Page 9

She doesn’t turn around.

I don’t expect her to.

She leaves me alone in a shelf-bare aisle with only my thoughts and the sound of Michael Bublé crooning about a white Christmas for company.

Chapter 5

Beth

The jingle bells above the front door of Dash Away Books jangle merrily, and I turn to see my brother walking inside my bookstore.

I step away from the garland I’m affixing onto the checkout counter at the front of the store and open my arms for a hug. “Well, well, well, hey, stranger.”

“Yeah, yeah. It’s good to see you too.” Jack obliges me with a hug, but he quickly glances around the shop. “Is Ivy here yet?”

“Don’t you know?” I snort. “You just spent the weekend with her.”

Ivy is my full-time employee at the bookstore, and she and Jack have been dating for two years. The three of us had a cozy Thanksgiving Day in Dasher Valley before Jack and Ivy left to spend the weekend with her parents in Larkspur, a small lakeside town in Northern Wisconsin, and I stayed here to handle the holiday shopping madness.

“I know.” Jack scowls at me. “But she doesn’t start her shift until eight, so I wanted to beat her here.”

“Why?” I cross my arms, my hackles up. “What’s going on? Everything okay with you two?”

Ivy is good cheer personified. I swear, she is everything my twin brother needs. He totally outkicked his coverage with her, and if he does something to mess up that relationship, I might disown him and beg Ivy to take me with her.

“Of course everything’s okay. More than okay, actually.” Jack looks over his shoulder before leaning his head toward me. “I asked her parents for their blessing this weekend.”

“Are you serious?” I slap Jack on the shoulder three times and do a small jig.

“Easy, killer.” Jack takes a step back, but he’s grinning.

“And?” I prod, slapping his shoulder again.

“They said they were honored that I asked them and that they’d be thrilled if Ivy chose to spend the rest of her life with me.”

I close the distance between us and grip Jack in a fierce hug.

“This is the best news.” I pull away, keeping hold of his arms. “When are you going to ask her?”

“Not exactly sure. Sometime this month.”

I squeal and do another happy dance.

Jack chuckles. “You think it’s okay to do it in December? She won’t think it’s too close to Christmas?”

“Heck no. I think it’s perfect. You know how much Ivy loves Christmas.” It’s one of the things she and I bonded over initially. We both can’t get enough of all things holiday.

“Well, I haven’t worked out the details yet, but I will.”

“I’ll help you if you want. Let me know what I can do.”

“Right now, I need you to play it cool.”

“You’re giving her grandma’s ring, right?”

Jack nods, and my eyes go misty.

Our grandma and grandpa took in two wayward ten-year-olds whose entire world was flipped upside down. They got us into therapy and gave us stability—a welcome relief after most of our lives at that point had been spent on tour buses and backstage at sold-out concerts. Our grandparents live in Florida now. They love the year-round sunshine and the golf cart–only retirement community there.