The Gingerbread Bakery (Dream Harbor, #5)

by Laurie Gilmore

Hard to feel bad about anything with a mug full of cocoa in your hands.

Story of his life since he moved back here. Annie was all he ever saw. Annie frowning at him. Annie scowling at him. Annie huffing and sighing and occasionally, if he was lucky, yelling at him. And because he was some kind of masochist, he still wanted to be around her.

That was his favorite night? The night he held her hand and they laughed and talked until 2 a.m., and they didn’t even kiss but the promise of it was there. Thinking about it was like pushing on a bruise. It still hurt. Even all these years later.

It wasn’t only her heart that had been bruised, it was her ego, and somehow that was so much worse.

Real

‘You’d rather freeze to death than wear a hat?’ He looked terrible in hats, so yes, he’d rather die than wear one in front of a cute girl.

Annie had a life-plan to manage, a cookie empire to build. She did not have time for distractions.

‘To your right, is the first of many nativity scenes on our route, this one with life-size figures.’ ‘Jesus,’ Mac breathed. ‘Exactly,’ Annie quipped,

‘I swear, if those two idiots fall through the ice, I will revive them and re-kill them myself.’

Annie was not going to panic because Annie was a competent and successful businesswoman perfectly capable of balancing her bakery and her friendships and her need to be perfect.

‘Of course he didn’t want strippers. The man didn’t even want frosting. It’s like he’s allergic to joy.’

If this man was her Christmas miracle, she would like to file a complaint with Santa or the baby Jesus or whoever was in charge, because the only miracle here would be if she didn’t kill or kiss Mac before the wedding was over.

‘Okay, now we add the most important ingredient.’ ‘Love?’ Mac asked, wiggling his eyebrows. Annie shook her head in amusement. ‘No! Ginger.’

He was really laying it on thick today. First, insisting on driving her up here, and now adopting kittens?! It was diabolical.

‘Just the usual girl talk,’ Kira called back. ‘Nature documentaries and funerals.’

‘What about other guys?’ he said, coming up for air. ‘You can see as many other guys as you’d like,’ Annie said with a smile. ‘Noted,’ he said dryly, and Annie laughed.

She could think of a hundred other things to cry about that were much more worthy than one stupid boy. She wiped her eyes again. ‘Actually, I’m pretty torn up about the polar ice caps melting,’ she said, rolling her shoulders back.

I bartended in Maine, and I painted houses in Tulsa, and I mucked stalls on a ranch in Texas and none of those places felt like home and no other woman I met felt like you.

‘I was worried you were those terrible people that are always trying to get me to join their cult,’ Sylvia said with a cheerful smile as she led them through her house.

‘Love is a funny thing,’ the mayor went on. ‘It's not always big or loud or over the top. Most of the time, it’s quiet and unassuming. It’s a shared cup of coffee on a rainy day or reading side by side together every night. It’s finding the person who gets you. The person who will have your back through it all. ‘Your person,’ he added with a smile. ‘And since we all know that you found that in each other, let’s move on to the vows and get this party started.’

‘Hey, everyone, I’m Noah. I thought I was the groom’s best friend but I’m just now finding out I’m actually third in line.’ ‘Fourth,’ Hazel said from her seat beside him, and everyone laughed, including Noah who shook his head.

She looked like some kind of goddess sent here to personally kick his ass.