“I’m not very good at this,” Haley said, meaning much more than just cutting out angels. What she was really thinking was that she wasn’t very good at handling the feelings she was starting to have about him. She’d never felt like this before, so she was pretty much clueless. What she did know was that she didn’t like not being able to control her feelings. It seemed like the more she told herself not to let Jeff distract her, the more he was getting under her skin. She knew she needed to pull herself together fast. She just wasn’t sure how. Just like she was struggling with her Tyler Toys pitch, she was struggling to figure out how to handle the Jeff situation. Without even realizing it, she had started to cut out another angel.
When she looked up, she saw that Jeff was watching her. He was smiling. “I have faith you’ll figure it out.”
Haley almost dropped the scissors. For a moment she felt like he had read her mind, but then quickly realized he was just talking about having faith in her angel. She was saved from saying anything when another volunteer, a pretty girl in her midtwenties, walked up carrying a Christmas basket.
“Merry Christmas! Can I interest you in a few treats?” she asked, revealing that her basket was filled with baked goods and candies. She was smiling and batting her long eyelashes at Jeff without even acknowledging Haley.
Haley’s eyes narrowed as she watched the girl flirt.
“We also have coffee and some soft drinks over in the corner if you need some caffeine,” the volunteer continued, still smiling at Jeff. “And there’s also a great bar across the street. I’ll be there in about an hour if you’d like to grab a drink . . .”
Annoyed, Haley put herself between Jeff and the cute volunteer. “I’ll take a candy cane,” she said, making it impossible for the volunteer to continue to ignore her. But when the girl quickly gave Haley the candy cane and went back to ogling Jeff, Haley snapped . . . literally snapping her candy cane in two, ripping off the wrapper, and putting a piece of the candy cane into her mouth.
This instantly caught Jeff’s attention. “I thought you weren’t doing sugar?”
Haley couldn’t answer because she was devouring the candy cane, crunching away, so she just smiled and grabbed another candy cane and two cookies out of the basket. She was about to grab something else when the volunteer backed away.
“I better go and stock up,” the volunteer said, and then gave Jeff a hopeful look. “Maybe I’ll see you at the bar later?”
When Jeff said, “Maybe,” Haley stuffed a cookie into her mouth and then quickly walked to the other side of the angel tree so Jeff wouldn’t see how annoyed she was. She was mostly annoyed with herself. She wasn’t used to feeling jealous, and she didn’t like it one bit. She was taking another bite of the cookie when Jeff caught up to her.
“You okay?” he asked.
She finished her bite of cookie. “Yeah, why?” she asked as she wiped some cookie crumbs off her face.
He looked at the other cookie and candy cane she was holding. “Uh, no reason, I guess.”
Haley handed him a cookie.
He laughed. “No thanks, nothing compares to our Christmas Camp cookies, but I’ll take the candy cane if you’re offering it.”
For a moment it didn’t look like Haley wanted to but then finally gave it to him.
“Thanks.” He grinned at her. “They’re my favorite.”
Haley looked surprised. “Mine too. Ever since I was a kid.”
When Jeff smiled and their eyes met, Haley’s heart beat faster. She quickly turned away and looked up at the angel tree and that’s when inspiration struck.
“I got it!” she said, looking back at Jeff. “You know, maybe there’s a way I can use this angel tree in my Tyler Toys pitch. The toy campaign I’m working on . . .”
“How so?”
“I’m thinking Tyler Toys could partner with a program like this and donate some of their toys to children, making their Christmas wishes come true.”
“I love that!” Jeff looked impressed. “That could have such a positive impact on so many children.”
“Right? That’s what I’m thinking, and it would be good for the Tyler Toys brand, too. They’re a family-owned company, and they’re all about giving back.”
Jeff looked really excited. “I think you’re onto something here.”
“Me too!”
Jeff looked like he was about to hug her but stopped himself. Instead he handed her his candy cane. “Here, take this! If the last candy cane gave you this idea, who knows what this one will do. I don’t think you should ever give up sugar again!”
“Maybe you’re right.” Haley laughed as she took Jeff’s candy cane, unwrapped it, and popped it into her mouth.
When Ben appeared, both Jeff and Haley were still laughing.
“There you two are,” he said. “We’ve been looking for you. I should have known I’d find you here at the angel tree. What do you think of our tree, Haley?”
Haley looked at the tree and couldn’t stop smiling. “I think it just gave me a brilliant idea for work, so I love it.”
Ben chuckled. “Work? That wasn’t exactly the reaction I was looking for, but I admire your enthusiasm.”
“She really did come up with a great idea, Dad,” Jeff said, and then smiled at Haley.
Ben smiled, too. “Okay, then, awesome. I want to hear all about it, but right now we’re about to start loading some of the boxes into the trucks for delivery. I was looking for some help.”
“You got it,” Jeff said.
“I can help, too,” Haley joined in.
“That would be great. We still have a few boxes that need finishing; if you want to help Gail with that, she’s right over there at the table where you started.”
“Sounds good,” Haley said. “I’ll see you guys later, and thanks, Jeff, for showing me the angel tree.”
She was still smiling when she joined Gail.
Gail noticed the change instantly. “Someone looks pretty happy. What happened?”
“I think I just got a great idea for my Christmas toy campaign,” Haley said as she put a can of cranberries into a box.
“That’s wonderful,” Gail said.
Haley smiled and nodded. “It’s just an idea at this point, but it’s a start. I’ll take it.”
Gail packed up the last box. “I think this does it. Let’s take these over to the guys to load up.”
After they delivered the last boxes, Haley and Gail watched the guys set up an assembly line to pack them all in the truck.
“They really know what they’re doing,” Haley said, impressed. She was watching Jeff load up one of the last boxes when he turned around, saw her, and smiled. She blushed a little and smiled back. When she then realized Gail was watching her with a knowing look on her face, she turned to face her. “What?” she asked.
Gail just smiled. “Nothing. It just looks like you and Jeff are getting along really well. He’s a nice young man and he’s single.”
Haley’s mouth dropped open. “It’s not like that . . .”
“Why not?” Gail asked. “He’s also very good-looking. I’d say he’s quite a catch.”
Now Haley was really embarrassed. “There is nothing going on between Jeff and me. If anything, he’s just making sure I’m doing all these Christmas Camp activities. He thinks he’s the Christmas Camp police or something . . .”
“I’m sure he’s just trying to make sure everything goes smoothly, knowing how important this is to his dad.”
Haley nodded. “I know. I’m just saying, that’s all that’s going on.”
“Well, I think it’s a shame,” Gail said. “A nice girl like you and a nice guy like him, both of you single . . .”
Haley held up her hands to stop her. “Okay, enough. Now you’re starting to sound like my mom. She’s always wanting me to find someone and settle down.”
“And you don’t want to settle down?”
Haley shook her head. “Honestly, what I really want is to get this promoti
on at work, and once I do, I’ll have even less time for . . .”
“A personal life?” Gail asked.
Haley nodded. “Exactly, and on that note, if we’re wrapped up here, I really should get back to the inn and start working on this idea I have.”
“What about dinner?” Gail asked. “We’re on our own tonight, and everyone’s getting something in town. I thought maybe we could have dinner together and then do a little last-minute Christmas shopping. I saw this really cute gift shop in town that I wanted to stop by. What do you say?”
“I really don’t need to do any Christmas shopping,” Haley started, but then seeing the hope in Gail’s eyes, she didn’t have the heart to disappoint her. “But I guess I do have to eat . . .”
Gail’s face lit up. “Wonderful. Let’s go.”
All of a sudden Haley got an idea. “Okay, but can you wait a minute? I just need to run back inside really quick.”
“Sure.”
“Great. Thanks. I’ll be right back!” Excited, Haley ran back into the community center and over to the angel tree. She stood on her tiptoes, took one of the angels off the tree, and then ran back to where Gail was waiting.
“Okay, now I’m ready,” she said. “Let’s go.”
As Haley and Gail walked down the beautifully decorated main street, Gail kept stopping to admire all the pretty Christmas decorations. The window of the ice cream store, designed to look like an old-fashioned ice cream parlor, was surrounded by red and white twinkling Christmas lights. Painted on the window was a winter wonderland scene with an adorable Frosty the Snowman. Above Frosty was written CHRISTMAS SNOWBALL ICE CREAM. Gail grabbed Haley’s hand when she saw it.
“Oh, let’s go try the snowball ice cream,” she said as she pulled Haley inside.
“This is your idea of dinner?” Haley laughed.
“You know what they say, ‘Life’s short, eat dessert first!’”
“What?” Haley gave her a look. “Who says that?”
“I do!” Gail said. Laughing, she headed straight for the sales clerk and ordered them both two scoops of the snowball ice cream.
A few minutes later, they were back outside, walking down Main Street, eating their snowball ice cream cones.
“Okay, I admit it. This is really good!” Haley said as she licked some ice cream that was dripping onto the cone.
“Told you,” Gail said, and touched her ice cream cone to Haley’s like she was making a toast. “Merry Christmas!”
“Cheers!”
“Now we better go get some real food to eat. I don’t want to corrupt you, too much,” Gail said.
“Uh, too late,” Haley said. She held up her almost finished ice cream cone. “I’ve been trying to give up sweets, but obviously that’s not going to happen hanging out with you.”
Gail pretended to look hurt. “Are you calling me a bad influence?”
“Absolutely!”
Gail smiled back at her. “Well, I want you to know I don’t feel a bit guilty. It’s Christmas, and it’s the one time of year you’re allowed to splurge.”
“Says who?” Haley asked, already knowing the answer she was going to get.
“Says me.” Gail laughed and then pointed to a cute pizzeria. She linked arms with Haley. “How do you feel about a sausage and pepperoni pizza?”
Haley laughed. “Actually, I’m more of a Canadian bacon and pineapple girl. And wait, now you want to get pizza? Are you sure you’re not a teenager?”
“This time of year I feel like a teenager,” Gail said, beaming. “There’s always something about Christmas that makes you feel like a kid again, don’t you think?”
Haley shrugged. “I’ve never really thought about it.”
“Well, I say we go get pizza, and look, there’s a candy store next door. I bet they have Christmas fudge.”
Haley held her hands over her ears. “I’m not listening . . . fa la la la la, la, la, la, la.”
“Well, at least you’re singing Christmas songs now.”
Haley laughed as they headed into the pizza place. “You’re impossible.”
“And you’re the best for coming out with me tonight,” Gail said. “Thank you for being a friend. I really needed this.”
Haley was touched. “You’re an easy person to hang out with. Even if you are . . .”
“A bad influence?” Gail finished for her.
“A bad influence,” Haley agreed.
They both continued laughing as they walked into the restaurant and heard “Deck the Halls,” the same song Haley had been humming seconds ago.
“It looks like we found the right place,” Gail said with a huge grin on her face.
“Because of the Christmas music?”
“No, because of that . . .” Gail stopped and pointed over to a table where Jeff was sitting with Susie and Ian. “Let’s join them.”
Haley didn’t have time to answer, as Gail was already heading over to the table.
The cozy pizza place was decorated with vintage Christmas decorations. There was a fireplace burning in the corner, and the wood tables were decked out in red-and-white-checkered tablecloths. Susie waved when she saw Gail.
“Gail, Haley, come on over! We just ordered enough pizza for an army.”
“Because we couldn’t agree on what kind to get,” added Ian. “I always like pepperoni—”
“And I love a veggie pizza,” Susie jumped in.
Jeff stood up and moved over to another chair, making room for Gail and Haley to sit down together. “And I ordered Canadian bacon and pineapple,” he said.
Gail laughed and pointed to Haley. “Well, that’s perfect because Haley was just saying that was her favorite. Right, Haley?”
“I was,” Haley said, catching Gail’s smug look.
Jeff held out the chair next to him. “Then, Haley, you sit over here by me, and we’ll share my pizza.”
Susie held out the chair next to her for Gail. “And you sit right here, and you can share mine.”
“Sounds perfect.” Gail smiled at all of them as they sat down. “I’m ready for round two.”
“Round two?” Susie asked. “Where did you guys go before this?”
“The ice cream place,” Gail said. She licked her lips. “It was wonderful. We tried their new Christmas flavor. What was it called again, Haley?”
“Snowball, and it had these little pieces of peppermint in it. It was pretty amazing.”
“So you both had a scoop of ice cream a few minutes ago?” Ian asked incredulously.
“No, of course not,” Gail answered.
Ian looked relieved.
“We had two scoops!” Gail laughed. “You always need to have two.”
Haley threw up her hands. “Don’t look at me. It was all her idea.”
Everyone laughed.
“And now I’m ready for pizza,” Gail said.
Haley shook her head. “I’m telling you, she’s really sixteen.” She looked around. “Where are our other favorite teenagers?”
“Blake wanted Mexican,” Ian said. “So did I, but . . .”
“But you also wanted to have dinner with your lovely wife,” Susie finished for him.
“What she said.” Ian laughed, but was shaking his head no.
Everyone laughed, and then all eyes were on the two waiters walking toward them with three giant pizzas.
Haley’s eyes grew huge. “Whoa! That’s a lot of pizza.”
“Told ya! Good thing you two came when you did,” Susie said.
When they put the Canadian bacon and pineapple pizza in front of Jeff, he smiled at Haley. “Are you ready for this?”
Haley’s mouth was already watering. She was, all of a sudden, starving.
“So ready!”
Jeff cut the first piece and handed it to her. “Here you go. You’re going to love it.”
When Haley took a big bite, a string of cheese slid onto her chin. She laughed and reached for her napkin, but Jeff was faster. He leaned over and gently wiped
the cheese off for her. Surprised by the gesture, she looked up and their eyes met. For a moment Haley could hear her heart beating, and it was beating fast. This time it was Jeff who looked away first, and when he did, Haley caught Gail watching them and gave her a warning look. But Gail still had that knowing smile on her face when she bit into her first slice of pizza.
After they finished dinner and were leaving the restaurant, Jeff pointed over to his truck. “I’m heading back to the inn now if anyone wants a ride.”
He looked at Haley, but she quickly looked at Gail. “We still have some shopping to do, right, Gail?”
Gail nodded and looked very pleased. “We sure do.” She linked arms with Haley. “Would anyone else like to go Christmas shopping?”
“I would,” Susie said. She was about to join the girls when Ian grabbed her arm. “Oh no, you don’t. You promised no more Christmas shopping if I brought you up here.”
“But . . .” Susie pleaded.
“Don’t even try.” Ian laughed and then kissed her on her cheek.
Susie smiled back at him. “Okay, you win. This time.”
Ian smiled back at her. “I’ll take any win I can get.”
Everyone laughed.
“Okay, we better get going,” Gail said. “I’m not sure how late the shops stay open.”
“Usually until eight during the holidays, so you should have a good hour,” Jeff said.
“Power shopping, here we come,” Gail said. She laughed as she pulled Haley toward some shops.
Haley looked back over her shoulder at Jeff and mouthed the word “help.”
He laughed and mouthed the words “good luck.”
Chapter 19
As Gail headed down Main Street, she was obviously a woman on a mission. Haley had to hurry to keep up with her, and it didn’t take long to see where she was headed.
Gail pointed to an adorable gift shop named Wish Come True and hurried over to it.
“Haley, this is the gift shop I was telling you about. Isn’t it a sweet little shop?”
“It certainly has a lot of Christmas decorations,” Haley said. There were lit-up Christmas trees on either side of the front door, which was painted a Christmas red and was highlighted by a big beautiful wreath made out of fresh fir-tree branches, holly sprigs, and pinecones.
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