Mistletoe Motel

8. Holly

Chapter 8

Holly

T he plate clinked in front of Holly, and she looked down to see a stack of blueberry pancakes arranged to resemble Santa’s face. His beard was made of whipped cream, his eyes were blueberries, and his hat was made of pre-molded red Jell-O. “Thank you. This looks…”

“Weird?” the waitress finished her sentence, then lowered her voice as she glanced over her shoulder. “I know. My boss insists we do this every year. It’s a pain in the ass. Santa’s eyes keep rolling off and the cream melts all over the plate.”

Mack, seated across from Holly, couldn’t stop laughing. “Looks like Santa’s been having some skin issues,” she joked, pointing to the blue-tinged pancakes.

Holly laughed along and noted Mack’s breakfast was no less elaborate. Her omelet was shaped like a Christmas tree, complete with green spinach leaves for the tree and tiny red and yellow pepper pieces as ornaments. “I have a feeling this town takes Christmas very seriously,” she said, shaking her head in amusement. “Or maybe it’s just the Mistletoes.”

“Oh, you’ve met them? Are you staying at the motel?” the waitress asked.

“Yeah, we’ve met Maude,” Holly said. “She’s lovely. An interesting character.”

“They all are.” The waitress sighed. “There’s no escaping the Mistletoes during the festive season. You can’t swing a candy cane without hitting one of them. It’s like they hibernate all year and come December, they multiply and take over the town.” She brushed her hands on her apron and straightened herself. “Well, enjoy your breakfast, and brace yourselves for Marty.”

As they dug into their breakfasts, Marty, the overly enthusiastic owner of the Mistletoe Diner, bustled around, greeting every customer with a hearty “Merry Christmas!” He approached their table, scratching his grey beard with a huge smile on his face. “Morning, ladies! You must be Holly and Mack. Maude told me you’d be coming. How are you enjoying Watertown’s hospitality?”

Holly smiled as she looked up at him. Clearly, the love for Christmas sweaters ran in the family. Marty’s was riddled with sewn-in twinkling lights. “Everyone’s been really sweet,” she said. “And your decorations are really something.”

The diner was a riot of Christmas kitsch. Tinsel and fairy lights were draped across every available surface, and Christmas music played loudly over the speakers. A large tree stood in the corner, adorned with mismatched ornaments and a slightly crooked star. The booths were decorated with festive seat covers, and each table had a small poinsettia centerpiece.

Marty beamed with pride. “Glad you like it! Here, have some hot cocoa.” He placed two steaming mugs in front of them, each topped with a generous swirl of whipped cream and a candy cane.

“Thanks, Marty,” Mack said, lifting her mug in a toast. “This looks delicious.”

“Hot cocoa on the house for everyone today,” he said, then nodded toward the window. “Hey, what do you think about all the snow? Isn’t it amazing?”

Holly didn’t have the heart to disagree with him, so she painted on a smile. “It sure is. I’ve never seen so much snow before.”

“You have to check out the Watertown snowman competition later today,” Marty continued. “We have some real talented people in the community and anyone can join.” He clapped his hands together as two new patrons entered the diner. “Oh! Duty calls. Enjoy your stay, ladies!”

Holly tried to keep a straight face as she met Mack’s eyes. “All drama aside,” she said, “I have a feeling this will be a Christmas to remember.”

“It already is.” Mack shot her a goofy grin as she dug into her breakfast. “What did your parents say when you told them you weren’t coming?”

“They were disappointed.” Holly speared her fork through one of Santa’s eyes and dipped it in the whipped cream. “Especially Mom. She said they could try to pick me up, but I told them not to. I don’t want them to drive in this weather.”

“No, best not,” Mack said.

“Anyway,” Holly continued, “there will be many more Christmases, but there won’t be another chance to witness the birth of your niece or nephew. It’s much worse for you. If there was any way of getting home and only one person could go, I’d want it to be you.”

“Thank you. That’s very sweet.” Mack smiled sadly. “Maude was right. The signal’s fine here. I just got a message from my sister and she’s not showing any signs of labor yet. No contractions, water still intact.” She chuckled softly. “Maybe the little one’s holding out for Aunt Mack to arrive before making their grand entrance.”

“Well, babies are notorious for ignoring due dates,” Holly said. “There’s still a chance you might make it in time. How’s your sister holding up?”

“She’s doing okay,” Mack replied, taking a sip of her cocoa. “Just really over being pregnant at this point. She says she can’t wait to finally meet the baby and stop feeling like a walking incubator. At least they live close to the hospital. Apparently, it’s snowing pretty hard in Minneapolis too, so that’s one less thing to worry about.” She shrugged. “So, let’s just try to make the best of it. I might pick up my laptop and try to get some work done.”

“Work?” Holly’s eyes widened. “You can’t work, it’s Christmas Eve!”

“Hey!” Mack chuckled as she held up a hand. “Don’t go all Mistletoe on me. I was only going to check my emails.”

“No one is working today.” Holly jutted out her bottom lip. “Besides, what am I going to do all by myself if you’re buried in work?”

“Okay, okay. So what do you want to do, princess?”

Holly laughed and slapped her playfully on the arm. She secretly liked her new nickname, but Mack didn’t need to know that. Mack arched a brow and Holly was pretty sure there was something suggestive in her gaze.

“Well, how about this? We could walk through town and check out the sites and the snowman competition first. If you’re worried about your signal, we’ll ask businesses if we can use their landline and you can call home every hour to check.”

“We could do that…”

“Great!” Holly clapped her hands together. “Have you ever built a snowman before?”

“It’s been a while, but I’m in. It sounds fun.” Mack glanced at her over the rim of her cup as she sipped her cocoa. “And then what?”

Holly narrowed her eyes and paused while she continued to work out an itinerary. “Then, we head over to the gas station,” she said. “It makes sense, right? We can’t miss out on the third Mistletoe enterprise. It’s a must.”

“Totally.” Mack grinned. “So we’ll hang out at the gas station for a while? This sounds like the Christmas of my dreams already. Please continue.”

Holly laughed at her dry sense of humor. “Hang on. I hadn’t finished.” She tore off a piece of pancake and dunked it in her hot cocoa. “Maude said her sister sells gifts, so we’ll pick out a small gift for each other that we can exchange over dinner tonight. And while we’re here having a Christmas meal, we can videocall our families.”

“Okay.” Mack stared at her with an amused twinkle in her eyes. “I love your plan. A snowman competition, a gas station visit, a romantic Christmas dinner at the Mistletoe Diner and virtually meeting the parents. This relationship is certainly speeding up considering we started out on the wrong foot.”

“I don’t know about romantic,” Holly said, glancing around. “It’s more like a Hallmark movie on a budget.”

“Hmm… Yeah, you’re right.” Mack inched forward. “Think about it. Two strangers, stranded in a quirky town, forced to share a room, frolicking in the snow, and sharing a cozy meal.” She stole a piece of Holly’s pancake, dunked it in her cocoa and continued to stare at her. “And then what happens?” She chewed slowly, licking her lips.

“Then…” Holly swallowed hard. The way Mack’s eyes darkened made her heart race. The playful banter between them was turning more intimate with each passing second and she didn’t know what to do with herself. “Have I turned you into a dunker?” she asked, pointing at Mack’s cocoa in an attempt to distract herself from that sexy stare.

“Maybe.” Mack tilted her head and arched a brow. “But you’re changing the subject.”

Holly sat back, creating some space between them. “You’re pretty direct, aren’t you?”

“I can be. I’m sorry. Is it too much?”

“No,” Holly admitted after a moment’s hesitation. “I guess we’ll just have to see where the night takes us.”