Page 105 of Falling for the Grinchy Bad Boy

I ducked into the nearest booth—a holiday craft station run by the local art club—to stow the water case under their table where it wouldn’t be in anyone’s way.

“Just borrowing some space for this water,” I said to the volunteer who was arranging displays of handmade ornaments.

“No problem, dear,” she replied with a smile. “We can use it later anyway.”

I crouched behind their table to push the case all the way back, making sure it wouldn’t be a tripping hazard even in its new location. I heard the voices from the booth next door, two women who clearly thought they were speaking quietly enough to avoid being overheard.

“I heard Joy Murphy and Cooper Frost are an item now,” one of them was saying. I recognized the voice as belonging to Carol Winters, who worked at the post office and had never met a piece of gossip she didn’t love. I would not be the least bit surprised to discover she steamed open envelopes and read the contents.

She was a sneaky one.

“Oh, I don’t know about that,” replied the second voice, Diane Foster from the bank. “Lynn Ziegler’s back in town, you know. Apparently she’s trying to reclaim him.”

My blood turned to ice water in my veins.

“Really? I thought she ran off to Salt Lake City to be a whore.”

Diane laughed. “She did, but she’s back now. Showed up yesterday, looking like a million dollars. I saw her coming out of the fire station myself.”

“Well, that’s interesting. Do you think Cooper will take her back?”

“Hard to say. Men are funny about their first loves, aren’t they? And those two had quite the romance back in the day.”

I crouched frozen behind the craft table, feeling like I was going to be sick. The whole town was talking about this. My private feelings, my relationship with Cooper, the humiliating possibility that I was just a placeholder for his ex-fiancée—it was all public knowledge now. It was being discussed casually by people who probably had no idea how much their speculation was hurting everyone involved.

People who didn’t even know me. And no one except Cooper and I knew what was really going on between us, confusing as it was. We weren’t advertising our situationship. We were just doing our thing. But of course, everyone had to get their two cents in.

“I suppose we’ll find out soon enough,” Carol continued with obvious relish. “Small town like this, secrets don’t stay secret for long.”

“Did you hear about the two of them staying the night together?” Diane attempted to whisper. That only made it sound more scandalous than it was.

I couldn’t help but smirk. If they only knew what we had done while lying on that old Santa costume. That would have their tongues wagging so fast they might just fall out.

I bit my lip to keep from making a sound, my heart hammering against my ribs as their conversation continued.

“Oh, speaking of secrets,” Carol’s voice dropped to what she probably thought was a whisper but still carried clearly to where I was crouched. “I saw them kissing the other day. Right there in the town square, bold as you please.”

“No!” Diane’s voice pitched higher with excitement. “When was this?”

“Tuesday afternoon. I was coming out of the hardware store and there they were by that big Christmas tree Cooper made out of ice. Quite the passionate display, if you ask me. Reminded me of my younger days.”

Heat flooded my cheeks as I remembered that kiss. It had been after Cooper finished adjusting the lights on his ice sculpture, and I’d been so proud of what he’d accomplished that I’d thrown my arms around him without thinking. The kiss had been spontaneous, joyful—a moment of pure happiness that I’d treasured.

Now it felt tainted, reduced to gossip fodder for women who had nothing better to do than dissect other people’s private moments.

“Well, that certainly sounds serious,” Diane mused. “Though I have to wonder if Joy knows what she’s getting herself into. That boy’s been through the wringer, getting jilted and all. Some hearts never fully heal from that kind of betrayal.”

“And Lynn’s not the type to give up easily,” Carol added. “Mark my words, there’s going to be drama before this whole thing sorts itself out.”

“Honestly, my money is on Lynn.”

I clenched my fists to keep myself from jumping up and going after them. I wanted to defend myself but then I would have to explain why I was eavesdropping in the first place.

“True enough. Though I have to say, Joy’s done a wonderful job with this festival. Even if she doesn’t get Cooper, I kind of hope they put her in charge of all the community events.”

The conversation made me want to scream. Even my professional accomplishments were being viewed through the lens of my romantic situation. And to think I had helped Carol put up the banner for her booth.

I waited until their conversation moved on to other topics before carefully extracting myself from behind the table and escaping the booth. My hands were shaking. I felt like everyone in the market could see my humiliation written across my face.