you, moving up in the world,” she teased me. “You’re going to be running this town before you know it!”

“I haven’t even agreed to run yet,” I laughed, as Seth slipped an arm around my waist.