Heart of Christmas (Curiosity Bay #4)

19. Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Nineteen

Audrey

The scent of vanilla swirled through the air as my oven dinged and Bethany whistled into the kitchen.

“I can’t wait to try these.”

I laughed and shook my head as my sisters and mom came in. “We have to let them cool before we can decorate them.”

“Can I just snag one?” She held up her finger. “Just one?” Bethany pleaded.

“Okay, fine.” I pulled out the tray with twelve perfectly cooked cookies and set it on a potholder on my stove.

Bethany bounced over and reached for the closest cookie when I slapped her hand away.

“What? You said I could have one.” She pouted as my sisters chuckled.

“You have to wait until I put them on the cooling rack. They’re finishing off on the sheet. Trust me. This is what gives them that golden goodness.”

“She’s very serious about her Christmas baking.” Mae smiled, walking over to hug me.

She’d just returned with Tyler, dropped off her bags at her house, and drove right over to hang out for our annual Christmas decorating party.

I did the baking. They did the decorating.

“I’m just throwing it out there that contrary to popular belief, I am eating for two,” Mae announced. “I don’t buy into this business about not needing that much more food. I’m starving nonstop.”

My mom chuckled and nodded. “I was the same way.”

“Mae, you can have as many as you want. Twelve down. One hundred and eight left to bake,” I announced.

“Seriously?” Bethany shook her head. “That’s a lot of cookies.”

“We drop a couple of dozen off at the nursing home, a couple of dozen at the library, some more at the marina for all the boaters, and then we eat the rest with no shame, and it sounds like Mae will be on top of that task.”

“Shame is unnecessary in this world.” Bethany snagged one of the cookies I’d put on the cooling rack and took a bite. “Oh, my gosh. So buttery.”

I smiled. “Glad you like the cookie.”

“And I’m not ashamed that I’ll eat a dozen here myself, and I’m not eating for two. Guaranteed.”

I watched Bethany happily walk over to her cup of coffee as my sisters pestered Mae with questions about her honeymoon.

But without warning, Mae turned and stared at me. “I heard you had quite the adventure while I was gone.”

I laughed and glanced at my mom, whose brows anxiously raised. She’d apparently filled Mae in enough.

“The snowstorm caught us all off guard.” I nodded in agreement.

“Not what I’m talking about.”

“What exactly are you referring to?” I turned around and plopped a rounded spoonful of cookie dough on the sheet.

“MacGregor,” she said flatly. “Even Steph thought he was ‘fire’, and my little barista is in an anti-male state right now.”

I chuckled and continued to stare at my cookie sheet. “He’s definitely easy on the eyes.”

“Oh, Mae. He’s such a nice fellow. Do you know he went and got Audrey a latte early in the morning in the middle of a catastrophic snowstorm?”

I laughed and shook my head, turning around. “Mom, it wasn’t that big of a storm.”

“It knocked out ferry service, didn’t it? And power to much of the island.”

My sisters laughed as I shoved in the cookie tray.

“Just give me the Cliff-Notes version,” Mae said, pulling out a seat at the table and motioning toward me. “Take a load off and spill the tea.”

“There’s no tea to spill. Honestly, not much happened. MacGregor showed up at your wedding. I saw him, told him off with your head , argued with him, and ignored him, but he wouldn’t go away. Then he dillydallied in our store and missed the last ferry off the island in the middle of the snowstorm.” I shrugged. “He’d checked out of the hotel and wound up sleeping in his car, and being the kind soul that I am, I offered him a room at my house with one condition.”

“What was that?”

“That he’d leave in the morning.”

“But the ferries were still canceled,” my mom chirped, clapping her hands together. “Fate was stepping in.”

Mae chuckled and shook her head but observed me. “So, thanks for the logistics rundown, but I’m looking for how you felt seeing him again after all these years. Mom said it was like over a decade ago?”

Bethany snuck over and snatched another cookie while Emily and Amelia did the same.

“Well, after discovering what happened all those years ago, I felt at peace.”

Mae nodded. “Well, that’s good.”

“And then the confusion flooded in… the doubt.” I groaned. “And that’s when I realized I’m truly a mess. MacGregor is a nice guy. Really nice, and he’s gorgeous. I think he’d been hung up on me all these years like I was on him, but it’s all been a figment of our imaginations. We don’t know who we are now, only who we were then.”

“And I didn’t help matters,” Bethany said, shaking her head.

“We heard,” Emily said, laughing.

“What can I say? Mae’s wedding was beautiful, and I felt nostalgic. I had no idea he was so into Audrey.” Bethany looked at me and grimaced. “I’m so sorry for screwing things up. I never would have hit on him had I known.”

“You didn’t screw anything up at all. You both had every right to explore things or…”

“Wait.” Mae’s eyes widened at Bethany. “You slept with him?”

Bethany scowled and shook her head. “No way. He totally brushed me off, and once I figured out that, yet again, a cute guy had the hots for an Evans girl, I backed off.”

Bethany shuffled over and offered a tentative smile. “He really likes you, Audrey. We were young, and I was dumb back then.” She blinked, and her lip twitched into a frown. “But we never shared anything emotional. He was just a good…” She looked at my mom and blushed. “All I’m saying is that, unlike the time you shared with him, I didn’t experience that at all. He was just fun MacGregor.”

“Fun MacGregor,” I whispered unintentionally.

The cookies dinged, and I popped out of the chair, relieved I had something to focus on besides the awkward energy running through the kitchen.

“Well, Merry Christmas,” Emily said, taking another cookie. “These are fabulous. You should send some to MacGregor.”

“Great idea,” my mom said, nodding.

“I suppose.”

It had been about a week since MacGregor left the island, and we’d been texting frequently. Sometimes, fun and flirty, and other times, full of meaning and hope. Having him in my life was nice, but I didn’t plan on sharing that tidbit with my family. Some members were far too eager to ship me away to get hitched.

And that wasn’t going to happen with MacGregor.

“I have noticed that you haven’t headed off to Seattle since MacGregor left,” Amelia teased.

“It’s the holidays.”

“That hasn’t stopped you before,” Amelia said, grinning.

“Just because you all have found your person doesn’t mean it’s in the cards for me. I don’t think it’s realistic that four out of four sisters get married. There’s bound to be one who lives a life of blissful solitude.”

Bethany snorted and shook her head. “With all due respect, I feel like the fifth sister here, and that should be my job. Not yours.”

I smiled at Bethany. “You don’t want to get married?”

“No. I might for like a nanosecond, but then the thought disappears quickly.” She shivered. “Thankfully.”

“So, why, if I say I don’t want to get married, it’s a big deal, but when you say you don’t want to get married, it isn’t?”

“Because one of us is lying.” Bethany’s grin widened, and I swatted at her with a Santa potholder.

My sisters chuckled, and my mom walked over to the coffeepot. “You two had chemistry, Audrey. We all saw it.”

“Chemistry doesn’t mean that—”

“It means everything.” My mom spun around with a cup full of steaming coffee and blew on it. “How often do you feel connected to another human being, especially a male?” Her eyes stayed on mine. “I mean, truly connected.”

I let out a deep breath. “Not very often.”

“Your chemistry was off the charts. All he had to do was look at you, and I thought one of you would combust.” Amelia twisted her lips into a playful pout. “And I honestly thought that our chat at the antique store before the Christmas lighting would turn your thoughts around on the subject.”

My phone buzzed on the table, and Amelia’s eyes landed on the screen.

“It’s him,” she chirped.

“What did he say?” everyone asked as I took back every good thing I’d thought about having such a close family over the years.

I dashed over and snatched the phone away from all the prying eyes.

“You guys are terrible.”

Emily completely ignored my statement and smiled. “So, you two are texting?”

“Yeah. Quite a bit, actually.”

“And what did he say now?” My mom looked like she was about to float away in a flurry of excitement.

I sighed and chuckled, knowing this wouldn’t disappear unless I read his text.

How’s the cookie-making going?

“He knew you were going to make cookies today?” My mom eyed me suspiciously.

“We’ve texted since he left for Wyoming. We’re just friends. That’s what friends do. We share what we’re doing in a day.”

“Every single day?” Mae asked, taking the tray of cookies out of the oven for me.

“Yeah.” I nodded, feeling my stomach turn into a braided mess of knots.

I knew where they were headed with this, but I wasn’t ready for it. I’d barely started figuring out what all these emotions, sensations, and fantasies I’d been having about MacGregor actually meant. He was no longer a figment of my imagination. I couldn’t blame him any longer for what I thought he’d done to me.

For once, I had to take responsibility for my love life, which was a tough pill to swallow.

“Well, answer him,” my mom said, exasperated.

“Mom, I’m in my thirties. I’ve got this handled.” I playfully scowled at her and couldn’t help but love her because she couldn’t help being a hopeless romantic.

“Is that so?” Her right brow curled up as she folded her arms over her chest.

“Fine. I’ll tell him precisely how it’s going.”

I pulled up the text to type my reply and started as I read aloud.

My family is pretending to bake cookies while they incessantly hound me about you and my poor decision-making skills.

A text returned almost instantly.

Good. I’m glad someone is doing that on my behalf.

I chuckled.

“What did he say?” Mae asked, cozying up to me.

I read his response as I typed my next one.

Who said it had to do with you?

He wrote back.

We’re on the same wavelength. I just know these things.

My turn.

My mom thought I should mail you some cookies.

His turn.

She’s right.

I laughed and typed back.

Do you like me or my family?

He wrote immediately.

Both.

I chuckled and stared at the screen as my fingers texted something without my permission.

I might have made a mistake.

He texted.

I know.

My breath caught as my pulse revved up. I knew it. He knew it. We all knew it.

I miss you.

I lifted my gaze to see my family and Bethany all holding their breath and staring at me.

“What?” I asked, frowning.

My mom dabbed a tear from her cheek. “You look so happy, Audrey. And all it takes is a text from him. Imagine what a lifetime together could fill you with.”

I cleared my throat and reached for a cookie, but he never wrote back.