“We all know Maggie is twenty-five at heart. Have you heard from Kieran yet?”
“My one and only brother who hasn’t stepped foot in Mistletoe since he graduated? Of course not. I don’t expect him to show up now. Oh, he sure does promise to, but something always comes up.”
Emmy didn’t miss the bitterness in her voice.
“Ben’s waving me over. It’s snorkel time. Gotta run, er,swim. Thanks again, Emmy. See you Thursday.”
Smiling, Emmy shut off her phone. She and Carina were the shop’s only full-time employees, and Sheryl typically worked one or two days a week. December was their busiest month of the year, and when Sheryl returned, she would work four days a week until Christmas.
Business was slow today, but it was Monday, and everyone was getting back into the groove of life after Thanksgiving and Black Friday shopping. It wouldn’t be long before things picked up again, especially after Jingle Fest next Saturday. The annual Christmas festival was in the larger town of Bird Valley about twenty minutes away from Mistletoe. Every year Emmy looked forward to the festival and took the opportunity to pass out 10 percent off coupons to her shop. She’d learned never to let a business opportunity go to waste.
She closed her ledger and shoved her pencil behind her ear, gathered up her paperwork and calculator, and went to the front counter. Two customers were browsing the aisles of antiques while Carina was helping another customer in the vintage book section of the shop. As Emmy knelt and tucked her accounting materials into a lockbox, she heard the bell above the front door jingle. She shoved the box on the shelf underneath the counter and stood as Cal, the postman, dropped off a package and a short stack of mail on the counter.
“Mornin’, Emmy.” Cal adjusted his mailbag over his shoulder, his nose and cheeks red from the cold. “How are you doing today?”
“Can’t complain.” She smiled and swiftly went through the envelopes. Two were bills she could deal with later, and the rest was junk mail she would shred and add to the large bag of shredded paper upstairs in her apartment. Once it was full, she would take the bag to the Mistletoe Animal Shelter. “Help yourself to some coffee,” she said, setting down the mail and moving the package closer to her.
“Thanks, Emmy, but I gotta run. You know how it is during the holidays. Got a lot of Christmas cards to deliver.” He nodded at her and disappeared out the door.
Emmy waved as Cal passed by the picture window, then checked the return address on the package. Oh good, the ornaments had arrived. She glanced at Carina, who was talking to Mrs. Beasley a few feet away, her back to her mother. Emmy grabbed the package and crouched down again, eagerly opening it.
She’d ordered several sets of wooden heart-shaped ornaments to sell at the shop, with classic book titles printed on them, along withthree specialty ornaments that were decorated like Fabergé eggs for Carina, Sheryl, and Sheryl’s mother, Maggie. She’d already sent her parents their present—a small photo album filled with pictures of her, Carina, and her parents’ friends in Mistletoe, along with a written recap of the year. She had started creating the yearly photo album when her mother and father had moved to Tampa ten years ago, although they usually returned to Mistletoe at least once every other year.
Her grin faded as she pulled out the ornaments. The books were so tiny, she could barely read the titles on them. Definitely not what was advertised. And when she saw the Fabergé-inspired ones, her heart sank. All three were broken.
Emmy shut the box and checked her email receipt from the company on her cell. Fortunately, they had a return policy. She pressed the tape back onto the box and stood. “I’m running to the post office for a minute,” she said to Carina as she put on her coat and gloves, grabbed the defective merchandise, and left the shop.
Crisp Ozark Mountain air chilled her cheeks as she stopped in front of the building next door to hers. The For Sale sign was still in the window and had been for the past six years. It was the only empty building on Chestnut Lane, Mistletoe’s main downtown street.
She stared at the sign. Now that Mistletoe Antiques had been in business for a few years, she wanted to follow her other dream—to open a real café. Mistletoe hadn’t had a coffee shop since Sips and Such on the next street over had closed its doors two years ago. This building would be perfect, but she didn’t have the funds.I would, if Josh hadn’t...
Shaking her head, she frowned. Bad enough she’d thought about him once today. Twice was too much. She spun around—and knocked into what felt like a solid wall.
“Whoa, lass.”
“I’m sor—” Emmy’s jaw dropped. In front of her was the most gorgeous man she’d ever seen. Thick midnight-black hair, deep-set brown eyes, salt-and-pepper whiskers...sigh. And was that an Irish accent she’d heard? Her stomach wigwagged. That was the only way she could define the odd sensation. It wasn’t a flutter. Or a flitter. Weird. She hadn’t experienced a wigwag since... no. It couldn’t be—
“Emmy?” he said, dropping his hands and taking a step back, surprise on his face. “Emmy Banks?”
“Kieran?”
He grinned and held out his arms.
***
When Emmy didn’t make a move to hug him, Kieran O’Neill wondered if he was being too familiar. After all, he hadn’t seen her since he left Mistletoe right after high school. She’d been a cute girl back then with her heart-shaped face, long, wavy blond hair, and malachite-green eyes. Now it was cut in a short pixie style that really suited her.
Then he realized she was carrying a box and couldn’t hug him even if she wanted to. “Can I help you with that?”
She glanced at the box. “It’s not too heavy. I was just taking it to the post office.”
“Headin’ that way myself.” He reached for the box. “Let me give you a hand.”
Emmy hesitated, then gave him the package. She was right; it was fairly light. Still, he couldn’t abide her carrying it while his hands were empty.
“Thanks,” she said as they walked in step down the sidewalk. “I was just talking to Sheryl. She said you weren’t coming home.”
“She doesn’t know I’m here. I decided to surprise her and Mum.Can’t miss her seventieth birthday celebration.” Especially since he missed the fiftieth and sixtieth ones, and he felt plenty of guilt over those.
