Page 35 of Chasing Cheer
“All right.” Sofia relented, pivoting out of his way. “But I’m watching you.” She formed aVwith two fingers and moved it from her eyes to Lucas’s.
He put his hands up in fake innocence. “Do your best, Short Cake.”
Sofia scowled as he walked toward the drink table.
“Short Cake?” Holly asked, confused and worried about the whole interaction.
“Old nickname.” She shrugged. “I guess I can’t keep him out. Chamber events are technically open to the public. But I should warn Ash he’s here.”
Holly followed Sofia as they waded through the crowded space to find Ash. She felt a strange buzz from her watch and looked down to see that the hand was spinning erratically. She stared at it in confusion. The Cheer level was still full, but the hand was completely out of control.
“Ash!” Sofia burst out in a loud whisper, pulling him from another conversation. “Heads up. Lucas is here.”
Holly looked up from her watch, still confused, in time to see a muscle in Ash’s neck tense.
“Did he say why?” he asked, glancing toward Holly.
“No idea. But it can’t be good.” Sofia seemed to relax a little since she had warned Ash. She swiped some carrots and dip from the table nearby.
“Okay. Thanks for letting me know, Sof. I’ll keep an eye on him.”
Holly wanted to follow up and see if everything was all right, but she was having a hard time concentrating. She trailed Sofia absently to the counter in the window. Her watch hand was still spinning nonstop.
“I feel strange.” Holly took a seat on the barstool behind her.
“Strange how?” Sofia asked. Since she had confronted Lucas, she was blowing off steam by loudly crunching on a carrot.
“My head’s a little fuzzy.” Holly rested her elbow on the countertop and put her head in her hand.
Sofia looked at Holly then at her glass. She grabbed it and took a sip. “That’s because you’ve been drinking the spiked cider.”
Holly’s eyes flew open. “What? No way! I was drinking the nonalcoholic.” She looked at her glass in horror.
“Sorry, love. I make both versions, and I can personally attest that that one’s alcoholic. I can see why you couldn’t tell, though. The recipe is perfect.” She beamed with pride.
Holly smacked her arm. “Sofia! I don’t drink alcohol!” She put her hand over her watch, willing the spinning to stop.
“You can switch to water now. Don’t worry about it.”
Holly tried to relax, since she didn’t technically need her magic at the moment. She didn’t plan on needing a free meal or a new place to stay. Those things were already taken care of. And the alcohol didn’t seem to have affected her Cheer levels. She let out a breath.
“Candy canes,” Holly murmured, still stunned that she had been drinking alcohol unknowingly.
“Candy canes?” Sofia scoffed. “Is that some kind of Canadian expression?”
Holly chastised herself for the North Pole slip. She blamed it on the spiked cider. “Sure. We say it when we’re embarrassed or disappointed. I guess it’s kind of like shucks.”
Sofia laughed and rolled her eyes. “That is way too sweet for me. You should say bloody maple or hockey sticks or something like that.”
“I’ll take that back to the Canadian government and see if they’ll get on board. But seriously, no more cider for me.”
The room seemed louder than ever before. All the members of the chamber were chatting and laughing. An empty bowl of cider was replaced with a new one. Just then, Holly’s eyes landed on Ash, who was having a tense conversation in the corner with Lucas.
She nudged Sofia. “Do you think everything’s okay there?” She pointed at where they were standing, huddled close.
Sofia narrowed her eyes. “Why can’t he leave it alone?”
She jumped off her barstool, and as Holly followed her toward Ash and Lucas, she spotted Enzo making a beeline toward her.When did he arrive?Holly’s heart rate sped up. She wouldn’t be able to speak Italian with her magic incapacitated. Though she was comfortable with a few general greeting phrases, she wouldn’t be able to hold a conversation.
