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“This is gorgeous,” Lily said. “Thank you so much.”
When she struggled to put it on her wrist, Pepper helped her work the clasp.
As Lily held up her arm and admired the bracelet, she silently warred with herself. The bigger part of her was excited and grateful for the beautiful bracelet, but the smaller, more insecure part of herself was embarrassed that all she had to offer was a Christmas-tree ornament and a loaf of homemade bread.
Still, she’d always prided herself on being real. She’d never changed herself to fit in with anyone. Her friends knew of her circumstances and embraced her anyway. Now was not the time to change.
She appreciated the way that A.J. oohed and aahed over the ornament. It was pretty. But when her friend opened the festively printed cellophane bag that contained the stollen, Lily said, “You can save that for later.”
“Are you kidding?” said A.J. “I’m starving and it looks delicious. Everyone can have a small piece.”
A.J. sliced rough pieces with her butter knife, and when she bit into it, a look of rapture overtook her face. She closed her eyes as she chewed.
“Oh, my gosh,” she said. “This is the best thing I have ever tasted.” She looked directly at Lily, who had obviously given away her own Secret Santa identity when she’d suggested that A.J. save the bread for later. “What is this?”
The other girls offered their own appreciation.
“It’s a Christmas bread that my grandmother and I used to make every year. It was always a tradition for us to make it together. Now it’s just not Christmas without it.”
Lily noticed that her friends were exchanging glances. They seemed to be communicating without saying anything. If Lily hadn’t been so sure that the bread was indeed delicious, she might have been afraid of what they were communicating among themselves.
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Pepper finally said aloud.
“I’m pretty sure I am,” A.J. said as she twisted the open end of the cellophane and put the bread away. Lily wanted to think that A.J. liked it so much that she didn’t want to share.
Sydney dabbed the corners of her mouth with her napkin before saying, “I think it’s exactly what we’ve been looking for.”
The three women nodded and turned to Lily. “How many loaves do you think you could produce in a day?”
“I don’t know,” Lily said. “Today, the girls and I baked six. But we were just having fun. They really enjoy baking.”
Sydney’s eyes flashed. “All the better. Lily, how would you feel about selling your bread at the holiday market? It’s that big Christmas bazaar the city holds every year in the farmers’-market building. It opens next week. Celebrations Incorporated is sponsoring a booth and we’re filming a segment of Catering to Dallas on opening day.
“The girls could help you bake, and if you’re looking for something to keep them occupied, they could actually help out at the Celebrations Inc. booth.”
At face value, it sounded like a wonderful, fun idea, but when you factored children into the mix, it changed the equation.
“It might be fun,” she said. “I’ll have to talk to Cullen and see how he feels about it.”
The reality was that the girls were enamored with baking right now, but there was no telling when they would get tired of it and want to move on to something else. Lily would hate to promise something she couldn’t deliver.
“How long will the holiday market be open?” she asked.
“It runs for a week, starting next week,” said A.J. “I really do think your bread would be a hit. We’d sell out in a heartbeat.”
“And there’s nothing like scarcity to bolster an item’s popularity,” said Sydney, sounding very businesslike. “I would say, make what you can and if there is a greater demand, all the better.”
“I’ll bet the kids would be excited about it if they knew they were going to be on television,” said Pepper. “I know our producers would love to feature them on the show.”
Ordinarily Lily would’ve been excited for the kids. However, she remembered her own brush with near fame when she was supposed to be featured on the show as the winner of the Celebration’s Bride contest. Her experience had been less than stellar. In fact, it had almost been the biggest nightmare of her life.
