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Gasps went up around the table, and congratulations began to flow. Valerie began to wave her hands in front of her face as if trying to banish the sudden tears of excitement that had sprung to her eyes.
Mindy was as excited as the rest of them, but she couldn’t help but notice that although Lacy gushed about what great parents Shelley and Matthew were going to be, she seemed a little more reserved than the rest. Lacy’s hand kept fluttering to her stomach almost absentmindedly, and Mindy wondered if maybe her friend wasn’t feeling well. But as Shelley continued to speak, all thoughts of Lacy’s somewhat strange behavior was pushed from Mindy’s mind.
“We’re so excited,” Shelley explained. “Even if it happened a little bit sooner into our marriage than we’d hoped. But I’m nervous to tell Brandon.”
Shelley and Matthew had gotten married six months prior, a gorgeous summer wedding at the base of the mountain that bordered the town. Matthew’s son, Brandon, had been his best man.
Immediately, Shelley’s friends rushed in to ease her concerns.
“Brandon is going to be a phenomenal big brother,” Sarah insisted, and Mindy nodded her head vigorously in agreement. “And he’ll be so excited about having a sibling!”
“Are you sure?” Shelley asked, worry etching itself into the lines of her face.
“We’re positive,” Mindy insisted, reaching her hand across the table to rest on top of her friend’s. “You, Matthew, and Brandon are a family, and you have been for a while. Now you just get to add a little more love. He’s going to know that. He’s a good kid, and this is a good thing.”
Shelley gave her an appreciative smile, and Mindy’s heart warmed. Louise finally bustled over, notebook poised to take all of their orders. They didn’t ask for the mimosas, ordering celebratory hot chocolates instead to go with their food.
“Oh,” Louise said just as she was about to walk away. “Did you hear about the gingerbread house competition?”
Mindy and her friends shared confused glances before shaking their heads.
“It’s going to be at the town hall tomorrow afternoon,” Louise informed them. “I could have sworn Mayor Thornton said she was going to send out flyers. But anyway, you all should come down. Show everyone how it’s done.”
Louise grinned at them before bustling away to put in their orders, and everyone around Mindy began chatting all over again. But she didn’t join in. As Louise had brought up the competition, all Mindy could think about was Noah. The gingerbread house competition would be a perfect thing to show him.
It was charming and interactive and might be just the thing that she needed to convince him that the town and all of its traditions were worth protecting.
CHAPTERELEVEN
The next day, Mindy stood in her bathroom, anxiously trying to tame her curls into submission. Gus sat on the bathmat beside her, tilting his head from side to side and being absolutely no help at all.
“What do you think? The cream sweater with the little gingerbread men on it?” Mindy asked her pup as she racked her mind for what to wear.“Or should I keep it simple with the red sweater? Oh, and then maybe I could do my light-up Christmas tree earrings.”
She glanced at Gus, who just blinked his big dark eyes up at her.
“You’re right,” she said excitedly to him. “The red sweater and the earrings are always a showstopper. You’re so smart, buddy.”
He yapped excitedly at the praise as Mindy gave up on her hair and started on her makeup. She was just finishing up swiping mascara on her lashes when the sound of her doorbell chiming brought her up short.
She winced as she checked the time, realizing that Noah was ten minutes early. Granted, that was something that she should have expected, coming from the man who had always insisted that to be on time was akin to being late. But she hadn’t thought of it, and now she was standing in the middle of her bathroom, still in her sweatpants and a ratty old t-shirt with Santa Claus on it.
“Well, nothing to be done about it, I guess,” she said to Gus before striding out of the bathroom and toward the front door.
Mindy pulled the door open, her heart pounding at the sight of Noah standing there. He looked very handsome in his tailored camel coat and a red cashmere scarf. His eyes raked over her as he arched a brow.
“This must be a much more casual event than I thought,” he said, giving her a smirk as she stepped back and waved him inside.
“Come in, come in, before I freeze to death,” Mindy insisted, giving him space as he walked through the door.
She heard the telltale sound of Gus’s nails tip-tapping on the hardwood floor as he came into the room, then glanced over her shoulder to find the pup standing there, completely still, glaring at Noah.
“I just need to get dressed really quickly,” she explained, hiking her thumb over her shoulder to indicate the back of the house where she’d come from. “You can get comfy in the living room, or wait in the kitchen. Wherever you’d like to get cozy. I’ll only be a minute or two.”
She turned to move away before noticing that Noah hadn’t taken so much as half a step. Not only that, but he hadn’t even moved to take his coat off as his gaze stayed locked on the small white dog a few feet away.
“Are you okay?” she asked, unable to hide the amusement in her tone.
Noah pursed his lips nervously. “Are you sure he won’t, you know… attack?”
