“Belle! You’ve come! Oh, thank goodness! After your partner put that picture on social media, and then Logan Gale posted about your tarts, I think everyone who could drive here tonight did!”
Annabelle looked just as confused as James felt. “Who posted what?” Belle asked.
“The gentleman you run your business with, Sam Patton? He posted on your restaurant’s social media account that you would be competing in our little baking competition tonight! Earlier in the day, that actor, Logan Gale, raved about your restaurant, and the next thing we know, we have people swarming Wintervale for Christmas Eve festivities! Isn’t it wonderful? I was worried for a moment that you wouldn’t show up and disappoint all of these lovely people who came to see you!”
Belle gulped nervously, which made James chuckle. He couldn’t remember the last time he saw her look nervous about anything. She pulled out her phone in a panic, obviously checking to see what Sam and the actor they were talking about had posted, leaving the mayor standing there awkwardly.
“Well… I guess I’ll go announce our last-minute arrival here, and then we can start the tasting!”
Mayor Graham wandered off in the direction of the bandstand and Belle was focused solely on her phone, so James turned to Meg, who was still sitting there with the stacks of cookies on her legs.
“That can’t be comfortable. Why don’t I take you over to Belle’s table and we can set up those cookies for her while she’s busy?”
Annabelle didn’t even look up, but Meg nodded gratefully. James steered the wheelchair through the crowd and towards the spot that had been reserved for Belle. When they got to the table, they found one display plate and nothing else, so it was going to be up to James to arrange the best-looking ones in a pleasing manner, while his table sat unattended on the other side of the courtyard. As he set them up, Meg watched him curiously, the faintest hint of a smile on her face. Finally, James rolled his eyes and laughed.
“What are you looking at?”
She shook her head, amused. “You’re just a good man, James Everley. That’s all. In fact, you’re one of the best.”
James felt himself blush; he had no idea what to say to Meg by way of a “thank you,” and he was relieved that he didn’t have to. A moment later, the mayor tapped the microphone from the bandstand to draw everyone’s attention her way. The Wintervale Christmas tree was her backdrop, and it was lit up from top to bottom with thousands of twinkle lights and a collection of glass ornaments that had been added to over the years by everyone who lived in Wintervale. In spite of all of his grouchiness, James felt a swell of the Christmas spirit when he glanced over at Belle, still distracted by her phone but illuminated by the lights of the tree like a Christmas angel.
“Everyone! Can I have everyone’s attention?” Mayor Graham called out. “Welcome, citizens of Wintervale and visitors alike, to our annual Christmas Eve Bake-Off! We are so grateful that everyone could join us on this cold evening and hope you all get to taste some truly delicious treats, which is guaranteed given the pedigree of a few of our competitors!”
The mayor paused to gesture in Belle’s direction and she finally looked up when she realized that everyone was staring at her. So, she waved to applause from the crowd, and then Mayor Graham finally continued.
“To begin the contest, the esteemed judges, and myself, will walk around to each table and taste every entry. After the tasting, everyone else may sample the baked goods as you please! When judging is complete, we will cast our scores for each entry, and the contestant with the highest score will be the winner! We will now begin this year’s competition with Terry Langston, who is a science teacher at Wintervale High.”
The judges began their process of circling around to each table and James was starting to worry because he wasn’t at his own. But then he spotted Daisy darting over from the tree to his spot in the circle, waving at him once she took her spot behind the pies. Belle finally seemed to notice that everything was starting in earnest, so she put her phone in her bag and jogged over to Meg and James with a surprised look on her face.
“What was that all about?” Meg asked. Annabelle took her phone back out and handed it to Meg; James snuck a peek as the cell changed hands. He saw a photo of two of Belle’s tarts surrounded by sparkling Christmas decorations and warm light. The desserts looked absolutely delicious.
James raised an eyebrow. “What does it say?”
“Best dinner of my life at Arcadia Café in SoHo. Desserts will blow your mind and the staff is amazing. Make a reservation now and see for yourself! #FoodieLyfe #ArcadiaCafe #NewYorkEats #DessertsToDieFor #LoganGaleIsCrushinIt.”
James burst out laughing though he tried everything in his power not to. “It’s really great that he said such nice things about your restaurant, but he sounds like a real jerk.”
Belle rolled her eyes. “You have no idea. But between that and Sam announcing that I’m up here, I can’t even imagine what the reservation system is going to look like when everyone gets in on Black Friday. Arcadia isn’t that big, so they’re going to be booking out into next Christmas.”
Meg cleared her throat and looked over at Daisy, who was bouncing from foot-to-foot and looking back and forth between the judges and her dad.
“I think I’m going to go over and stay with the little one.”
“Oh, I can go,” James quickly said. “I should get back to my table anyway.”
“NO!” Meg snapped just a little too loudly. “I mean, it’s fine. You two stay here and talk. I can keep an eye on things. And I’m sure Daisy can charm those judges just fine if they have any questions about your pie.” Then she started slowly wheeling herself over to Daisy, leaving James and Belle alone for the first time in days. Neither of them said anything for a while until finally, James couldn’t hold it back any longer.
“Belle, I’m so sorry.”
Annabelle looked surprised. “I… wasn’t expecting that. You’re sorry?”
“Of course! Why wouldn’t I be? I acted like a first-class idiot and it drove you away. That was never my intention. In fact, it was the absolute last thing I wanted.”
“James, you aren’t the only one who needs to apologize. I’m the one who…”
Belle didn’t get a chance to finish her sentence. They were interrupted by the sight of Daisy waving her arms in a panic as the quartet of judges approached James’ table; he knew his daughter was perfectly capable of selling the pies, but he also knew it would go over a lot better with them if he was there with her.
“Belle, I have to…”
“Let’s go!” she answered, cutting him off. They both took off running to the other side of the circle of tables and got there just as the judges stepped in front of James’ designated spot.
“James! Please give us the details of your entry in this year’s contest,” Mayor Graham said with a conspiratorial wink. James gestured to Daisy, who was more than willing to do this part for him.
Daisy squared her shoulders and put on her biggest smile. “What my daddy has created for you is a delicious maple pumpkin pie! Baked from our top-secret family recipe, it has all the delicious tastes of fall while reminding you of the warmth of the holiday season.”
The judges were instantaneously charmed by Daisy’s sales pitch, as was everyone else within ear shot. She sliced them each a generous helping of the pie and put it on a festive plate while James watched, full of pride for his little girl. They all waited as the judges took their first bite and James reveled in their expressions of pure bliss. He had been totally lacking in his usual confidence, but the looks on their faces as they sampled his creation convinced him that he hadn’t done as badly as he’d feared.
After each judge had finished their slice of pie, which was unusual as they had so much to taste, they set down their plates and made notes on their scoring sheets, then walked to the next table without a word.
“Is that it?” Belle asked. “They don’t give you any feedback?”
“Nope,�
� Meg answered. “The feedback is either you win, or you don’t.”
Annabelle scrunched up her face nervously. “Oh, I don’t like that one bit.”
James peeked back over at her table in the distance. “So… you made sugar cookies, huh?”
Belle blushed. “Yeah, this guy I know gave me some advice and I decided to take it.”
They stood there awkwardly for a moment until Daisy clapped her hands together and pointed toward the front of the line of tables. “Hey, Meg! Look! They’re letting people taste at the first tables. Want to go check out the other food? I’ll give you a push.”
“Sounds good to me, kiddo,” Meg said with a wink. Before either Belle or James could argue, the conspiratorial pair disappeared in the other direction, leaving them alone again. James rocked back and forth on his heels while he debated what to say but this time, Belle took the lead.
“Listen, I know we’ve put each other through a lot since I came back to Wintervale, but do you think that maybe we could start fresh? From right here? I think that we have all of this history behind us and it’s been resting on our shoulders like anvils, but now we have a chance to let it all go and move forward as the people we are now, not the people we were.”
James couldn’t manage to formulate a response that wouldn’t end up sounding ridiculous. Instead, he did the only thing that made sense in the moment; he pulled Belle close and inched in to kiss her. He could feel his heart begin to beat faster in anticipation of experiencing that kind of connection with her again.
“Annabelle Harrison? Where is Annabelle Harrison?”
The sound of the mayor’s voice over the PA system startled them both to the point James almost dropped Belle straight on to the pavement. They quickly separated and looked in the direction of the mayor’s voice; she was standing impatiently next to Belle’s table and looking at her watch.
“Crap,” Annabelle murmured as they ran off in the direction of the judges. When they finally got there, Mayor Graham looked at them like something was amiss and she knew exactly what it was.
“Miss Harrison, glad you could join us. Can you describe your baked good to us?”
Belle opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She looked frozen in terror, as if she had forgotten where she was or what she was doing or why she was there. The judges stared at her, waiting for an answer that clearly wasn’t coming anytime so soon. So, James decided this was his chance to step up and show her that he could be there for her, even if it was the smallest gesture possible.
“These, Mayor Graham, are the best cookies you have ever tasted in your life. Belle’s Pink Peppermint Sugar Cookies are light and fluffy, with a hint of peppermint in the batter to give them that sweet Christmassy taste. And the pink peppermint icing is her own special recipe, delicate and delicious, with crushed candy canes to really jazz them up for the holiday. I can guarantee that you won’t taste anything better at this year’s Bake-Off, my own pie included.”
Belle stared at James in complete shock as the judges each chose a cookie off the tray. They took a bite and then, without hesitation, finished the cookie and picked up another. Once they had each eaten three of the pink peppermint cookies, they gave Annabelle the same cryptic nod they had given everyone else and walked to the table next to hers, which seemed to host a giant cookie cake shaped like a star. When they were sure that judges were gone, Belle turned to James with a laugh.
“Thank you. I have no idea what is wrong with me. I just went completely blank the minute they looked at me. I think my brain was still scrambled from a minute ago.”
James brushed a stray piece of hair away from Belle’s forehead. “I think we have a second. Why don’t we finish what we started?” He moved in to kiss her again but never even got close before Daisy ran up to them holding a plate full of holiday-themed petit fours.
“Daddy! Look! They have little snowmen on them… Hey, what are you two doing?” she asked, her eyes wide with curiosity. Meg just shook her head and laughed.
“I’m sorry we interrupted, kids. But Daisy wanted to share these with you. Happy to go back over to the pie table if you need a moment alone?”
“No,” Belle said with a chuckle, holding up her hands in protest. “Just stay put.”
They shared the tiny little cakes and chatted about the other pastries Meg and Daisy had seen until they spotted the judges go back to the bandstand and start tallying their scores. Even from where they were standing, they could see looks of frustration on the judges’ faces while they went through their score sheets over and over again, as if something weren’t adding up. After the bewilderment went on for what felt like an eternity, Mayor Graham finally seemed to resign herself to something and walked up to the microphone.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we have a very interesting development this year! We have added up the scores, multiple times, and no matter how many different ways we check the numbers, it looks like we have a tie for the winner of this year’s Wintervale Christmas Eve Bake-Off!”
The crowd began to murmur in complete shock and confusion, but Daisy looked up knowingly at James and Belle with a huge smile.
“Gee, I wonder who the winners are,” she said as she shoved her dad closer to Belle.
James stumbled a little and bumped into Belle, shooting his daughter a meaningful glance. “Don’t make assumptions, peanut. Those petit fours were really good.”
“And the winners of this year’s contest are,” Mayor Graham said, building up the tension with a long, drawn-out pause, “Annabelle Harrison and James Everley!”
The whole of Wintervale and a fair number of tourists burst out into excited applause, Daisy and Meg the loudest among them. James looked at Belle with a grin.
“I guess it was meant to be, huh?”
Belle tried to hide her own smile but there was nothing she could do to hide her happiness. “Like there was ever any doubt?”
James wasn’t about to let anything else get in his way that night; as the entire town continued to cheer their win, he pulled Belle into his arms and finally gave her the kiss he’d been dying to her ever since she came back home. As they held each other close, he felt a gentle cold flurry of snow begin to fall on them like a blanket of sparkling Christmas lights.
“Looks like we’ll have a white Christmas after all!” Meg said, holding out her hand to catch a few delicate flakes.
James and Belle pulled apart, each of them beaming with joy, as Daisy propelled herself between them.
“Can we all go have dinner together, daddy?” she asked, wiggling her eyebrows mischievously.
Belle winked at James’ little girl. “Yeah, can we? I don’t know about you guys, but all of this winning has me starving.” She reached down and took James’ hand in her own, making his heart beat faster than it had in years.
It really had turned out to be the perfect Christmas after all.
Epilogue ~ One Christmas Later
Belle
“Belle! Belle! Where is that order for the mayor? She said she’d be in at six to pick it up, so she could get it home before the contest starts!”
Annabelle swept a piece of loose hair away from her forehead and ended up leaving a streak of marmalade behind as she did, which was par for the course these days. Ever since she opened The Flour Girl, her days had been spent buried in her dozens of secret cookie ingredients, from sweet homemade jams to imported French chocolate, and she loved every minute of it.
From the moment the shop opened next to The Middle Road Inn, it had been packed. According to Mayor Graham, it had even increased tourism to Wintervale by ten percent. It wasn’t why she had opened The Flour Girl, but it certainly was a lovely perk.
It had been a year since she’d packed up everything in her beloved Brooklyn apartment and moved it to a little place over an empty shop in downtown Wintervale. It just so happened that the perfect spot for her new venture was right next to James’ restaurant, but that had never been her plan.
When Belle decided to move ba
ck to Vermont, she and James agreed to take it slow and not rush into anything too serious. But it wasn’t long before they were breaking their own rules, especially when they realized they were just as in love with each other as they had been as teenagers. Annabelle stayed in her apartment over The Flour Girl, especially because it made the early mornings easier, but soon, James and Belle were spending as much time together as they once had, and The Flour Girl was a bigger hit than she could have dreamed.
The bakery, which specialized in locally sourced and inspired cookies and pastries, had turned into a hot spot with the citizens of Wintervale right away. All of the restaurants in town, including The Middle Road Inn, featured her creations, and they immediately started getting out-of-town requests for catering and home deliveries. Belle had to work hard to keep her business small, which meant limiting how much extra work she took on. But as soon as word got out that was the case, people starting filtering into Wintervale on weekends just to visit her shop. Once they got boxes of cookies to go, they would stay for lunch, and maybe visit the quirky little cat shop across the road. It had worked out for everyone, which made Belle incredibly happy.
And she didn’t think it was possible for her to be any happier.
The bell over the bakery door rang, startling her from her thoughts. She looked up and saw that the mayor had arrived for her order of specially designed snowman cookies, each of them decorated to look like a member of Mayor Graham’s family.
“Gladys, could you grab our illustrious mayor’s order from the back please,” Belle called out. Gladys had begged to work for her as soon as The Flour Girl opened, claiming she had always dreamed of working in a bakery, but Meg had suspected she just wanted the free leftovers, as she had always been addicted to sweets.
“You got it, boss,” Gladys answered with a salute before disappearing into the kitchen. The mayor walked up to the counter with a grin, her giant elf ear headband jingling on her head.
“Merry Christmas Eve, Annabelle Harrison! I can’t wait to see what the three of you crazy kids have cooked up for the contest this year.”
A Sugar Cookie Christmas: A Sweet Holiday Romance (Wintervale Promises Book 1) Page 18
