Christmas in Bayberry

If she could let go of reality for just a little while, it’d be so easy to imagine that Wes was here in Bayberry for good. Her gaze caught his. Her heart leapt into her throat.

They stared into each other’s eyes for what seemed like forever. The truth was that she wanted him here—she wanted to share this very special time with him. A smile lit up his face. He was always handsome, but when he smiled, he was drop-dead gorgeous.

His smile broadened. Oh no. Did he know what she was thinking? Heat rushed up her neck and set her cheeks ablaze.

Kate turned away, focusing on situating the little ceramic cow and sheep around the manger. She moved them this way and that, giving herself a moment to regain her composure.

Even so, she couldn’t stop thinking how lucky she was to be able to share this time with Wes. She might not get to have him forever, but sharing right now wasn’t so bad. She watched as he untangled a strand of lights. It wasn’t so bad at all.

This was cozy. Very cozy.

It’d be so easy to think of this as a date.

Wes looked from the string of lights he was wrapping around the tree to his beautiful hostess. Surrounded by all these holiday decorations, she was in her element. She practically glowed as she hustled around the room, making everything merry and bright. Even he was getting in the holiday spirit.

With all of the lights strung, Wes knelt down and plugged them in. The Christmas tree lit up in a colorful glow. “See? We’re almost done.”

“Not quite.” Kate moved to the kitchen. “We haven’t done the most important part.”

“And what would that be?” Wes moved to the kitchen island and sat down.

She removed the popcorn maker from beneath the cabinet and placed it on the counter. She didn’t say a word as she grabbed a container of kernels and a large bowl.

“You want a time out for a snack?” he asked.

“Not quite.” She filled the popcorn maker. “This is for the tree.”

He’d thought stringing popcorn was something they did in the movies, not in real life.

She smiled as the popcorn maker hummed in the background as it warmed up. She’d already gathered the supplies they’d need and placed them on the island.

In no time, they were seated on the couch with a fresh bowl of popcorn between them. He wasn’t sure about this. He’d never made a popcorn string before. And he was not familiar with a needle and thread. He certainly felt like a fish out of water.

“I don’t know about this,” he said, not wanting to make a fool of himself in front of her. Because it mattered what she thought of him. He hadn’t wanted to admit it before, but it was the truth.

“Oh, come on. You can do this.” She moved the bowl onto her lap and shimmied closer to him on the couch. “Can you thread a needle?”

“Uh…” He stared at the needle and thread.

And then he watched her dampen the thread between her glossy lips. With ease, she put the thread through the eye of the needle. “See. Easy.”

He skipped putting the thread in his mouth and went straight to aiming the thin thread through the impossibly small eye of the needle. His first try missed. The second try missed again. And the third try missed too.

“Here.” Kate held out her hands to take the thread and needle. “Let me.”

She didn’t have to ask him twice. He handed over the items. And again, she moistened the thread and easily threaded the needle.

“You make that look so easy,” he said.

“Practice. Lots of practice.”

“Do you always do this?” Wes asked.

“Always. It was something my mother used to do when I was a kid. She even got my father to join us. What I loved most about it was that we were all together.” She slid a piece of popcorn down the thread. “How about you?”

He stabbed a popcorn kernel with the needle. It fell apart. He sighed as he glanced over at Kate. She made it look so easy. He reached for another kernel to try again. “How about me what?”

“What are some of your favorite Christmas memories?”