A Curvy Carol (A Curvy Girl Christmas #2)

12. Whit

12

WHIT

T he last time I’d seen Carolynn, we’d ended up under some mistletoe, so I’d given her a kiss on the cheek.

And ever since, I couldn’t help but wonder if she would ever see me as more than a friend.

I had no idea.

I did know Carolynn and I were on a roll with our list.

The next day, we planned to attend a candy-making class, which I was definitely excited about.

Garland had some of the best candy I’d ever tasted, but especially the best candy canes. We were supposed to. Make some in the class today.

Carolynn met me at Candy Cane Co., and after a quick, friendly greeting, we went inside.

There were a few other people there for the class, mostly kids.

The owner, Mr. Cole, was there to teach us himself. He pointed to some aprons hanging on the wall. “Before we begin, you’ll need to put those on.”

I grabbed a couple and went back to the counter.

“Thanks,” Carolynn said as I handed her one.

These aprons were definitely not normal aprons. They were bright green and designed to make you look like an elf.

I put mine on, doing my best to tie it in the back.

Carolynn was trying to do the same before saying, “How about we give each other a hand?”

“Good idea,” I replied, turning around.

She tied mine, and then I did the same for her. My hands shook as I worked the straps around her curves, and I swore I heard her breath hitch as my fingers brushed her back over her white sweater.

But any tension between us eased when we saw each other. I had to say, we looked pretty ridiculous.

Even more so when we pulled on some hairnets next.

Giggling, she snuck out her phone and snapped a picture of me. But I got her back by taking a picture of her, too. She looked so cute, laughing and trying to hide her face behind her phone.

The class made the funny outfits totally worth it, though. We learned how to roll and shape the candy. Then we got to pick our own colors.

“I’m definitely feeling the green,” I told Carolynn. “Maybe with some blue. What do you think?”

“Part of me wants to go classic red, but I think I’m going to do purple and pink. Just to be a rebel.” She winked. It was the cutest thing ever.

I nodded, trying to play it cool. “Solid choice.”

We got to work, and pretty soon, we had made our very first candy canes.

We got faster as we went along, and by the end of the class, we each ended up with several candy canes to take home with us. They even had ribbon to tie around the candy canes to give as gifts if we wanted to.

I snapped a quick picture of us at the end of the class. Then we set our candy canes aside and transformed back into humans.

As we stepped out of Candy Cane Co., I looked at Carolynn. “That was fun.”

“Yeah,” she said. “It was. And we got a ton of candy out of it too.”

As we made our way toward Cider Center, I got an idea. “I kind of want to take this candy back to the kids at the lodge,” I said.

“That sounds nice,” she said, walking beside me.

“Want to come with me?” I asked, hopeful. I wasn’t ready to be done spending time with her for the day. I tried not to think what it would feel like for Christmas to be over, our list all crossed off.

She smiled. “I’ll tag along.”

It was a longer walk back to the lodge, but we talked the whole time. I took in the sights, asking Carolynn about them as we went along. She explained that a statue of a guy riding a reindeer wasn’t Santa but the town’s founder. Hearing about a guy who’d created such a legacy made me smile. I wondered where we’d be without him.

Finally, we made it to the lodge. Just as I predicted, there were tons of kids around outside, playing in the snow. As soon as they saw me, they ran up to me.

I’d helped them make snowballs the other day, which apparently made me their hero.

“Whit! Look at the snowman I made,” one boy told me. It was a little lopsided but solid.

“Nice work, Roger,” I said, giving him a high five.

About five more kids were trying to talk to me at once. And I tried to sort it out in my head to respond.

Carolynn laughed. “I thought you didn’t have any friends in town yet.”

I grinned and shook my head. “I have you,” I quipped. I saw her cheeks turn pink, which gave me butterflies.

I turned back to the kids, secretly pleased with myself. “Who wants some candy?” I asked, holding up the bag.

That practically had the kids launching themselves at me.

Carolynn and I started handing out candy canes, making sure every kid got one.

“Can I have one for my sister?” Roger asked Carolynn.

“Why, of course,” she said, giving him an extra one. “That’s very kind of you.”

I saw his chest puff up with pride before he stuffed it in his coat pocket. Carolynn might have had a tougher outer shell around me, but around these kids? She was effortlessly warm and caring. It made me like her even more.

The kids ran off, already opening their candy. Carolynn and I turned to each other. “I’d call that a success,” she said.

“For sure,” I said, unwrapping my last candy cane for her. “What should we do next?”