All Chapters of Meet-Cute Me Under the Mistletoe: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

*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

*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

*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

*Holly* I was feeling a lot of things. Between seeing the snow fall outside my window, my sweet little Carol setting her paw on my foot, and the oh-so-many thoughts hissing in my mind about the last week, I could not focus on my homework. Memories of the velvet-suited mystery man kissing me under the mistletoe kept popping up between every sentence in my Information Literacy assignment. I had talked to both Abigail and Gretchen about it, because of course I had to. Gretchen kept asking if the mustache and beard combo had put a damper on it while Abigail was strangely silent about it. Yes, the mustache was there, and it may have been a little tickly on my top lip, but it didn’t ruin the kiss, not in the slightest. In fact, in my memories, there was no mustache. It was all floating candles and angels singing and fireworks exploding in the background. But, of course, that could have just been the adrenaline of making such a move.

Holly The day started with a dream. I was standing in front of the biggest Christmas tree in town, the one in the center of the square, right outside the city courthouse. It looked a lot like the tree from the Santa Claus Ball. It was decorated with the same giant intricate Christmas balls, silver tinsel, and beautiful vintage ornaments. Red bows were tied all over it, and a giant crystal star shone at the top of the tree.This time, the mistletoe seemed to be floating in the sky. I was admiring it, and it began to snow. The snow was almost blue, and it sparkled as if enshrouded in magic. Then, something caused me to turn around. I came face-to-face with a man dressed in a red velvet suit, but his face was covered with a mask. When he spoke there was no sound, but I felt my heart begin to race as he leaned in toward me and gently placed a hand on my cheek. Just like that night, I rose up on my tiptoes and met the mystery man’s lips. I recalled the way I got so lost in it that it fe