Annabelle didn’t budge, but Meg sighed dramatically. “She’s intent on entering something in the Christmas baking contest.”
James’ shoulders dropped so low, he thought they might hit the floor. “You’re what? Why?”
Belle’s back straightened but still didn’t turn around. “I thought it would be fun. Since I’m going to be around anyway, why not try my hand at a contest, right?”
There was no reason for him to be so annoyed; it was just a stupid contest, right? But it was also something he and Daisy did every year together, and it was one of the few things at Christmas that brought him any kind of joy. And he knew that if Belle entered, there was absolutely no chance that he, or anyone else for that matter, could win. After all, she was a professional pastry chef, and he was just a self-trained cook in a small-town Inn. He felt the heat of anger rising to his cheeks as he watched her furiously punch down dough like she was possessed.
“Do you really think it’s fair for you to enter? The people that compete in this contest are just doing it for fun and it looks like you’re trying to win a TV baking show.”
Belle turned around with her flour-covered hands on her hips and a deep-set scowl on her face. “Says the guy who wins every year.”
“How do you…” James spun around and frowned at Meg, who threw her hands up in the air defensively.
“Don’t look at me! I didn’t say anything about anything.”
He fired a suspicious glare in Belle’s direction. “It doesn’t matter if I win or if I lose. What matters is you just show up here with your fancy New York City pastries and you want to show up everyone from the small town and it’s… rude! It’s a rude thing to do, Annabelle.”
Belle was clearly trying to stifle a smile, which just made James angrier. “Rude? It’s a baking contest, James. There are no rules about who can and can’t enter. And you, of all people, aren’t in a position to tell me what I can or can’t do.”
James was just about to shout when Meg rolled her wheelchair between them and laughed awkwardly. “Belle, honey, I left my pain medicine out in the living room. Could you go get it for me?”
Annabelle looked down at the flour she had all over her. “Really?”
“Yeah, I don’t feel like maneuvering myself around all of that furniture again. If it’s not in the living room, it’s in the bathroom, or the bedroom. Just look around, you’ll find it eventually.” Annabelle rolled her eyes and left the kitchen with a furious sigh. Once she was gone, Meg turned back to James. “The medicine is in my sweater pocket. She’ll be gone for a while. Now, listen to me, James Everley. I don’t know why Belle is doing this, but I don’t think it’s because she’s being cruel. Something has been going on with that girl since she got here, and I think…”
James shook his head emphatically. “No, Meg. I can’t do this again. I can’t let things in my life revolve around Annabelle’s problems. I have to get out of here.” He quickly started putting all of the food he had brought into the freezer and once the bags were unpacked, he turned to Meg and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “I’m sorry, Meg. But I need to go. If you need anything else, I’ll send else someone from the restaurant up.”
And then, before Annabelle could see him leave, or Meg could try and stop him, James rushed back out to the truck, and drove off a little too fast into the snowy night.
James walked through his front door with an exhausted sigh and leaned against the wall. After the stress of his time at Meg’s house, all he wanted to do was grab a beer from the fridge and collapse on the couch in a haze. But a second after opening his eyes, he heard a flurry of giggles coming from the kitchen and his stomach dropped in panic.
“What the…” he muttered as he walked toward the source of the noise. When he got to the kitchen, he discovered Addison standing at the stove stirring a pot of broth and Daisy sitting at the counter, her face a sickly shade of pale green.
“Hi, daddy,” Daisy said with a cheery tone that betrayed her appearance. James sat next to her and put his hand against her forehead. It wasn’t warm.
“Hey, baby. What are you doing home? And… Addison? What are you doing here?” Addison just smiled and went back to stirring the broth.
“I started to feel really sick and the only phone number Mrs. Mecucci had was for Addison because of dance class days. So, she called her to come get me. I’m sorry for ruining your night, daddy.”
James’ heart immediately melted; he leaned over and kissed his daughter on the top of the head and pulled her close. “You didn’t ruin anything, sweet girl. Why don’t you go curl up in front of the TV and I’ll bring you some ginger ale? Put on that show with the princess from mars that you like, and I’ll join you in a second.”
Daisy disappeared a second later, thrilled she was getting to watch TV so close to bedtime, and left James alone in the kitchen with Addison. He couldn’t explain why he was so uncomfortable, but he was, and all he wanted to do was spend the rest of the night with his daughter.
“Thanks for picking her up, Addison, but you can go ahead and go home. I’d hate to monopolize your Friday night now that I’m back. Hanging out with a sick kid doesn’t exactly make for an exciting time, y’know?”
Addison turned back around and shot James one of her dazzling smiles, her eyes wide and shining as she shrugged. “I really don’t mind staying if you need help. You know I love keeping Daisy company, and you deserve a night off yourself.”
Just go home. Please, James begged inwardly, hoping she would somehow get the message telepathically. But Addison just kept smiling at him, so it was clear she wasn’t going to go anywhere willingly. It didn’t help that he was still deeply cranky from his fight with Belle earlier and the only thing he wanted in the world was some peace and quiet with his daughter. He wasn’t going to get that as long as Addison was hanging around his house, hanging on his every word and staring at him constantly.
“Addison, please go home. Daisy’s sick, and I’m tired. It’s been a long day. I appreciate your help, but I’d really prefer to just spend tonight with my daughter, okay?”
In a flash, Addison’s smile disappeared and was replaced by a glare of white-hot anger. For a second, James thought she might throw the pot of broth in his face, but then, she transformed back into the same bright-eyed princess she always seemed to be.
“Why are you so angry, James? Is it because of that woman from New York?”
James felt his face drop in further exhaustion. If he didn’t feel like thinking about Belle anymore that evening, he certainly didn’t want to talk about her with Addison, of all people. “I really think it’s time for you to go, Addison.”
She didn’t push him further; she just picked up her bag from the kitchen table with a grin and then started for the back door. But before she left, she turned around with a serious stare.
“James, I just feel like I have to say… Annabelle Harrison is not worth all of this stress and heartache. But maybe there’s someone else who would be worth your time. Someone who has been right in front of you all along.”
And then Addison left.
James stood in the kitchen, stunned, unable to process what she had just said to him. He had suspected Addison might have a little crush on him, but that was way more obvious than he had ever seen her. She had basically just come right out and told him she was into him. The sheer idea of it made him feel a little queasy. Not only was she way too young for him, but Addison was one of his employees and his daughter’s babysitter. Everything about it weird, not the least of which was how she had specifically brought up Annabelle; as though she were a rival.
He had no idea how long he has been standing there, lost in a fog, when he heard Daisy yelling for him from the living room.
“Dad! Can I have some of that soup?”
He shook his head to clear away the cobwebs and poured the soup into a bowl. “Coming, baby. Coming.”
For the rest of the night, James focused on his sick little girl, but in the back o
f his head, he couldn’t stop thinking about his fight with Annabelle, or what Addison had said to him.
What had he gotten himself into?
9
Belle
Belle paced back and forth across the kitchen, annoyed that James had been so confrontational, and annoyed that her grandmother had scammed her to get her out of the kitchen.
Having the opportunity to win the baking contest was supposed to make her feel better about being back in Wintervale, but now she felt worse than she had before. Now, she was miserable and surrounded by baked goods she had no use for, so she sat down at the kitchen table and started eating the cupcakes she had discarded earlier. She had eaten at least four when Meg wheeled into the kitchen and laughed incredulously.
“Keep that up and you’ll need one of these yourself.”
Annabelle shoved another cupcake in her mouth and muttered, “traitor” through yellow cake and red icing.
Meg parked herself next to Belle and shook her head. “You can be as angry with me as you want, but if I didn’t get you out of the room, that was going to end in bloodshed. There were too many knives around, Belle.”
Annabelle furrowed her brow, then slid a cupcake across the table to her grandmother. “I haven’t forgiven you, but I need to get rid of these.”
Meg took a cupcake with a smile and tasted the frosting first. “This is amazing, kiddo. You never should have tossed them aside. Sometimes, it takes a little longer to realize that perfection isn’t the thing that brings you happiness in the end.”
“Subtle, gran,” Belle said with an eyeroll as she set her cupcake down. “What ever could you be trying to say?”
“I’m just saying, maybe it’s time to let your anger go, and realize that both of you have grown up. Sort of. In your own ways.”
Belle jammed the rest of the cupcake in her mouth and scowled. She was not in the mood to think with her heart, and she knew that was what her grandmother expected her to do. The problem was, Annabelle hadn’t survived the years since she left Wintervale by following her heart; she had been forced to think logically and rely on her creativity for everything in between. If she had followed her heart, she never would have left to begin with...
She started to choke on the cupcake and chugged down a glass of milk to clear it. “I don’t understand what you want from me, gran. What do you want me to say?”
Meg shrugged. “Nothing you don’t want to say, my darling. I just think this might be the time for a little bit of introspection. After all, Christmas is a time of forgiveness, isn’t it?”
“And who do I forgive? James? All he did was stay here and make a life for himself. A wonderful life. I don’t have any right to be angry with him.”
Meg reached across the table and took Annabelle’s hand in her own. “Or… perhaps you can forgive yourself for leaving. You made a wonderful life for yourself too, but I think sometimes that there’s another part of you that imagined something different. And you beat yourself up because you think you chose wrong.”
Belle dropped her head on to the table, barely avoiding the remaining cupcakes and icing-covered wrappers that were scattered around. If only her grandmother knew how much time she spent thinking about the choices she had made and whether or not they had been the right ones. At first, when she had left Wintervale, it was pretty much all she thought about. In the last couple of years, she had managed to distract herself with Arcadia, but there were still plenty of days where her mind drifted to James and what she had left behind.
Part of the reason she never came home to visit was because she didn’t want to face her past. And now, she had no choice but to look it square in the eye.
“Gran, why do you think I haven’t had a boyfriend or even really dated since I moved to New York?”
Meg shook her head, confused. “I figured it was because of your schedule. You’re a busy lady now, Annabelle.”
“No,” Belle said with a resolute sigh. “It’s because I haven’t ever been able to let go of him. Of what we had. It’s not that I don’t want to move on. Obviously, I do. But James Everley was the first man I ever loved, and I don’t think I can just move on from him. I can’t imagine ever feeling for anyone what I felt for him. So, what do I do, gran? If I can’t move on, what do I do?”
Meg shrugged and squeezed Belle’s hand tightly. “That’s up to you, Annabelle. But as long as you’re in Wintervale, maybe it’s best if you make peace with James instead of fighting him at every turn. I don’t think it’s going to do either of you any good to hold on to this grudge forever. Let it go, Belle. You don’t have to move on if you don’t want to, but let the pain go.”
Annabelle took a deep breath, partially to stop a round of cupcake-induced hiccups from coming on, and partially to avoid crying. Her grandmother always had a way of cutting right to the heart of her problems, and she was doing a number on them tonight. She wasn’t sure if it was going to be as easy as just waving goodbye to all of the pain and sadness she had been feeling for all these years, but Belle knew that in the end, Meg was right…
Her pain wasn’t the answer. She had to let it go.
The next morning, Annabelle woke up with a renewed sense of purpose that she hadn’t felt in a long time. Moving into a new chapter with James wasn’t going to be easy, but she knew she would have to take the first step. And that first step would involve an apology.
She had acted like a jerk the night before and was going to have make some sort of gesture to show she was sorry. Just saying the words had never really solved problems between them when they were kids, but she found she could always sway James back to her side if she showed up with something sweet to accompany the apology.
Nothing she had made the night before was good enough, so Belle set about making a tray of rich, rum-soaked canelés. They were a favorite at Arcadia and would sell out every time they were offered in the display case or as a dessert option. As she concocted a few in each of her favorite flavors for James, chocolate, maple and coconut, she found herself getting excited at the idea of baking for him again. It had been years since he had tasted her food; her style had changed so much, and she hoped that he would love it as much now as he did then.
Just as Annabelle was removing the crispy pastries from their tins, Meg wheeled into the kitchen from her bed on the couch with a yawn. When she got a whiff of the fresh coffee brewing and the baking dough, her eyes went wide. “How long have you been awake, baby girl?”
Belle smiled. “A while. I want to apologize to James with something special and this is one of my best. I made a few extra for you. But no eating them until they cool! I’ll pour you some coffee in the meantime.”
Meg watched Annabelle flit around the kitchen with the perkiness of a fairytale princess. She hadn’t seen her granddaughter acting so lighthearted in a long time.
“Did you get sprinkled with fairy dust while you were sleeping, Belle?”
“Jeez, I’m not acting that different, am I, gran?” she asked as she slid a cup of piping hot coffee across the counter to Meg.
“I think you know as well as I do that the answer to that question is ‘yes.’”
Annabelle laughed as she poured some coffee for herself and checked the temperature on the canelés. Her grandmother was right, but she didn’t have time to sit around and think about it. She still had to take a shower, get dressed, and get over to the Middle Road Inn before the lunch rush started. She knew it had the potential to get crazy downtown on the weekends before Christmas when all of the families were out together doing their shopping or visiting with the Santa in the town square. So, it was best to get moving and get there as early as possible.
Once she was clothed in what she considered a properly apologetic outfit, jeans, a baggy white sweater, and her favorite boots, Belle put all of the remaining canelés in a Christmas tree shaped tin and grabbed her coat off of the rack. She was almost out the door when she heard Meg call out to her from the living room.
“Don’t forget to le
ave the door unlocked for the nurse! And don’t drive too fast down the driveway! And don’t do anything silly that you’ll regret!”
The last one stopped Annabelle in her tracks. “What could I possibly do in the middle of a restaurant that I would regret?”
Meg wheeled herself around the corner and wagged a finger at her granddaughter. “You know what I mean. Do what you need to do but be smart about it.”
“You are frustrating as heck, gran,” Belle answered, throwing her free arm in the air. “One minute I should go talk to him, the next minute I’m being impulsive! Which is it?”
“Don’t be so dramatic. I’m just saying is all.”
Annabelle groaned in frustration as she stomped out the door, passing the nurse, Cassie, on the stairs. “Do you mind if I borrow your truck again?”
Cassie scowled, but handed her the keys anyway. “The roads are icy today, so watch yourself. And please don’t be gone long. Also, maybe look into renting something if you’re going to be here a while? This isn’t really part of my job description.”
Belle took the keys and nodded with a friendly smile. “I’ll look into it today. While you’re here, help yourself to any of the baked goods on the table. And I’ll bring you back gas money!” The last thing she wanted to do was anger the woman who was taking care of her grandmother during the day, so it seemed like the best course of action was to keep her as happy as possible. If that meant bribing her in return for the use of her truck for a few more days, it seemed worth it.
Cassie raised her eyebrow suspiciously, but then peeked through the house and saw the table full of pastries from the night before; suddenly, her expression brightened, and she nodded happily. “Yeah, alright. That sounds good.”
Belle thought she was free to make her escape at last when she heard Meg yell from the living room, “Don’t forget to check on the store!” Annabelle sighed and hurried away before anymore requests could be made of her. She loved being able to help her grandmother, but all of the emotional stuff was already exhausting her and if she had to start fielding Christmas shoppers too, she wasn’t sure she would survive the rest of her time in Wintervale. Meg did a decent business all year despite having a super niche concept, but when the holidays hit, and all of the pet-lovers wanted to spoil their fur-babies, things became insane at Meow & Then.
A Sugar Cookie Christmas: A Sweet Holiday Romance (Wintervale Promises Book 1) Page 6