15
WILLOW
Willow sat at a table in Mal’s bakery. Tiny Christmas lights and holly lined the walls, and the whole place smelled like a heavenly combination of gingerbread and freshly baked sourdough.
Mal had invited a few friends to the bakery after closing time to join her for free treats and the filling of the Christmas baskets that people in town had ordered as gifts to be dropped off on porches or taken to parties.
The atmosphere was so cozy and the company so much fun that Willow was actually finding it possible to stop thinking about Jensen Webb and just enjoy herself, at least for a little while.
She had done the right thing last night, telling him that they couldn’t keep seeing each other. Both of them cared too much about Ransom to risk their fresh chance to bring him back into their lives.
But that didn’t mean the sacrifice didn’t hurt.
It would have been so nice to let him kiss me just one time…
“How’s your buddy, Valerie?” Mal asked their friend in a teasing tone as she placed a packet of foil-wrapped, egg nog brownies into a basket and passed it down to Ana, who added a mini-pecan pie.
“Which buddy?” Valerie shot back, cool as ice.
“You see?” Mal said, turning to Ana in mock exasperation. “She’s impossible.”
Ana laughed gently and handed the basket to Valerie.
Valerie added a mason jar of gourmet hot chocolate powder with a gingham-wrapped lid, and handed the basket down to Willow.
“Who’s your buddy, Valerie?” Willow asked lightly as she placed a candy cane in the basket and tied a satin ribbon to the handle.
“It’s—” Mal began.
“I don’t have a buddy,” Valerie cut in. “I fly solo. Always have, always will.”
“For now,” Ana whispered.
“Et tu, Ana?” Valerie asked. But she was smiling fondly. Ana was as sweet as the treats in the baskets, and they all adored her.
Mariah’s “All I Want for Christmas” came on the radio, and Willow smiled and nodded along.
“Who wants another gingerbread tea?” Mal asked, hopping up. “I’ve also got lemon pound cake and imperfect pecan sandies up for grabs.”
“How many courses of dessert can we eat?” Valerie teased.
“I’m willing to find out,” Willow put in. “Yes, please, to all of it. I need a sugar rush.”
“I’ll help you,” Valerie told Mal, hopping up to join her back in the kitchen, and leaving Ana and Willow alone at the table.
“Are you okay?” Ana asked gently.
Willow bit her lip and thought about how to answer that.
“It’s Jensen,” she admitted after a moment.
“What happened?” Ana asked.
“It’s a long story,” Willow told her. “But it’s just not going to work between us. There’s too much on the line.”
“Okay…” Ana said.
“What?” Willow asked.
