The Christmas Plan (Sapphics in the City #4)

3. Mackenzie

3

MACKENZIE

The needles pricked her hands as Mac grabbed the trunk of a modest Balsam Fir. “What about this one?”

Whipping around from the other trees, Taylor pursed her lips. “Hm. I like it, but I’m not crazy about it.”

“Honey, you’re going to have to pick one eventually.” Mackenzie laughed as she walked over to Taylor, throwing her arms over her shoulders.

Taylor’s long, blonde hair draped over her shoulder. A pair of black earmuffs covered her ears as her cheeks grew rosy from the chilly, winter wind. “Can’t hear you.” She winked as she pointed to the fluffy headband.

Lifting the muffs and bringing their lips closer, Mac lowered their voice. “You know I would lift every tree on this sidewalk for you a thousand times and scratch my palms until they bled. But you do still have to pick one.”

With a heavy sigh, Taylor’s shoulders dropped under her heavy coat. “Fine. But only because I need you to be able to play the charity match.”

“Sounds about right.” Mackenzie winked as she dropped the tree back into the pile. Moving a few feet down, Mac browsed the taller trees. Taylor’s apartment was plenty big for a big one.

Mac reached into the pile and pulled out a nine-foot tree. Hauling it out of the pile, she threw the stump down onto the concrete. “Now we’re talking.”

A goofy grin took over her face as she looked up at the Fraser Fir, her hand holding the trunk deep inside the needles.

Smiling at it, Taylor nodded. “Oh, that’s perfect.”

“Right?”

“That’s it.” Taylor shook her head, her eyes getting glossy.

Before Mac could comfort her, the woman manning the tree shop came up to them. She wore orange work gloves and a flannel. “Are we happy with this one?”

Shaking off her emotion, Taylor pointed to the tree. “Yes, we are.”

The woman scanned Taylor and Mac’s faces for a moment, a light of recognition coming to her eyes. Reaching into the trunk, she took the tree from Mac and threw it over her shoulder as she walked back to the tree netting station.

Taylor walked over to Mac, putting an arm around her waist as they walked over to the woman. Holding a chainsaw, she cut off the bottom few inches of the trunk to give the pine tree a fresh base.

As Mac watched, she felt a buzzing come from her pocket. Her forehead wrinkled as she dug her hand into her pockets, buried under the heavy, wool cocoon coat.

When she finally pulled it out, the screen read: Tommy .

“Sorry, let me take this.” Mac smiled at Taylor as she answered the call. “Hey, Tom. What’s up?”

Tommy cleared her throat. “Hey, Bennett. I have a question for you.”

Wrinkling her forehead, Mac laughed. “Okay, shoot.”

“You busy on the 21st?”

Mac flipped through her mental calendar, trying to picture the date which was a little over a week away. “I don’t believe so. Why?”

“Are you with Taylor?” Tommy paused.

“Yeah, but you’re not on speaker.” Looking over at Taylor, Mac watched as she browsed the cheap ornaments hung on the side of the wood shack. It was a New York City tradition, small tree shops would pop up all along the sidewalks throughout the city. Sure, it made the walkways even more crowded and narrow.

But it turned the entire metropolis into a magical, winter wonderland.

Tommy sighed. “Great. There’s a holiday party my friend is hosting. It’s going to be a huge recruitment effort for a lot of agents and managers. You should come… and bring Taylor.”

“Right.” Mackenzie nodded, getting the message.

“My friend Ari Graves is hosting it. We work together at SDO and she’s a fantastic agent. Might be a good fit for your girl.” Tommy was hesitant to say more, knowing it was a delicate subject.

But as Taylor walked closer, Mac knew she needed to get off the phone. “Alright, I’ll take a look and see what I can do.”

Mackenzie hung up the phone just as Taylor was walking over and throwing her arms over Mac’s neck.

“Tree’s ready.” Leaning in for a kiss, Taylor pressed her warm lips against Mac’s.

“Perfect.” Mac smiled as she walked over to the woman, passed her a wad of cash, and threw the tree – now tightly wrapped in an orange net – over her shoulder.

It was far too swift of a motion for Taylor to keep up. She gawked at her girlfriend. “Damn, I was going to offer to carry it.”

Looking over her shoulder as she made her way down the sidewalk, Mackenzie wiggled her eyebrows. “Don’t worry about a thing, darlin’.”

Taylor caught up to Mac, sidling in next to her treeless side. “So, what did Tommy need?”

Swallowing hard, Mac shrugged. “She invited us to an agency holiday party. Apparently, it’s a big mixer for the clients. Would you want to go?”

“When is it?”

Mac adjusted the tree on her shoulder. “Next Saturday.”

From the corner of her eye, Mac watched Taylor bite the inside of her cheek. She’d been rather avoidant about finding new representation, not wanting to scorn her own mother too hard. But Kim had yet to be supportive in any real way.

Hell, even the charity match had been a fight.

After a moment, Taylor nodded. “Yeah, that would be nice.”

A part of Mac was surprised, but she did her best to hide it. Taylor should have been more suspicious considering how bad of a liar Mac was.

With the pine needles digging into her shoulder, Mac smiled. “We should get you something to wear.”

Winking, Taylor licked her lips. “Want to help me pick?”