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Chapter1
Delilah
A smile spreads over my face as Grandma slips her arms through the crook of my elbow, pointing with a delightedoohin the direction of the small-choir’s worth of carolers jammed into the gazebo in the center of the town square. Snow drifts lazily through the air, and I can’t help the sigh of contentment that slips through my lips.
Coming home to Pine Ridge wasn’t an easy decision to make, not after feeling like I’d upended my own life’s trajectory in New York City, but the past year has been healing. It doesn’t hurt that Grandma was finally ready to step away from Sunny Side Cafe, leaving it in my care. After a remodel and a menu refresh, I’ve found peace with my past failures and contentment in where they landed me.
“Delilah!” My head jerks around, and my cheeks hurt from the force of my grin at the sight that meets my gaze. Darting through the crowd, with absolutely no regard for the people she bumps into along the way, is my long-time best friend, Nia. Her rosy cheeks peek out from behind the large, round rims of her glasses, red hair streaking behind her as she practically bowls over a few errant teenagers in her rush to get to me.
Her eyes sparkle with mischief as she skids to a halt on the hard-packed snow beneath our feet, spraying bits of ice and slush over my legs. “Hi, Mrs. Cooper!” She shouts jovially before forcing her way between us and wrapping her arms around both of our waists.
“Nia, you scoundrel,” Grandma chides with a tittering laugh as I shake my head at my bestie’s antics. “What trouble are you stirring up tonight?”
Nia pulls her arm from around my waist, crossing her heart with her forest-green mittens before pulling me close again. “I’m on my best behavior, Mrs. Cooper! It’s Christmas, I can’t risk going on the Naughty List!”
“For the twenty-sixth consecutive year,” I tease, and Nia gasps before hip checking me with enough force to send me stumbling.
“Fuuu—” The expletive gets caught in my throat as a hand wraps around my bicep.
A heady scent meets my nose, something familiar like cedar and… sandalwood, maybe? And my eyes jerk up as a deep, masculine voice says, “Whoa, there!”
Heat curls in my belly at the sight of the intense, blue eyes staring down at me as the man behind them steadies me on my feet. He takes a step back and runs a hand through his dark-brown hair, slicking down the strand that had fallen out of the styled undercut. The face of an undoubtedly fancy watch flashes beneath the light of the nearest lamppost. I don’t have to stare at his face to know he’s handsome—it’s already seared into my memory.
Hastily, I take a step backward, eyes fixed on the ground and the tips of his cognac-colored shoes. They’re about as impractical as the three-piece suit he wears beneath an expensive wool peacoat. But practicality isn’t something Finn Vittatoe has ever cared about in the past, so it doesn’t surprise me that he’s hilariously underdressed for the weather now.
I hope his ears get frostbitten. Asshole.
“Are you ok—”
“I’m fine,” I bite out, cutting him off as I move to hook my arm through Grandma’s once more. I don’t like the way her eyes narrowed when I turned back toward her, face undoubtedly flushed from the fury curling through my body in nearly debilitating waves. Nia takes a step forward, brushing past me with a glimmer of excitement in her green eyes as she takes in the so-clearly-out-of-place man behind me.
“My, my, my, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes,” she starts as I whirl around, reaching for her. I snag my fingers in the hood of her coat, yanking her back before she can do something stupid. Like engaging this asshole any longer than necessary.
When she turns her head over her shoulder to glare at me, I hiss“sugar plum”at her through clenched teeth. Her lips purse for a quick second before her brows shoot to her hairline. I shake my head at her, quick and sharp, and her features darken before she backpedals a step and squares her shoulders, standing slightly in front of me.
Finn’s gaze skips from my best friend to me, brows furrowing as Nia crosses her arms over her chest.
Bless her.
Bless our years-old panic phrase.
Bless having a bestie who knows when to back off, even if you can’t give her all the reasons in the moment.
“I’m sorry, ladies,” Finn starts, a charming smile curling his lips on one side as he takes his own step back. “I didn’t mean any offense—I just didn’t want anyone to get hurt. It looked like you were going to eat dirt, Miss…”
He trails off, and I glare.This asshole.
“Cooper,” Grandma supplies helpfully, and my eyes widen with my shock as she steps around me and Nia to offer her arm. Finn doesn’t miss a beat, taking her elbow in a show of chivalry and letting her lead him through the square. “I’m Ellen, and that’s my granddaughter, Delilah. I’m sorry for her manners, I promise I raised her better than that. The other hellion is no relation!”
“Hey!” Nia calls as we rush after them.What in the hell is she doing!
“Grandma, maybe we should get home?” I offer, but she doesn’t halt, leading Finn by the arm through the square with me chasing after them.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Cooper.”
Grandma chuckles, and I can feel my eyes widen.Are you shitting me?Is this real life, or have I been sucked into the world’s worst episode ofThe Twilight Zone?
“You’re not from around here,” she says, and I can just spot her patting his hand affectionately as I catch up to them.
