Holiday Hook Up: (Bachelors of Buttermilk Falls Book 4)

by Robyn Neeley

  And that text had been responsible for the large grin he sported all day.

  His gaze fell on Bethany as she talked and laughed by the fireplace with Abby and Emma. Man, she looked gorgeous in her dark jeans and black V-neck sweater. Tonight, her hair was down, big waves brushing past her shoulders.

  He imagined what it would be like to run his fingers through her dark locks, smiled at that thought, and turned back to Josh. “Yeah, Mary wants me to go into the pizza business. That or thinks I should take over Ralph’s when he retires.”

  “Man, you sucked at tossing pizzas.” Josh went behind the bar, grabbed two new bottlenecks, popped the tops, and passed one to Adam. “Didn’t most of them end up on the floor?”

  “Pretty much. Wasn’t my idea. You’ll have to ask Mary.”

  “So, you really talked to her?” Josh came back around.

  “Yep.” Adam nodded. “Not like last time, though. It was more like channeling her spirit, but the crazy gal was definitely in the living room. I could feel her presence.”

  “In your house?”

  “No. Bethany’s. It happened on Christmas Eve. I was using a Ouija Board.”

  That got a laugh from his best friend. “Since when did you start conducting séances?”

  “It wasn’t me. Bethany borrowed it from your aunt.”

  “Why would she do that?”

  Just then, Caitlin came up and wrapped her arms around Josh, snuggling into his chest. “Adam, will you stop hogging my husband? What are you two talking about?”

  “How beautiful you are, of course,” Adam said without missing a beat.

  She grinned, showing off her dimples. “Well, that goes without saying. You know . . . someone else is looking pretty dolled up tonight.” She nodded in the direction of Bethany, while staring right at Adam.

  He furrowed his brows. “Are you trying to play matchmaker?”

  “Do I need to?” she shot back.

  He didn’t get a chance to answer that question because Emma got up off the sofa and asked that everyone join her near the fireplace.

  Adam grabbed a mini grilled cheese off a plate Abby had brought out to the bar, popped it into his mouth, and walked over, taking Emma’s vacated seat on the sofa next to Bethany. She smelled like vanilla and cinnamon.

  He leaned back and inhaled her delicious scent, looking around. He was a lucky man to have such good friends.

  To have Josh living in Buttermilk Falls after all his years in New York City was fantastic. He’d missed his best friend and was glad they resumed their high school ritual of watching Sunday afternoon football. He also loved how close he and Caitlin had gotten this year. She fit the role of little sister he never had perfectly, and he made it a point to stop by her house almost every morning to fill his thermos with coffee and catch up on the Buttermilk Falls gossip.

  His gaze moved over to Abby, in conversation with Emma in front of the fireplace. Spending more time with them as he tried to nail the Batter Up spell was pretty darn cool. He’d always liked the Stevens cousins and had been curious about their magic skills. That he had similar—albeit less developed—abilities was pretty neat.

  He turned his head and smiled at the beautiful brunette next to him. Moving in next door to her was the best thing he’d done this year. Even if his growing feelings were only one-sided. There was something about having her nearby that made him feel . . . well . . . happy.

  Bethany narrowed her lashes. “What are you all smiles about?”

  “Nothing. Just thinking that it is wonderful.”

  “What is?”

  “This life.” He laughed at himself for how corny he sounded making the classic movie reference.

  “That it is,” she agreed, taking a sip of her wine.

  “You having a good time tonight?”

  She nodded and leaned in. “I am. You know, it’s been great being a part of this.”

  “My wonderful life?”

  She giggled. “Yeah, that, and this inner circle.” She motioned to all their friends around them.

  He laughed. She was right. The group had become a supportive inner circle in the past year, and he was happy they’d made room for her to join. “Me, too.” He raised his beer to her wine glass. “Cheers to this inner circle.”

  “Cheers.”

  He would have liked to keep the private celebration going, but Emma clapped her hands for their attention.

  “So, you all are probably wondering what kind of announcement I’m about to make.”

  “It’s a baby, isn’t it?” Caitlin asked, and Josh pulled her into a bear hug.

  “Shhh . . .” Josh nuzzled his chin into her shoulder. “You don’t have to answer that, Em.”

  Emma chuckled and reached for Jason’s hand. “We hate to disappoint you, Caitlin, but no. I’m not pregnant.”

  “Are you finally engaged?” Abby asked, pulling Emma’s hand out of Jason’s. “You are, aren’t you? Where’s the ring?”

  Emma moved her hand away, her gaze fixed on Bethany. “We’re not engaged . . . yet.”

  Adam eyed Emma. Why was she now staring at Bethany? Did LB already know something?

  Emma continued, “So, as all of you know, I’ve been waiting for my father to return to Buttermilk Falls for quite some time . . .” She paused and Jason put his hand around her shoulder.

  “It’s okay, Baby,” he said.

  “I’ve found him.” Emma paused, adding, “Um . . . I mean, Jason found him.”

  Abby was the first to speak. “Oh, my God, Emma! Is he in Buttermilk Falls? Was he on the bus?”

  “No. He’s living in a small town in Texas called Sweet Ridge. Jason and I are flying there in the morning.”

  “You’re leaving tomorrow? Does he know you’re coming? How long will you be there?” Abby fired off one question after another.

  “Yes. He doesn’t, and I’m not sure.” Emma turned to Abby, taking her hand. “I don’t want you to worry about the bakery. I’ve talked to my mom. She’s going to come out of retirement and run it while I’m gone.”

  Abby shook her head. “Emma, why didn’t you tell me? You know I’d step in.”

  “I know, but you’ve got all your catering gigs.” She smiled at her cousin. “And I don’t want you to overexert yourself.”

  Abby waved her off. “I wouldn’t be. We can talk to Aunt Sheila. I’ll take the morning

  shifts.”

  “But isn’t that when you feel the worst?” Emma put her hand over her mouth. “I’m sorry.”

  “You’ve got morning sickness. I knew one of you was pregnant!” Caitlin wiggled her finger at Abby. “It’s you again, isn’t it?”

  Abby threw her hands up in the air. “Fine. I’m having a baby.”

  Brandon came up behind her, bringing her in his arms. “We’re having a baby.” He chuckled. “And I actually remember when it happened this time.”

  Adam laughed out loud at that, spitting a little of the beer he’d just sipped. He’d heard the story of how Abby had enchanted a cupcake to reverse Brandon’s attraction to her that caused a bit of amnesia of the magical kind. Luckily for both of them it worked out in the end, but it was a tangled up mess for a while since she was already pregnant when she’d done the spell.

  “Okay, so Aunt Sheila will run the bakery. Is she going to do Batter Up?” Abby asked.

  “Yes. She can’t wait. So the single guys in this town have nothing to worry about while I’m gone.” Emma turned to Adam. “And as for our bachelorettes, Adam, my mom said she’d love to work with you on perfecting the spell with the blue mixing spoon. Anytime you’re ready, feel free to see her.”

  “I’d love it. I’ll stop in tomorrow.” His dad had him working on a new project across town for most of the day, but since they were planning on starting at 7:00 a.m., he could knock off work by three.

  The group continued to celebrate Abby and Brandon’s big news while discussing Emma and Jason’s upcoming trip. At one point, Jason and Brandon headed upstairs to Bra
ndon’s office followed by Abby and Emma to surf the Internet for B&Bs.

  Josh and Caitlin had disappeared into the kitchen for God knows what, leaving Adam and Bethany alone by the fireplace. Adam suspected they wouldn’t be seeing them return for a while. The newlyweds had a hard time keeping their hands off each other.

  He stood and grabbed a poker, giving the logs a few pokes before taking his seat next to Bethany. For now, they had the cozy fire all to themselves. He took a swig of his beer and watched the flames. “I could move into this place.”

  Bethany laughed. “And give up your cottage?”

  “Probably not. I like it there, too.” He grinned, adding, “I have the best neighbor.”

  “I’ve heard that.”

  “How was your Christmas?”

  “Good. I’m sorry I wasn’t around. I decided to go into the store and then spent some time with Emma.”

  “Did you talk to your parents?”

  “Yes.” She nodded. “We Skyped in the afternoon for an hour. They’re having a great time. If my mother has her way, they might not come home. How was your mom’s?”

  “Low-key. Got my annual handmade Christmas sweater.” He patted his chest and then cracked his neck. “The gift I could have used was one of those massages we had the other night. Mom thought it would be fun to pick out and decorate the tree on Christmas Eve. Yeah, hauling a six-foot Douglas fir up the driveway and into her house was ever so much fun.”

  Bethany stretched her fingers in front of her. “I might be able to offer some assistance.”

  He did a double take. “For real?”

  She motioned for him to slide down onto the floor, and he did just that. In no time, her hands were kneading his shoulders.

  He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, rather enjoying the sensation running through him that her touch caused.

  Completely relaxed, his head fell to the side as he listened to the crackling sound of the fire. The perfect ending to a great evening. “Thank you,” he finally said after a few silent minutes.

  “Anytime.” She squeezed his shoulders.

  He moved up to the sofa, this time sitting even closer. “Maybe I could return the favor.”

  “I think I’d like that,” she said softly.

  He gazed into her dark brown eyes, his heart racing. He might not be the smartest man at the Inn tonight, but Bethany was definitely flirting with him. He inched closer, touching her face. There was no mistake that her lips were moving closer to his, and he knew this because he wasn’t about to close his eyes this time.

  Finally, their first kiss was going to happen.

  A loud ring forced her eyes open and she moved back.

  Dammit! His phone was going off in his back pocket with the fire station’s emergency ringtone, signaling to drop everything and report to duty. “It’s the fire station. I have to go.” Kissing Bethany Wilson was going to have to wait.

  “I’ll get our coats.” She beelined for the foyer, handed him his coat from the coat rack, and started to put on her own.

  “Hey, why don’t you stay here? I have to go right to the site, and it could take a while. You don’t want to be stuck sitting in my truck on this cold night with nothing to do. Besides, you’re having such a good time.” He nodded to the upstairs and slid on his coat. “Make sure they are behaving themselves up there and not looking for any more magical spoons.”

  She smiled and hung her coat back up. “Okay. I’ll hitch a ride home with Emma and Jason. Be safe.”

  Her concerned words touched his heart. “I’ll text you when I’m home.” He put his hand on the door, but hesitated, not wanting to leave without addressing what almost finally happened.

  Go on. Tell her how you feel.

  “Do you need something, Adam?”

  He turned around. “I had a really good time tonight.”

  “Me, too.”

  He smiled and put his hand back on the door. That was not exactly telling her how he felt. They’d had the same exchange at the Majestic Theater. Though, this time it was him running out.

  “LB.” Without thinking how she might react, he spun back around. “This thing between us, it’s real, right? I mean . . . um . . . the thing is . . . we were about to kiss.”

  Oh, God. Did he really ask her if they were about to kiss back there? He might as well turn in his man card.

  She moved her hair to the side. “Maybe we could try again soon?”

  Yes! “I’d like that,” he managed to spit out without stammering like an idiot.

  “Good,” she repeated. “But maybe we can take things slow.”

  Slow? How much slower could they take it? “Yeah. Definitely.” He didn’t want to sound overeager. His phone buzzed again, and he held it up. “It’s the station letting me know the address.”

  “You don’t have to go to the firehouse?”

  “No. The truck’s already on its way. They keep gear in the truck for all us volunteers. All I need to do is show up and do whatever it is they tell me.” He scrolled through the text.

  “Anyone we know?”

  He looked down at his screen. Oh, God. It was someone they both knew. The familiar house number caused a rush of panic to shoot through him. Not wanting to alarm Bethany, he said, “It’s a small place across town. I’m sure it’s nothing. The firetruck’s already there. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Bye, Adam.”

  “Bye, LB.” He stepped out into the cold. Once out of sight, he raced to the truck and jumped in. At the speed he flew through town, it took him no time to pull into his former house, praying Rachel was okay.

  * * *

  Bethany walked back over to the fireplace, wrapping her arms around her middle. Adam was right. This life was wonderful.

  Could they be on their way to exploring a wonderful life together as a couple?

  Whoa. Take your own suggestion just now and slow down.

  Before anything started between them, she’d have to tell him everything. Maybe the First Kiss Ball was the place to do it. It would at least give her a couple more days to rehearse what she was going to say in front of her bathroom mirror.

  Perhaps once he’d learned the truth, he’d laugh it off and admit that he’d always wanted to kiss her, too.

  Then he’d take her into his arms and their lips would finally touch again. When they did, that second kiss between them was going to be every bit as magical as the first.

  That thought brought on a big smile. She grabbed the fire poker and poked the log until it started to crackle.

  “For the love of God!” came Abby’s voice from the second floor. “Brandon, stop opening it up.”

  Josh and Caitlin busted out of the kitchen, both looking a little disheveled.

  “What’s going on?” Caitlin asked, raking her hand through her long, messy locks while Josh buttoned up his shirt.

  “I don’t know.” Bethany put down the poker and crossed the room. “Abby, are you okay?” she yelled her question from the foot of the stairs, turning her back so the couple could button everything they needed to.

  “Can you all come up here?” asked Abby.

  Josh raced up the stairs, followed by Caitlin and Bethany. Halfway up stood a barefoot Abby, bending down and rolling up her jeans.

  “Where the hell are your shoes?” Josh was the first to ask the obvious question.

  “We were all in Brandon’s office doing some research on B&Bs in Sweet Ridge, Texas.”

  “Then why are your pant legs soaked?” Caitlin asked. “Did a pipe burst in a bathroom?”

  “No.” Abby looked straight at Bethany. “I think there’s something you should see.”

  “Me?” Bethany felt a cold shiver down her back. The hope chest was in Brandon’s office. Did whatever Abby thought she should see have to do with it?

  Abby glanced down the stairs. “Where’s Adam? He might be interested, too, since it’s his relative causing all this chaos.”

  Caitlin’s eyes widened. “Is Mary up there?”


  Abby ignored her, staring at Bethany. “Where’s Adam?” she repeated.

  “He had to leave.” Bethany paused, adding, “He got an emergency call from the fire station.”

  “Rats.” Abby snapped her fingers. “I was really hoping he’d be able to get his distant cousin under control before she does some serious damage. It’s not like I can whip up a cash spell to pay for renovations.”

  “What has Mary done?” Josh moved forward, but Abby threw her hand up.

  “Wait. Before we go in, what you are about to see, I need you to swear you’ll keep your trap shut.” She glared at Caitlin.

  “Why are you singling me out?” Caitlin asked, hands on hips.

  “I don’t know.” Abby mirrored Caitlin’s stance. “Maybe something to do with your big mouth.”

  “Oh, please. Might I remind you it was you that blabbed to Josh a couple months ago that Adam and I were getting married.”

  “What?” Bethany asked. When had that happened? Granted, she’d gained access to their inner circle only recently, but news like that would have spread around town well beyond their little group.

  She took a step down. Maybe she didn’t need to be in this inner circle after all, and she certainly didn’t want to know what was upstairs because clearly it had rattled Abby.

  Bethany turned to Caitlin. “You were going to marry Adam?”

  “Sort of.”

  “There was no ‘sort of’ about it,” Abby scoffed, counting off on her fingers. “You had the minister, the cake, a dress, Adam was in a jacket and tie . . .”

  “Yes, but let’s not forget who I did exchange vows with that night.” Caitlin kissed Josh on the cheek. “Truth.”

  “Truth,” he repeated, moving his lips over Caitlin’s.

  Bethany stepped passed them. The newlyweds could stop their inside “truth” babble right now. She wanted to go home, but since her ride was long gone, she’d need to catch one with one of the couples, and that probably wasn’t going to happen unless she got up the courage to let Abby show her whatever it was that was upstairs. “Abby, what do you need me to see?”