Blame It On The Carols (Sugarplum Falls #6)

Nine | Aiden

Nine

Aiden

I was an idiot for agreeing to allow Jill to use the stage at the bar for rehearsals. I knew she was just doing it to force me and Makayla to spend more time together. There was nothing wrong with the church, which was where the ladies usually practiced. They had only recently started coming to karaoke night to get some extra sessions in there, but even then, it wasn’t like you could really call it rehearsal when they had to share the time with everyone else who wanted to sing.

I was in the back when I heard the front door open and stiffened, not sure if I was ready to see her again. I had tried to force myself to accept that I would see her while she was in town, but I hadn’t quite expected to see so much of her so soon.

“Hey,” I said, shoving my hands in my pockets as I attempted to smile at Makayla and her mom.

“Hi, Aiden,” Jill cooed, coming in to give me a hug. “Thank you again for letting us do this. It means so much to the ladies that we can squeeze in some extra rehearsal time with Makayla before the big event.”

“Not a problem,” I said, only half lying. It wouldn’t be a problem under any other circumstances, but given that it was forcing me and Makayla to spend more time together, it felt like one.

“This is from Sam,” Makayla said, extending one of the to-go cups in her hand to me as her mom lifted her phone and held it up for us to see before walking off to take a call.

“Thank you.” I tried not to frown but was confused as to why Sam would send her with a drink for me, especially when I hadn’t ordered anything. Not only that, he knew I didn’t drink the fancy lattes he made because I preferred my coffee black. Yet this was a peppermint mocha, something I never drank.

Makayla watched me as I pulled the stick out that was keeping it from spilling and took a sip. Her eyebrows rose as she waited for my reaction.

I turned my head and coughed, shaking my head to clear the sweetness overload that was overpowering my tongue.

“Not a fan?” she asked, head cocked to the side as she continued studying me.

I shook my head and wiped my mouth.

“Not really.”

“Then why did you order it?”

“I didn’t.” I set it on the counter behind me and watched as her lips parted slowly to take a sip of hers.

“Really? That’s weird.” She continued to frown as Jill made her way over to us, clutching her phone to her chest.

“I’m so sorry, but I need to leave for a bit. Shirley fell in the tub, and I need to go see if she’s okay. I might need to take her to the hospital. I’ll be back around two with the girls.”

“I thought Shirley just got her bathroom redone and had a walk-in shower installed?” I questioned, both Makayla and I watching as Jill blushed profusely.

“Oh. Yes. You’re right. She must have meant that she fell in the shower.”

“I thought you said the girls were coming at one, not two?” Makayla asked, pinning her mom with a look.

“Umm. I got a message that Susie needed a little more time to feed her fish. You know how squirrely and demanding they can be.” Jill laughed nervously, her eyes widening so big that they started to scare me. “Best to let her deal with that, and then we can rehearse later. Okay. I’ve got to go. Be back later. Bye!”

She rushed out the door before either of us could say anything.

“Was that weird to you too?” I asked, scrubbing a hand down the scruff dotting my jawline.

“Yup. Just as weird as Sam insisting that he was sending me with an order you placed but were unable to come get it. And on top of that, it wasn’t even a drink you like.”

“Gotta love small towns and meddling people,” I said with a heavy sigh, tilting my head back on my neck.

“Indeed. But on the plus side, Sam sent over two candy canes and said we had to share them.” She handed me one, and I shook my head, knowing exactly what that fucker was up to. Sam was definitely going to hear about this.

“What?” she asked with a nervous laugh as I took it. “Are they poisoned or something?”

“No, not at all. Sam has this thing he does with the candy canes,” I explained, taking hers and setting it on the bar top beside mine. “If you put them together, they make a heart.”

“Oh.” She rubbed her lips together as we both stared at them. “Well, that’s very convenient, isn’t it?”

“It seems we’re being set up, whether we like it or not.”