Holly, Jolly, and Oh So Naughty (Festive Flames)
Holly, Jolly, and Oh So Naughty: Chapter 10

Lily captures my attention all night long.

I try my best not to stare, but I replace myself utterly attuned to everything she does. After the picture, we walk the event and say hi to so many people that I lose track of who is who. Lily seems to know everyone in town, which isn’t all that surprising given her work and how kind she is. People congratulate us on being a lovely couple, and Margret’s eyes nearly pop right out of her head when she sees us standing together, arm in arm.

It’s fair to say Margret fully buys our fake dating now that she’s seen it with her own eyes.

After a full loop of the hall, it’s time for dinner. Lily often leaves to check on the cakes that she’s in charge of, and I enjoy it because I get to watch her without coming across as creepy. I track her across the hall and watch as she smiles warmly at everyone she meets. It sends a flutter through my heart, and I yearn for her to smile at me like that.

When she looks at me, her smile holds just a touch of wariness that I don’t blame her for, but I wish I could make it better. So far, we’ve avoided talking about the past in any real depth, and I don’t know how much longer we can do that.

Eventually, we’ll have to talk about how we left things, but it’s been so easy to just lean into this pretend dating and act like nothing else is real.

I tell myself I can do it as long as she needs me to, but then she looks at me and it’s like she’s reaching right inside my chest and gripping my heart with both hands. Every fiber of my being is focused on every detail of her, and it’s going to drive me insane.

Willingly.

She returns to the table with a smile, and we eat, making small talk with the other guests at our table. I make sure to hold Lily’s hand often enough that everyone else can see. We need everyone to buy the lie so Margret doesn’t get suspicious, at least until I can fully squash down all interference from my mother.

After a light dinner of soup and chicken with broccoli, it’s on to the dancefloor and more willing torture.

“You have to make it believable,” Lily says as she drapes her arms around my shoulders and presses her body up against mine. “Margret is watching you like a hawk.”

“I know,” I reply, despite never taking my eyes off Lily to confirm. “I’m just trying to be respectful.”

“What a gentleman.” Lily snorts. “You’re still a terrible dancer.”

“Some things never change.” I wrap my arms around her waist, and we sway together alongside the music. More energetic couples dance past us, locked in vibrant dances that follow the more upbeat tick of the music, but my lack of skill keeps us low and slow.

“It’s almost comforting, isn’t it?” Lily says, resting her cheek against my shoulder.

“What is?” From here, I can lightly press my face into her hair and breathe in the subtle, soft, floral scent of her perfume lingering amid the warm notes of flour and sugar.

“Knowing that some of the simple things don’t change. You couldn’t dance back then and you can’t dance now.”

“And yet, it was enough to please you back then.”

“I’m not complaining now,” Lily replies softly. “That’s why I said it’s almost comforting.”

“I’m taking that as a compliment.”

“Please do.”

As we rock and sway, shuffling around the floor like we did even when attending parties with more alcohol than sense, I cast an eye around the room and sure enough, Margret is on the edge of the dancefloor. She watches with a beady eye, but there’s a pleasantness about her smile that I don’t expect.

I hope we’ve done enough to satisfy her curiosity, and I have no idea how I’m going to make it up to Lily, but I will try.

My attention drifts back to Lily as the rest of the dancers melt away. For a few long, happy moments, I can pretend it’s just us. But that’s all it is.

Pretending.

She’s not mine.

She’s not part of my life, not really.

She has her own life, with her adorable daughter and Mark, who I’m certain is Emma’s father. Any time I try to entertain the idea of asking Lily on an actual date, Mark’s face ruins that fantasy.

Could she really say yes with someone like him hanging around?

But with such romance in the air and Lily curled into me like this, I can’t pass up the chance to ask for more.

“Lily?” I lean away from her slightly. She looks up at me through her dark lashes, her red lips slightly parted.

I ache to taste them, to feel her moan against my lips and gasp for air as I consume her.

“Mmm?”

“I was wondering if you wanted⁠—”

“Lily!” Taylor suddenly appears, looking pretty in a blue dress with green frills. “It’s almost time for the auction!”

“Oh! I’m so sorry!” Lily grasps my shoulders and squeezes, then presses a brief kiss on my cheek. “I have to lead this. I’ll replace you after!”

With that, Lily is away and I remain there, staring after her with my heart knotting into a lump in my chest.

I was so close. So close to one more date.

After tonight, I have no idea when I will see her again.

“Look at you.” Margret appears at my side with a smile. “You look utterly smitten.”

I wave her off immediately. “Oh, no. I’m just… a little in awe, I think. Lily is quite a woman.”

“That she is.” Margret chuckles throatily. “Don’t you go breaking her heart now, you hear?” She pats my arm and scurries away, leaving an uncomfortable tightness in my shoulders.

I don’t want to break her heart. Not again.

The dancefloor is cleared quickly, and the band steps away to allow the auction to set up. Within ten minutes, the only music is from the speakers, and several works of art scatter the stage. Everything from paintings to clay models and even a few wooden carvings surround Lily’s gigantic cake.

Several people around me munch on cupcakes smothered in blue icing, and I spot Lily on the edge of the stage. She nervously rubs her hands together, puffing out her cheeks. I stare at her, hoping to catch her eye and give her some distant moral support, but she never looks my way.

Lily walks onto stage in elegant, striding steps, and my heart lifts. She looks stunning, especially when she hits the spotlight and the quiet sparkles on her ruffles come to life.

“Good evening!” Lily beams around at everyone. “I hope you’ve all eaten well and danced until your heels ache. I know I certainly have. Now, we come to the meat and potatoes of the night! I can see a few of you have already started making donations and to that, I say thank you from the bottom of my heart. Every cent counts, and together, I’m certain we can make a huge dent in the funds needed for this free clinic!”

A few cheers of support rise up from the crowd around me.

“Now, you all, of course, are allowed to bid on anything that you see here on stage, or any of the vouchers down the front on the tables. If you’re not here in person and joining us via webcam link, you place your bids on the website and Taylor here will be your voice.”

Website?

Digging out my phone, I have to ask the man next to me for assistance in replaceing what she is talking about. The man brings up the auction website and pats my shoulder sympathetically.

“Technology, eh?” He chuckles.

I laugh back politely and focus on my phone. Lily’s gone above and beyond by partnering with an online auction website to bring more eyes to her project. Many of the online items are free cake designs and an option for people to purchase anything they can see via the livestream.

This is clearly incredibly important to her.

The auction starts with a painting of the town from the local gallery. I’m not much of an artist, but the painting is gorgeous. It depicts the town square with all of the well-known local shops in the background, including Sweet Noel.

However, as the bidding starts, the numbers are low. I glance around and watch as the amount creeps up ten, twenty dollars at a time. In the end, it sells for $250.

It’s a good amount, but pennies compared to what the clinic needs.

Next is one of Lily’s vouchers, which goes for $500, sold to someone online. Again, that’s a decent amount, but it’s not enough. I glance around, taking in the faces of the townspeople desperate for change, but there’s no one here with that life-changing amount to spare.

I immediately scroll to my contacts. There’s not a lot I can do personally since I’m certain Lily won’t appreciate my trying to buy most of these things, but I have friends. Friends with deep pockets and a penchant to go crazy at an auction.

One thing about the world I grew up in is that money doesn’t impress, so most spend their time trying to buy the right thing that will impress the wrong people. As luck would have it, a small town auction in a picturesque town like this will be like heroin to the people I know.

I send off a few greetings with a link to the website and wait.

Most don’t message me back, and those who do merely express shock that I’m reaching out after vanishing off the face of the planet. I ignore those ones, knowing that anything I say will likely make it back to my mother.

The tide changes within minutes. The numbers watching the livestream take a jump, and as Lily presents the next item, a lovingly hand-carved otter statue, the money starts to roll in. The starting bid is a hundred dollars, and it immediately jumps to five thousand.

Lily stares in shock as Taylor stumbles around saying the number, and a cheer rises from the crowd.

“Is that real?” Lily gasps, staring down at the tablet in Taylor’s hands.

Taylor nods frantically. “Some lawyer from San Francisco.”

“Oh, my God.” Lily’s cheeks flush red as she confirms the bid, and then the number keeps climbing. The hand-carved otter statue sells for seventy-five thousand dollars.

You could have knocked Lily over with a feather. And it doesn’t end there. Every other piece of artwork, statue, and carving is sold for over a hundred thousand dollars, and the dance hall goes wild with cries and cheers of celebration.

By the time the last tier of Lily’s cake sells for two hundred and fifty thousand, she’s in tears that turn into shaking sobs when Margret hurries up to her and confirms that the money is being deposited at the same time.

My friends are never tardy. I imagine if I ever go back to one of the functions my mother hosts, I’ll hear all about the authentic, one-of-a-kind, hand-carved otter statue that no one else in the world can own.

Lily meets her goal of getting the clinic off the ground and funding it for one year. In fact, from the number whispered against the microphone, the clinic is funded for a minimum of three years.

Pride swells in my chest as I watch her hug Margret tightly, then Taylor. Lily’s closing speech is a stumbling, weeping mess of thank yous and love. Then she stumbles off the stage and runs directly toward me.

“Did you see?” she cries. “We did it! We actually did it!” Lily crashes into me with an excited squeal and throws her arms around my neck. “We did it!”

“You did it,” I correct, hugging her tightly. “Congratulations!”

In the flurry of excitement that bursts out of Lily with her giggles, she suddenly cups my face with one hand and kisses me.