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

by Robyn Neeley

  What kind of game was Mary playing with her? Obviously, she must have been lurking downstairs to hear the private joke between Bethany and Adam about “this life,” right? Bethany set the ring down next the cash register. Do ghosts lurk? It was all way too creepy.

  She’d had a lot of explaining to do once everyone had gotten a look at the wedding band. Caitlin, of course, wanted to know again if Bethany and Adam were fooling around. Luckily, Abby had stepped in, immediately feigned a migraine, and asked Brandon if they could leave. Since Bethany’s cottage was only a few doors down from theirs, Abby had said it would be no problem to drop her off, ushering Bethany out of the guest room before she could even say her good-byes.

  When Adam didn’t text her like he said he would, she assumed that he was still dealing with the emergency. She’d made some chamomile tea and drifted to sleep, dreaming about his arms around her once again.

  She’d been relieved to hear that he was okay with taking things slow between them. They’d do this right and not jeopardize their friendship. When they finally got together, it was going to be perfect. She picked up the ring and waved it in the air. “You hear that, Mary, it’s going to be perfect on our timeline, not yours.”

  Danny had stopped in earlier—per usual—but this time without his dolly. His hands had been empty, too. She’d nearly thrown her arms around him at that sight. Maybe Mary was done with her shenanigans.

  For some reason, Bethany doubted it. Mary had simply found another portal in the hope chest.

  Just then, the front door opened and Will stepped in. “Oh, good. You’re still open.” He crossed the store and stopped in front of the cash register.

  “Hey, Will. What brings you by tonight?”

  “You didn’t look like you were too busy, so I thought I’d pop in.”

  Hmmm . . . Will wasn’t exactly a customer that “popped in.” She reached behind her for her carafe and a paper cup, pouring him some of her Kahlúa caramel hot chocolate that she’d made for the evening crowd. “It’s good to see you.” Handing it to him, she couldn’t help but gaze from head to toe. “Look at you, all dressed up.”

  Will smiled and pressed his hand to his suit jacket. “Pretty different than my work overalls, huh?”

  “Yeah.” And he was clean shaven, too, his musky cologne smelled amazing. Was this Rachel’s influence? “What’s the occasion?”

  “My mom’s shop. I’m running it. I was working in there all day.”

  “What?” She paused to let that compute. “You’re running your mom’s wedding dress shop?”

  “Well, technically, we also sell formal gowns and semi-formal dresses.”

  “I stand corrected.”

  “Crazy, huh? I don’t know if you’ve heard the news. My dad fell down the stairs at my parents’ condo and broke his leg on Christmas.”

  Bethany put her hand to her mouth. “Oh, my goodness. I hadn’t heard. I’m so sorry.”

  “He’ll be fine. Mom’s going to be in Florida for a few weeks, though. She wanted to see about bringing my dad back here, but he’s got everything he needs in their condo and great doctors. Plus, the sunshine will be better for him than trying to recuperate in this cold.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “So, I’m stepping in. I’ve got enough help at the body shop, and things are a bit slow this time of year. They won’t miss me.”

  “Wow.” She grinned. “You’ll be working no doubt with Rachel then.”

  He gave a close-lipped smile. “Why do you say that?”

  “She and Marilyn coordinate dresses and flowers all the time.”

  “I didn’t know,” he said, and Bethany caught the flatness in his tone.

  Were Rachel and Will over already? It wasn’t like she’d ask him, but even if she wanted to continue the conversation, she couldn’t because Rachel walked in.

  “Will,” Rachel said coolly, stopping short of the counter.

  “Rachel.” He nodded. When she didn’t say a word, he started to leave. “See you around the block, Bethany.”

  “Bye, Will.” Bethany waved and then turned to her friend. “What is going on between you two?”

  “What? I said hello.”

  “Yeah, and there was enough ice in that greeting to melt all the snow off the sidewalk. Did you two get into a fight?”

  Rachel rolled her eyes. “Kind of. Yeah, I guess. It’s over.” She took the hot chocolate Bethany poured for her. “Besides, I told you it was just sex. We did it. It was fun. We’re done.”

  “Okay then.” Bethany might have believed her if her friend wasn’t fixated on what was happening across the street. Bethany stretched her head to see Will carrying in a sidewalk billboard. “Did you notice how nice he looked?”

  “Yeah,” Rachel admitted. “I mean, no. Who cares?”

  “Well, not you as you’ve clearly stated, but on the off chance you did care, you might find it interesting to know that he’s going to be running his mother’s shop for a few weeks.”

  “Will is running Belle Bridal Boutique?”

  “Yep.”

  Rachel stared out the window in silence before delivering a flat, “Wonderful.”

  “How was your Christmas?” Bethany asked, deciding to change the subject.

  Rachel turned back around. “It was really nice. I love having Donovan here. Although, did you hear about what the bonehead did last night?”

  “No. What happened?”

  “He nearly set my house on fire. I had the entire fire department there for two hours.”

  Bethany’s hand flew to her mouth. “You were Adam’s emergency?” She put it down. “I mean, a group of us were at the Lakeside Inn when the call came in. Is everything okay?”

  “Yeah, there’s barely any damage. It could have been a lot worse.” She raised an eyebrow. “I hear you have a date for the First Kiss Ball.”

  Bethany smiled. So Adam had been talking about her to Rachel. Was it a good sign that he told his ex that he’d asked her to the First Kiss Ball? “How do you feel about that?”

  “I think it’s great. You both are friends. You’ll have fun.”

  “Right.” Her heart deflated. Had he told Rachel they were going just as friends? Was that how he felt?

  Rachel moved toward the window and peered out. “Oh . . . my . . . God.”

  “What’s Will doing now?” Bethany asked, and removed her apron. It’d been another long day. She was eager to call it a night and perhaps fix herself a nice glass of wine. She’d be lying if she didn’t also admit she was anxious to get home in hopes that her neighbor would stop by. She’d even dressed up a bit in one of her sleeveless black dresses in case she saw him. She wanted to look nice.

  Rachel spun around in her boots. “You have to see this.”

  Bethany crossed the floor and stood next to Rachel who’d already opened the door. Dozens of women were running down Main Street. “Well, that’s unusual.”

  “Let’s find out what’s going on.” Rachel stepped out and Bethany followed, running smack into Pauline Maycock.

  “Oh my goodness, sorry, Bethany.” Pauline stopped and caught her breath. “I don’t think I’ve gotten this much exercise all year.”

  “Where’s everyone going?” Bethany asked as the door from the nail salon flew open across the street and a group of women rushed out. One customer blew frantically on her nails while running to keep up with the bunch.

  “They’re headed . . . to the . . . Sugar Spoon.” Pauline barely pushed out the last sentence, winded from running. “Adam’s doing the Batter Up spell tonight.”

  “He’s what?” Bethany stared down the street in the direction of the Sugar Spoon. Adam had said last night that he’d stop by and see Sheila, but wasn’t that only to practice? Was he actually attempting to do it again with an audience?

  Panic raced through her. If so, who would be his bachelorette? She needed to get down there immediately, because if her theory was correct and he outed the wrong couple who last kissed, all hell could break loose.
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  But then again, was she ready to reveal her theory to him? She’d wanted to do it all at once—including her confessing that if her theory was correct his name would appear in her batter because she was the mysterious blonde from the Holiday Hook Up.

  Rachel grabbed her hand and dragged her a couple steps. “Let’s go.”

  “Wait. I need to lock up first.” Bethany dashed in and grabbed her coat and purse from the back office. Minutes later, she jammed her key in the door and locked it.

  “Did Adam tell you who he was doing the spell on?” Rachel asked as they hurried down Main Street.

  “No. I didn’t even know he was going to do it.” Bethany stopped at the corner, shaking her head. Someone could get her heart broken or Adam could get his butt kicked. “This is all my fault,” she said out loud.

  Rachel scrunched her eyebrows. “What is your fault?”

  Realizing she’d said that out loud, Bethany downplayed it. “Nothing. You know how women get. If they see a man’s name in their batter they didn’t expect, it could be disastrous. I should have encouraged him to practice some more.”

  “Right. Like how Zoe freaked out when she saw Will’s name. Why he even agreed to be her Holiday Hook Up is beyond me?”

  Bethany eyed her friend. “You are interested in Will.”

  “No, I most certainly am not.”

  “Then why do you care? And how do you know it was Will’s name that showed up in the batter?”

  “It was, wasn’t it?” Rachel asked, looking sheepish.

  “Rachel, you tricked me.” She couldn’t help but chuckle. “Well, technically it was Marvin.”

  “Marvin?”

  “You know. Will’s first name.”

  Rachel put her hand to her mouth. “I totally forgot his first name is Marvin. I had sex with a Marvin.”

  “Apparently, a few times.” Bethany stopped and crossed her arms. “Tell me now. You do like him, don’t you?”

  “Definitely not. Maybe.” Rachel shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. We had a big fight last night before the fire and he stormed out of my house. He came back later on to check on me, but I was in no mood to talk so that conversation went worse than the first.” She turned her head back in the direction of the bridal shop. “He did look pretty hot in that suit.”

  “Yes, he did.” Bethany latched arms with her best friend as they rounded the corner. An all dressed up Will Jenkins could definitely spell trouble for one Rachel Foster. Her best friend status would surely give her a front row seat to watching how that potential pairing played out.

  A few minutes later, they reached the bakery, and indeed, it was packed with women. Rachel opened the door and Bethany stepped in, trying to get a good look at what was going on.

  Unable to see Adam, they eased through the crowd until they reached the counter. Adam stood behind it along with Sheila. He was pouring ingredients into a white mixing bowl, nodding his head to Sheila’s instructions. “Hi,” Bethany interrupted, and took off her coat.

  He smiled widely in her direction. “LB. I was hoping you’d be here. You look beautiful.”

  “Thank you.” She slid onto a stool, thankful she’d decided to wear the black dress. Plus, she’d left her hair down today in loose dark waves because it always ratcheted up her confidence when she had pretty hair.

  “You’re welcome.” He continued to smile directly at her.

  “What am I, chopped liver?” Rachel placed her black clutch on the pink countertop and slid onto the stool directly in front of Adam.

  “You always look pretty, Ms. Ex.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Ex.” She grinned. “Hi, Mrs. Stevens. I heard you came out of retirement.”

  “That I did.” She beamed as she pulled out two red velvet cupcakes with white icing and set them down in front of Bethany and Rachel. “On the house.”

  “Thank you,” Bethany said, and picked up the cupcake. It’d been quite a while since she had one.

  “Oh, wait. Bethany, hold on.” She bent down and disappeared behind the counter. When she popped back up, she held a blue and white candle, placing it in the middle of Bethany’s cupcake.

  “Thank you, Mrs. Stevens, but it’s not my birthday.” She watched as the old woman struck a match and lit the candle.

  “Call me, Sheila,” she said, and pushed the candle into the center. “Being in retirement, I’ve missed so many of your birthdays. Now make a wish.”

  Bethany smiled. Stopping in here with her parents and selecting a cupcake had always been the favorite part of her birthday. Sure, her mom also made her a nice cake, usually vanilla with chocolate icing, to share with her friends, but the birthday cupcake from the Sugar Spoon was hers alone to make her one secret wish. “Thank you, Sheila.”

  Butterflies fluttered in her stomach as her gaze rested on Adam. She’d always made the same wish that Adam Reed would have feelings for her. However, when her mom and dad asked her if she wanted to stop in for a cupcake for her seventeenth birthday, she’d said no. A month earlier, Adam had started dating Rachel.

  But now her birthday wishes were finally coming true.

  She glanced over at Rachel, who’d begun chatting with Pauline. Maybe it was finally time for her best friend to get her happily ever after—and who knows, perhaps it was with Will. There certainly was a lot of chemistry between the two. She closed her eyes, wishing her best friend would give Will a chance.

  She flung her eyes open. That’s it. Bethany, you’re brilliant. There was a way Rachel would have to give Will a chance. If Adam did the spell on Rachel, there was still a fifty-fifty chance that Will’s name would appear in the batter. It could prove to Bethany that he was still outing last kisses, but it might give Rachel some encouragement to explore whatever she had going on with Will if she believed he was “the one.”

  Zoe would probably be relieved to see she was no longer his intended. She glanced around the bakery for the frozen yogurt shop owner, but she was nowhere to be found.

  This could work. She tilted her head down and blew out the candle.

  “What did you wish for, Bethany?” Adam asked.

  She turned toward him and took a deep breath. Here goes nothing. “That you would do the spell on Rachel.”

  “Me?” Rachel swung her entire body in Bethany’s direction, wide eyes. “Why would you wish that?”

  “Why not? You deserve to know who your soul mate is just as much as any of these women.”

  Adam seemed to like the idea by the way he was nodding his head. “Let’s do it, Rach. I really feel I’ve got this right. Mrs. Stevens has been teaching me great concentration techniques.”

  “Sheila,” the matriarch corrected.

  “Sheila,” he repeated.

  By the apprehension on Rachel’s face, Bethany wasn’t sure she’d go through with it, but seconds later, her best friend sat up, pushed back her shoulders, and agreed.

  “Atta girl!” Adam clapped his hands and picked up the shimmering blue mixing spoon.

  “So what do I do?” Rachel asked, her voice a little shaky and her gaze fixed on the blue spoon.

  Bethany realized how desensitized she was becoming to spells, ghosts, and magical mixing spoons. She reached for Rachel’s hand. “It’ll be okay.”

  Adam nodded in agreement. “I got this. You sit pretty and concentrate on the man of your dreams. Maybe someone you saw last night.” He winked.

  Bethany bit down on her lip, twisting on her stool. Well, that was interesting. Did Adam just wink at his ex-girlfriend? And wasn’t he at her house last night?

  Oh wait. She brushed off the paranoia. Rachel had mentioned Will stopped by twice. Did Adam know about Rachel and Will?

  He had to, and of course, that must have been what the wink was about. Adam wasn’t the type of guy to string two women along, and he certainly wasn’t a jerk who flirted with his ex in front of the woman that he’d only twenty-four hours ago hinted he’d like to explore his feelings for.

  She settled onto her stool a
nd reached for her cupcake, taking a bite. If Adam was still outing last kisses, she’d have to tell him, but then again, Will could be Rachel’s soul mate.

  “Ladies, your matchmaker is ready.” Adam picked up the blue mixing spoon and dived into the batter using smooth even strokes. He closed his eyes, and she assumed he was repeating the spell.

  How did this get so complicated, and how was she going to tell said matchmaker the truth when all he wanted was to get the spell right and prove to this town that he had the magic chops that Emma and Abby had?

  Her heart squeezed knowing the information she was holding would deflate his. She watched silently.

  Suddenly, his eyes opened and he dropped his head down, looking into the bowl.

  “Oh boy.”

  “Who does it say?” Rachel peered in without any hesitation. “Oh, wow,” she said and moved her face back from the bowl, staring right at Bethany. “That’s unexpected”

  “Who is it?” Bethany leaned over. A giant wave of nausea slammed against her stomach, as she read the four cursive letters in blue.

  Adam.

  * * *

  What the hell? Adam stared into the bowl and then at Rachel. There’d been many years when this outcome wouldn’t have surprised him and maybe would have given him the boost he needed to propose without breaking into a pool of sweat.

  But things were different. He was different.

  He was finally ready for a lasting relationship, but not with Rachel.

  When the women swarmed around her offering hugs and congratulations, he felt a little relieved that he didn’t have to address what the bowl revealed.

  He glanced over at Bethany who hadn’t said a word. What was she thinking? He stepped over so that he was directly in front of her from the other side of the counter. “Hey.”

  “Hey,” she repeated.

  He could instantly see the water rimming her eyes. He nodded to the bowl. “I didn’t get it right this time.”

  “I know.”

  She did? Then why was she about to cry? He pointed to the kitchen. “Do you want to go somewhere private and talk? We could use Emma’s office.”