She knew he was still angry with her, but she wished for now, during this moment he wouldn’t such an asshole. She was nervous enough as it was .
They turned to the crowd, plastering fake smiles on their faces .
“Let’s kick this night off,” Evan announced. “We have a special treat. Cami Addison is going to sing for us. Our hometown star.” She wasn’t sure if he meant that as a compliment or a snub .
Everyone clapped and Cami saw a few phones pop up to record the song .
Evan stepped back, leaving Cami at the front of the stage by herself. To her right, a teenage boy gawked at her until Claudine Francis poked him. He hit play on the sound system and the town square was filled with music .
She was suddenly filled with panic that she wouldn’t remember the words to the song. But after the intro, they came to her. It was like riding a bike. The words were there in the back of her mind and then on her tongue. She saw the smiling faces filling the square. People she hadn’t seen in years .
People who used to be her neighbors. Kids she went to school with. Friends of her aunt. Customers at the shop. And their voices echoed in the air. When she looked out into the crowd they were all singing .
When the last note faded, their eyes turned to the tree. It was on her left, along with Evan and an enormous block with a gold button on top. Did that thing really light the tree ?
It was impossible to escape from his eyes. They caught hers just as the crowd counted down .
Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. Five. Four. Three. Two .
Cami realized she was holding her breath as if that would somehow hold the moment between her and Evan .
One.
He pressed the button, as the crowd hollered and cheered. The lights sparkled on the branches, starting at the bottom and spiraling to the star at the very top. Cami remembered when she was a little girl, she thought the Harpers Point tree had to be the tallest Christmas tree in the world. There was nothing as magical and beautiful as watching the lights come to life .
As soon as she glanced back from the star the moment was gone. Evan looked away and started shaking hands with the people next to him. Someone patted him on the back and he turned away from her. It was hard not to feel like he meant something by the gesture .
“Miss Addison, can I take that?” The boy had returned to pack up the microphone .
“Oh, of course.” She handed it to him and slowly walked down the stairs as if in a daze .
“Can I get you some cocoa?” he offered .
“No thank you. That’s sweet .”
She passed through the crowd, the lights on the tall tree twinkled behind her. She stuffed her hands in the pockets of her red wool coat. She hadn’t even had a chance to grab gloves before she ran out. Now that she was no longer nervous, she felt cooler, even cold. Cami walked the two blocks back to the shop toward the water. She could see a few boats bouncing in the harbor. Some of them were already decked out with a few decorations for the flotilla. Wreaths made from fresh greenery. Big red velvet bows tied on the handrails .
She paused on the sidewalk under The Sweet Treat’s sign. The door was cracked open and the lights were still on. Behind her, the town was celebrating the kickoff of the season. They celebrated being together. They celebrated the excitement and the joy of what the next few weeks would bring .
She pushed the door ajar and walked in the shop. It didn’t feel right to stay. She walked behind the counter, hooking her coat on the knob where her aunt used to hang the aprons .
She’d been back a week. In that time she had managed to unpack most of the boxes in her apartment, clean the open space connected to the candy shop, and make a decision about The Sweet Treat . She was going to get it running for Christmas .
When she went through her aunt’s things she had found her old wooden recipe boxes. She wouldn’t be able to fill the shelves with everything that used to be in the glass cabinet, but she had a handful of recipes that would bring in customers, starting her aunt’s famous fudge .
First, she had to get the damn ovens working. If she c
ouldn’t figure out what was wrong on her own, she was going to have to call an appliance repair man, and that was out of her budget. She was barely stringing enough money together from her song royalties. There wasn’t room to afford setbacks. Non-working ovens, was a huge setback .
Cami pulled her ponytail, straightening it on her head and sighed. She opened the industrial oven door and looked inside. She couldn’t see anything blocking the burners. She touched all the pieces to make sure nothing was loose. It seemed fine .
She closed the door, set the temperature, and shoved her index finger on the ignitor. The button slid all the way in. Nothing happened. Her shoulders slumped. There wasn’t a spark, not even the slightest hiss of gas. Cami groaned .
She moved on to the second oven, going through the same routine. She pressed the ignitor twice, more irritated this time .
“Ugh, why won’t you work ?”
“Something wrong ?”