Page 5

“Yes.”

“See if you can get a sneak peek. Maybe they’ll start staging their light show tonight.”

“I’m not going to spy on them.”

Fiona shrugged as if to say Your loss.

I lay in bed that night with my notebook in hand, trying to think of how we could level up our Christmas decorations.

Our brand was homemade. While the Morenos added more and more store-bought items to their arsenal every year, we introduced handcrafted ones. It was like Santa’s workshop on our lawn. It felt authentic and special. But how could we keep that tone and make it showstopping as well?

My eyes fluttered to my window. The blinds were closed tight, but Fiona’s words swirled around in my head. Would the Morenos already be staging something special? Getting it ready for tomorrow?

I slid out of bed and turned off my bedroom light. Then I walked to my window and twisted open the blinds. My vantage point from the second-story window was good. Not that I looked often. But the Morenos had a big backyard and often hosted parties, parties we were never invited to. I’d been curious.

Right now, though, the yard was eerily quiet. Nothing out of the ordinary there. Just the large gazebo, lights dark, with resort-quality loungers beneath. There was a big patio with a table and chairs to seat twelve. Their large patch of grass was lush and green with winter seed but would be covered in powdery snow before long. Their hot tub was on the far end of the yard, beneath a vine-draped pergola. And then on the opposite end of the yard was the shed. The one my moms claimed housed our beloved stick elf from all those years ago. It was probably long gone now.

A light turned on in the window straight across from mine, and I quickly stepped to the side. But then I remembered that my light was off so I slowly inched over again. It was Ryan. His curtains were open. His window was bright, like a television screen in clarity. I should’ve shut the blinds when I realized his curtains weren’t closed. When I realized how much I could see. But it was like I couldn’t move. I was frozen, watching him like some creeper. He threw a coat onto the chair by his desk. He was on the phone, laughing at whatever the person was saying. He really was handsome—wavy deep-brown hair, broad shoulders, a nice smile. But evil, I reminded myself.

He walked to his closet and riffled through some hanging clothes. His room was clean, very clean. His bed was made. He had a couple perfectly placed posters on the wall, but I couldn’t make out what they were. It was nothing like my room. My walls were littered with art and album covers and printed-out pages of poetry. My dresser had stacks of folded laundry on it that needed to be put away, my chair had clothes hanging over the back that weren’t dirty enough to be washed but not clean enough to hang. My bed was unmade.

Across the way, Ryan pulled a white long-sleeved shirt from his closet and laid it on the edge of his bed. I wondered where he was going that required a white dress shirt. A wedding? Church? One of his country club events? Of course he and his family belonged to one. It was in the next town over: Mountain Glen.

We spent a lot of time in Mountain Glen. That was where Momma worked as a pediatric nurse at the hospital and where Mom’s real estate agency’s office was. It was also where my high school was. Cherry Ridge wasn’t big enough for a high school. But it was still home. It had the Christmas lights. The magic. I wouldn’t trade it.

“Jasmine!” My door flew open and my light flipped on.

I gasped, and for the second time that day, I locked eyes with Ryan. The bright light of my room had drawn his attention like a beacon. My body acted before my brain, and I dropped to the floor, out of sight.

“Turn off the light!” I yelled to my little brother from my new position on the carpet.

“Why?” Harris asked.

“Just do it, please!”

Harris flipped off the light, and I crawled to the side of the window and stood just enough to twist the blinds closed. Then I pressed my back against the wall and tried to catch my breath.

“What’s your problem?” Harris asked. He was backlit by the hall.

“Nothing,” I said. “What’s up?” My voice came out breathy, and I took another gulp of air.

“Momma said I needed to say good night. I’m going to bed.”

“Okay, yeah, good night.”

“Why are you standing here in the dark?”

Harris wasn’t stupid. His eyes were on my closed blinds.

I walked to the light switch and flipped it on. “Don’t be nosy,” I said.

“I don’t think I’m the one being nosy.”

I ruffled his hair. “You’re a brat.”

He laughed and ran out my door. I followed him, eager to talk to my moms about our decorations this year. Suddenly I was more determined than ever to win the contest.

I looked over my shoulder. A new wave of embarrassment washed over me at how I’d been caught spying. But whatever. Ryan would forget. He hardly thought about my existence. Of that, I was sure.