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“Dammit, woman. Okay, he doesn’t come to the tree lighting, but I thought he’d come this year because of Kat.”
“Why doesn’t he come?”
Frank shook his head, and Mindy glared at him. He sighed. “He doesn’t celebrate Christmas.”
I was shocked. “Ever?”
“No.”
“Is he Jewish? I feel like he would have told me, or his parents would have said something.”
“No, it’s nothing like that.”
“Then what is it?” I asked.
“No way. It’s Sid’s story to tell. He’d be pissed as hell if I told you. If you want to know, you’ll have to ask him.” He looked down at his wife. “Happy?”
She opened her mouth, probably ready with a snarky remark, but the music suddenly stopped with a scratch, and the park grew quiet. I’d never been to the tree lighting here before. Two years ago, I had to go back to New York to handle things after the Alessandro issue, and last year I’d gone back for the Rockefeller Center tree lighting and to celebrate the holidays with Anna and Riley.
Anna had grown up in foster care, so she didn’t have any family to celebrate with. She normally went home with Riley the day before Christmas, and that’s when I’d brave my own family. It always ended badly.
I thought this year would be different since I had Sid. I was excited to celebrate with him, especially because this engagement was turning into an actual relationship. At least, I thought it was. Maybe I was the only one who thought so, though. Was I about to get burned again? I wasn’t sure how well I’d be able to handle it this time around.
No one had known about Alessandro, so at least I’d endured the embarrassment alone. Also, I didn’t love him. This time around, it was worse. The entire town knew about my engagement to Sid, and I could honestly say I loved him. I’d been in love with him for a while now but was too afraid to say it.
I needed to find Sid, but that would have to wait because the crowd was pushing me forward toward the tree in the center of the park. Kate had it brought over from Jacob’s farm. The trees on his farm were still on the smaller side, but they’d cut down one of the pines at the back of his property for the park. Kate spent days decorating it and putting all the lights on with Peter’s help.
It felt a little like the tree lighting in New York, except on a much smaller scale. My hands were full of treats, and my arms were full of goodies I’d bought in the small stands. Ornaments, candles, Christmas decor—you name it; they had it, and I’d bought a little of everything. Sid didn’t have any Christmas decorations, which I found odd, so I’d picked some up. Maybe it would be the start of our collection.
“Thank you all for coming to this year’s annual tree lighting,” Kate said into a microphone. “I’m happy to announce that this year’s Christmas theme is the North Pole!”
Shouts and claps echoed through the park as everyone in town cheered. I’d seen the town decorated the last two years, and it looked phenomenal.
“Tomorrow, we’ll start decorating. If you own a store, make sure you find me after this. We have the boxes for each store in Peter’s truck, and we’ll be handing them out in front of Double Oak Furnishings. Thank you to everyone who helped with the tree this year. Stay and enjoy the tree, the company, and the lights. Frosty Mug Tavern will open the beer tent now. Make sure you stop in to try their holiday brew. Merry Christmas, everyone!”
She handed off the mic to Case and picked up two ends of an extension cord. The crowd counted down, and then she plugged one end into the other. The tree lit up from the bottom to the top. It was beautiful and magical. A tear slipped from my eye as I stared at it. I wished Sid was here to see it.
“Isn’t it beautiful? You’ve missed the last two,” Rebecca said, pulling me to her side. I wasn’t sure where she’d come from, but I was happy to have a shoulder to lean on. The pain inside my chest was growing by the minute, and I wasn’t sure I could take it. The scary part was that I hadn’t even talked to Sid yet to know what was going on.
“Come on, let’s go grab a beer. I heard this year’s brew is amazing,” Rebecca said.
“You know I don’t like beer. And you don’t either. At least I thought you didn’t.”
She laughed. “I didn’t before I moved here. Archer and his sons have the best beer I’ve ever tasted. You’ll have to have Sid take you to their property sometime. They have a brewery where their son Adam works. They do tastings all the time. You can get an early peek at the season’s brew.”
“Wow, when did you become a beer connoisseur?” I joked.
“I’m not, really. Will has taught me a lot about alcohol and where to find the best brands and brews for my bar.”
"Will?”
“Yes. He’s been helping me.”
“Is that all?”
She crossed her arms. “Yes. We’re just friends.”
“Okay.”
