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Why did she want to do this? She doesn’t even like me.

But there was no point wondering why she kept giving Rory chances when it was so obvious that she wasn’t into him.

Maybe she just thinks she’d be better off with me than alone.

It wasn’t exactly good for his ego, but it felt better to sympathize with Maggie than to take her silence personally. All anyone ever said about her was that she was a good person, a wonderful teacher, and a giving member of the community.

“First up, we have Ben and Sandy Zuckerman, our mayor and first lady,” Rachael announced. “Here at the school library we love our literary costumes, and these two are looking very sharp as Thing One and Thing Two.”

Mrs. Zuckerman let herself be led by her husband in a little walk around the semi-circle. For his part, the mayor marched along, beaming and nodding to everyone as they laughed and clapped.

Maggie squirmed in place as the next couple was called. Rory tried to catch her eye, but she seemed determined not to let him.

Trying not to get frustrated, he scanned the crowd for a friendly face to focus on instead, and accidentally looked right into Ana’s beautiful eyes.

She’d been too busy to acknowledge him at the coat check, and he figured she would be tied up there all evening, so seeing her now caught him completely by surprise. He hadn’t braced himself, and the sight of her took his breath away.

Ana gave him a gentle half-smile and he knew to his bones that he would swim an ocean if it made her happy.

She looked away too soon, leaving him reeling.

The competition was heating up. There were tons of literary characters, and plenty from favorite Christmas movies. Simon and Leticia Webb got a lot of applause as Dasher and Dancer.

And it turned out that Rory and Maggie weren’t the only Mr. and Mrs. Claus, though he did think their costumes were the nicest.

By the time it was their turn, all the other competitors were lined up against the back wall, waiting for a verdict from the judges.

“And last but certainly not least,” Rachael Bliss announced. “Here are Rory Dunn and Maggie Sullivan as Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus. Look at those gorgeous costumes, handmade by our very own local dress shop, Pura Vida, Rory tells me.”

The crowd applauded. And this time when Rory offered Maggie his arm she took it, giving the crowd a happy smile.

Rory was so amazed that he forgot to smile himself, until he spotted Evangeline who was pointing to her own exaggerated grin to remind him.

“Ho, ho, ho,” he laughed, pointing to familiar faces in the crowd. “Who’s on my nice list?”

That got him some giggles and he felt good enough to bow when their circuit was finished. Maggie even swept into a regal curtsy as their friends applauded.

“Okay,” Rachael said. “Let’s see what our judges have to say.”

Three of the older farmers in town were sitting at a folding table. They conferred for a few minutes, the man in the center jotting things down. At last, he waved to Rachael.

She went to him, took the paper and then bent for him to whisper something in her ear.

“Okay,” she said brightly. “Huge thanks to our judges for volunteering their time tonight. We have the results in hand, but Big Jim wanted me to let you know that this wasn’t an easy decision, and the boys loved all the costumes.”

Everyone let out a little cheer for the judges, who all gave little waves or salutes in return.

“Okay, here we go,” Rachael said. “In third place, we have Shane and Natalie Cassidy, for Cindy Lou Who and the Grinch. If that’s not typecasting, I don’t know what is. Come get your coffee certificate from Jolly Beans.”

Everyone laughed, but no one harder than Shane Cassidy as he followed Natalie up to Rachael to take a bow. Shane had been a notorious grouch until Natalie came back to town and he fell head-over-heels in love with her.

“In second place,” Rachael went on. “Please come take a bow and a muffin basket from The Bakery on Park, Mayor and First Lady Zuckerman, otherwise known as Thing One and Thing Two.”

The Zuckermans jogged up to the front and bowed. The mayor was laughing, and even Mrs. Zuckerman looked really pleased.

The whole town cheered, not only because of the prize, but because they loved their mayor and his wife for all the two of them did to help the town shine.

“And finally, our first-place winners,” Rachael said, her eyes sparkling. “Come on up small-town sweetheart Maggie Sullivan, and new-guy-in-town Rory Dunn. You’re a fantastic Mr. and Mrs. Claus and an even more fantastic couple. Come get your certificate for a romantic pancake breakfast.”