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Except for Sebastian.
My head buzzes. I missed something.
“Wait. What? The antique store? Lights?”
Now isn’t the time to let my guard down. I’ve got Brain Freeze to think about, for pity’s sake. If I give him an inch, he’ll take a mile.
“The Festival of Lights. Isn’t that what you’re here about?” His brow wrinkles in confusion.
“No, it isn’t.” I shake my head and glance at the box of chocolates in my hands, also confused. What was I thinking, and what’s his angle with the lighting contest? “You want me to decorate your window?”
He takes a step back and shakes his head. A light chuckle escapes his lips, and I’m slightly offended. My window’s in shambles at the moment, but that doesn’t mean I can’t decorate.
“Oh, no.” He spreads his fingers and waves his hand an emphatic no. “I thought we’d decorate together. Two minds are better than one, right? A partnership?”
“There’s only one prize.” And I need it all to stay afloat. I drop my hands to my sides, defeated. “We can’t win.”
He grabs me by the shoulders and jostles me. His chuckle deepens.
“Don’t you see? We’ll decorate both our storefronts like nobody’s business.” His infectious grin and energy coax a half-hearted smile from me. “If we put our heads together, I know we can come up with something that’ll knock the judge’s socks off.”
I cross my arms and stuff my hands beneath my armpits for lack of a better place to put them. Otherwise, they’re liable to roam free. He’s near enough to run my fingers through the adorable thick curl that flops across his brow. The mere thought sends shivers up my spine.
“I don’t have money to waste on frivolous expenditures.” I hate that all I can dwell on is the money, but I’m broker than broke and can’t afford to take risks.
“We’ll think of something, set a budget, and create something spectacular.”
I’m skeptical. There’s no way we can pull this off, and I wasn’t in the market to go halfsies on the prize. But something’s better than nothing. His idea is probably better than what I had in mind. I pocket the box of chocolates and abandon the idea percolating in my brain.
“If, and it’s a big if, we manage to win, what about the prize money? Split it fifty-fifty?”
“Of course, fifty-fifty.” He squeezes my shoulders with his long fingers.
“Great. Perfect.” I take a step backward, putting a safe distance between us.
He shoves his hands into his jeans pockets. I follow his movement and get another peek at the bulge he sports between his pockets.
Impressive.
He rocks back on his heels as we quietly size each other up. An awkward silence falls over the room. We might as well be in an open field during summertime with a chirping chorus of crickets filling the night air.
"I got a little carried away." He breaks the silence, curtailing my runaway thoughts. His face brightens again, causing his eyes to twinkle. "I love Christmas. It's even more exciting to be involved with you. Er, um... Involved in the Festival of Lights."
My flesh heats as his gaze penetrates another layer of my icy interior. How does he do that? Make me want to like him, and get to know him when he’s the cause of all my business problems.
***
Sebastian
I spend the next few days scouring the internet for festive holiday light displays for the front window. Each search turns up more useless ideas than the last. Each concept is more boring than the previous one. Chocolate boxes stacked into the shape of a Christmas tree. Pedestals lining the window with festive, cellophane-wrapped baskets filled to the brim with chocolates. Vintage hat boxes filled with chocolates.
Nothing useful. Nothing that plays to the whimsy Fudgeballs was founded on, nor anything that works for Sophie’s storefront.
I glance out the window as I unlock the front door and turn on the open light. Treasured Past lights up the entire block with its festive display. It's obvious why Gillian and Eileen win every year. They fuss with cascading lights that drape across the front window taking on the form of icicles. The lights blink and twinkle, mimicking falling snow.
Large round ornaments hang from the ceiling on red satin ribbons. Light reflects off the oversized Christmas balls that surround a festive table setting. An ornate table runner spans the length of the antique white table. It’s filled with shimmering vases, silver candelabras, champagne flutes, and mismatched antique place settings.
It's perfect. Each day the ladies add another touch of class, a splash of color, upping the ante in the race to win the Festival of Lights.
