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Chapter 23
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2024-12-04 09:23:48Related chapters
Meet-Cute Me Under the Mistletoe Chapter 24
*Patrick* Mistletoe Mountain’s Christmas Eve party never seemed special before. I hadn’t actually been to it since my parents died. Before that, I was young and I generally had fun, but I didn’t fully appreciate it until I went with Holly. When I was dating Emily, she always insisted that I use Christmas Eve as a vacation day. She didn’t work, of course, and I always ended up just following her around shopping or whatever she felt like doing. I would see pictures that friends shared on social media and I would be interested in going. But even when I asked Emily if we could go, she would just say that she already made plans for us out of town or something. With some distance from her now, I was actually free to do what I wanted. And I’d found someone I shared common interests with, someone I had fun with, someone I could confide in. She was someone… magical. And I didn’t intend to let her think otherwise ever again. Honestly, it was more than magical that I’d found Holly. It was a
Last Updated : 2024-12-04Meet-Cute Me Under the Mistletoe Chapter 25
*Holly*I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect Christmas. Usually, it was just me and my parents out at their house making cookies and watching Christmas movies. But this year, we had a couple of extra people to celebrate with. Early that morning, Patrick picked me up at home. This time, he gave me a twenty minute warning for his arrival so I had plenty of time to get dressed. It helped that I was already awake anyway. The excitement and anticipation of the day woke me up with the sun, so I had all of the time in the world. I ran out to his truck as soon as he pulled in the driveway, not even giving him the chance to be a gentleman and come to the door. He got out anyway and greeted me with a warm kiss that made my heart flutter. He opened the passenger side door for me and picked up Carol to put her in my lap. “You’re ready early,” Patrick said. I shrugged nonchalantly. “You know. It’s just my favorite day of the year and all, so I’m not really excited or anything.”He laughed
Last Updated : 2024-12-04Meet-Cute Me Under the Mistletoe Chapter 1
*Holly*I should have expected my parents’ bakery to be busy with the official kickoff of Christmas starting this weekend, but the mountains of boxes of Christmas cookies piled on the counter and near the back door were clear evidence that Christmas was in full swing. And I knew it wasn’t a minute too soon as I caught a glimpse of the first snow beginning to fall flake by fluffy flake outside the small window in the bakery’s back room. I topped one final swirl of baby Jesus’ hair on his sugar cookie-baked head. Perfect, I thought, but the sound of my mom calling to me from the front of the store brought me out of the zone. “Holly! You’re fixin’ to be late if you don’t get out of here soon!” she called. It was a sweet, sugar-coated, well-meaning threat. I was my parents’ only kid, and while I’d been a regular attendee of the Santa Claus Ball for my whole life, this was the first year I would be attending as a single adult woman. I technically could have participated in the one adult a
Last Updated : 2024-11-23Meet-Cute Me Under the Mistletoe Chapter 2
*Patrick*I couldn’t be upset that Mrs. Henson had some work for me on a Saturday. She was a nice, older woman who regularly asked for my services, even the non-electric related things. But I was willing to do anything for her because not only was she a close friend of my aunt, but she had also come to feel like a grandma to me. And after her husband of fifty-five years had passed away a few months ago, I’d started to give in to even more of her requests to come out and fix whatever small problem she was having–even on a Saturday.“I’m so sorry to have you come out again,” Mrs. Henson said as she wrapped her crocheted shawl around her shoulders. “I’m afraid I just don’t know how to do anything.”I noted the way she squeezed her eyebrows together with anxiety. I felt bad for her, and I didn’t want her to feel guilty for depending on me. It was only natural for a partner to feel a little lost after losing the person who had been faithfully by their side for over half their life. I gave
Last Updated : 2024-11-23Meet-Cute Me Under the Mistletoe Chapter 3
*Holly*“I can’t believe we showed up to this thing in a cookie on wheels,” Gretchen said. She wasn’t all for riding to her potential engagement in my parent’s bakery van. It wasn’t the most romantic car in the world, but it was the only option that would fit the three of us since mine was temporarily out of commission, Abigail drove a little 2013 Mazda Miata with only two seats, and Gretchen didn’t want to take her car since she planned to leave with Joey for a midnight showing of A Christmas Story. “Get over it, girl,” Abigail told her with a tough love tone. “If you really love him, you won’t care what kind of car you arrive at your engagement in.”Gretchen frowned with a little sad sigh. “Yeah, yeah. You might have a point.”We all stepped out of the car, helping each other fix our hair and masks. I wrapped my arm around Gretchen’s shoulders and gave her a light squeeze. “G, to be honest, you gotta let go. You’ve been so caught up in wondering if he’s going to propose or not tha
Last Updated : 2024-11-23Meet-Cute Me Under the Mistletoe Chapter 4
*Patrick*My heart raced as I placed my hand on her shoulder. I’d been trying to keep my eye on her so I wouldn’t lose her in the crowd of dancing Clauses and Mrs. Clauses. Every time I lost her, I’d find that shining emerald brooch on her dress. It hadn’t let me down yet. She relaxed. I breathed a sigh of relief. “I thought maybe you had found someone else,” she said timidly. I barely heard her over the muttering of the other people on the dance floor.I trailed my hand down her arm to take hold of her hand.“Two minutes!” the DJ called out.Just in time, I thought. Two minutes until the kiss…. I was still nervous, but growing more excited. “There's something about you,” I told her. The DJ piped up on the mic again. “Just a reminder, if you found the match you want to kiss, you’d better give them a squeeze so nobody takes them away!”“Well, we’d hate that now, wouldn't we?” I said, wrapping my arms around her back and hoping that I wasn’t going to make her uncomfortable. But she
Last Updated : 2024-12-01Meet-Cute Me Under the Mistletoe Chapter 5
*Holly*It was all I could do not to think about him all weekend. Actually, I was sure I’d failed at it because every time I saw a man on the street or in a restaurant or sitting in the car next to me at the stoplights, I wondered if it was him. I found myself on two occasions wearing the same shoes I’d worn that night so I could compare my height to the men I walked by. I started to feel pretty pathetic about it, actually.It was just one kiss, after all. I was sure there were a lot of other people at the party who were in the same boat as me. The fire alarm was unexpected, to say the least, but being pulled away from him like that–it was like someone was trying to snuff out a Christmas miracle.I was angry at the person who’d pulled the fire alarm, for whatever reason they had. Since there was no reason, I assumed it was mischief, probably some high school kids thinking they were being funny. But because of the
Last Updated : 2024-12-02Meet-Cute Me Under the Mistletoe Chapter 6
*Patrick*Emily's was the last face I wanted to see. I'd been having such a good time with the other volunteers and the intriguing woman.I honestly hadn’t thought about Emily since before the Santa Claus Ball. I’d been too focused on trying to find my mistletoe match. I’d checked all three bakeries in the next town over to no avail. Of course, it didn’t help that I didn't have a description of the woman I was looking for. All I knew was she was about five-foot-nine in heels and she was between twenty-one and twenty-five per the Santa Claus Ball’s rules for the first round of the Mistletoe Mystery.I should have known that Emily was going to pop back into my life again after I decided to get back in the dating world. She and I had been broken up for a year now, but she still weaseled her way back to me at least once a month. She’d probably heard from one of my friend’s friends that I attended th
Last Updated : 2024-12-03
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Meet-Cute Me Under the Mistletoe Chapter 25
*Holly*I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect Christmas. Usually, it was just me and my parents out at their house making cookies and watching Christmas movies. But this year, we had a couple of extra people to celebrate with. Early that morning, Patrick picked me up at home. This time, he gave me a twenty minute warning for his arrival so I had plenty of time to get dressed. It helped that I was already awake anyway. The excitement and anticipation of the day woke me up with the sun, so I had all of the time in the world. I ran out to his truck as soon as he pulled in the driveway, not even giving him the chance to be a gentleman and come to the door. He got out anyway and greeted me with a warm kiss that made my heart flutter. He opened the passenger side door for me and picked up Carol to put her in my lap. “You’re ready early,” Patrick said. I shrugged nonchalantly. “You know. It’s just my favorite day of the year and all, so I’m not really excited or anything.”He laughed
Meet-Cute Me Under the Mistletoe Chapter 24
*Patrick* Mistletoe Mountain’s Christmas Eve party never seemed special before. I hadn’t actually been to it since my parents died. Before that, I was young and I generally had fun, but I didn’t fully appreciate it until I went with Holly. When I was dating Emily, she always insisted that I use Christmas Eve as a vacation day. She didn’t work, of course, and I always ended up just following her around shopping or whatever she felt like doing. I would see pictures that friends shared on social media and I would be interested in going. But even when I asked Emily if we could go, she would just say that she already made plans for us out of town or something. With some distance from her now, I was actually free to do what I wanted. And I’d found someone I shared common interests with, someone I had fun with, someone I could confide in. She was someone… magical. And I didn’t intend to let her think otherwise ever again. Honestly, it was more than magical that I’d found Holly. It was a
Meet-Cute Me Under the Mistletoe Chapter 23
*Holly*The last few days had been a wild ride. But Glen and Pam confirmed that Emily was officially sent off to work at one of their companies on the coast. I was relieved, but the biggest weight was lifted off Patrick. He was like a whole new man. When I first met him, I thought he was lighthearted and cool and kind, but now, he was even more so. And those times he’d been a little flirty with me were just the tip of the iceberg. The man was the definition of suave. But mostly, it was the light in his eyes that shined the brightest. The blue in them became iceberg-clear. It was like a mirror of peace and happiness when I looked into them. I caught myself slipping into them again and again. After the Emily ordeal, we’d had a couple of days of work to put under our belts, but it was officially the day before Christmas Eve, and it was time for the biggest festival of the whole season. It was even grander than the Santa Claus Ball. Instead of being localized at the auditorium, the part
Meet-Cute Me Under the Mistletoe Chapter 22
*Patrick* “I have to say I didn’t expect you to call me,” Emily said. It hadn’t been easy, but I had called her to meet, saying we could talk over dinner. I asked her to meet me at the place of our first date, a little retro diner with plastic booth seats and red barstools. She showed up all dressed up like usual, her dark hair straightened so it fell just so over her shoulders and down her back. She wore red lipstick that drew attention to her full lips, and her eyes were winged with eyeliner that she thought made her look catty in all the right ways. She even wore a mini skirt, but at least she had enough sense to wear tights underneath. She was certainly trying to win me over with her looks.I shrugged and gestured for her to sit on one side of the booth. I sat across from her and folded my hands together on top of the table. “I gave it a lot of thought, and I decided to take you seriously,” I told her. She smirked. “I thought you might have reconsidered since you decided to br
Meet-Cute Me Under the Mistletoe Chapter 21
*Holly*A few days later, I felt a little strange, I had to admit, going to a diner with my love interest and his ex-girlfriend's parents. It felt like I had crossed some kind of line, but Patrick assured me that despite Emily’s behavior, her parents were good people. We could trust them, and they might be our last bit of hope at getting her to leave us alone.I let Patrick lead me by the hand into the restaurant. He laced his fingers naturally through mine, and I wondered if his heart wasn’t going as crazy as I felt. He was so casual about it, but this was the first time we’d held hands like this.And my heart was beating anxiously on top of that. We’d just made it to the table where Emily’s parents were waiting for us. The two of them looked kind enough. The lady was probably nearing fifty, and she wore her hair short and dyed a mahogany red color. She donned a pair of bit pearl earrings on her ears and a matching pearl necklace around her neck. The man’s hair was short and thinning
Meet-Cute Me Under the Mistletoe Chapter 20
*Patrick*I almost couldn’t contain my excitement as soon as I saw Holly. She looked lovely as ever with her long hair curled into waves. But her eyes looked a little duller than usual, more earthy and dry than like a bright emerald. I wanted to go to her, but as soon as she saw me, she turned away. At that moment it felt like someone had gut-punched me. She definitely saw me, and she definitely ignored me, too. I remembered what my aunt Louise had told me about giving her space while still letting her know I cared and wanted to see her when she was ready. I supposed she got the flowers when she went to work, but maybe she didn’t like them. Maybe she needed more time.So throughout our caroling tour, I kept my eye on her. I tried to sneak in, but her friends had barricaded her off. I closed in after the first couple of songs, and when her friend on the left side got hung up chatting with her boyfriend about the archway in someone’s yard, I used the moment to get next to her. Holly s
Meet-Cute Me Under the Mistletoe Chapter 19
*Holly*The morning was fresh with new-fallen snow. I wasn’t due to go to work until ten o’clock, so I spent my morning drinking hot cocoa and trying to read. But I couldn’t focus on the book, and my hot cocoa didn’t taste as sweet as usual. I didn’t even eat the whole first round of marshmallows. I hated to admit it, but I felt like my holiday spirit had been sucked dry. Maybe occasionally in the past, I would feel this way for a day or two because I felt like the world was too far beyond repair, or because I’d had a fight with my roommate back at college. Maybe once I had a crisis trying to decide if what I was going to school for was really what I wanted to do. Of course, I got over all of those. But this time, the nagging feeling of apathy was just hanging around far too long. Even Abigail was at a loss, and she was always the one to find a way to cheer me up. I’d never been lovesick before, and I wondered if this might be what it was like. I knew I needed to get over it. It wa
Meet-Cute Me Under the Mistletoe Chapter 18
*Patrick*I was starting to get particularly worried. It had been a full week since I heard anything substantial from Holly. I messaged her every day at least once, but the most I had heard back since Emily came to her workplace was that she was too busy to meet or check her phone often. I didn't quite believe it, but I gave her some space anyway. Something about the situation had caused her to pull away, not that I could blame her.But I maintained a little bit of hope. There was a kids’ Christmas craft event that we had talked about. We both had already planned to go to it, and I hoped I would see her there. Maybe I could get her to talk to me or at least listen. I had spoken to Emily’s parents and I was sure they were on my side. I knew if Holly would only give me a little bit more time, I could get rid of Emily and we could pick up right where we left off. I could seal that kiss that got interrupted. I could return her scarf and tell her I thought she was beautiful and amazing an
Meet-Cute Me Under the Mistletoe Chapter 17
*Holly*I felt bad for being curious. I had decided it wasn't my place, that it was better if I just left Patrick alone. But when I got a text message from a random number saying that Emily and Patrick were together in front of his house, my curiosity got the best of me. Were they fighting? Were they ending it for real? Could I possibly stop ignoring him and get back to hanging out with him like I really wanted?It was such a shame. I really wanted the best for Patrick. While I knew Emily’s problems had nothing to do with me, I could tell my involvement was just making things worse. I figured it would be better for everyone to get over this if I would just step back for a while. And then maybe later on–just maybe–I could start seeing him again when she had finally stopped. So I tugged on a sweater and a hat and slipped on my boots. I found Abigail standing in the kitchen, snacking on a bag of chips.“Abbi,” I said.She almost jumped out of her socks, flinging a few chips across the s
