Holly, Jolly, and Oh So Naughty (Festive Flames)
Holly, Jolly, and Oh So Naughty: Chapter 9

“Taylor, can you hand me that tray?”

Perched on the edge of the display table, it takes all my strength to keep my balance while holding up the party streamers. I can’t be too irritated at whoever decorated this table since they likely didn’t know how much space I’d need, but it still irks me.

“This one?” Taylor, the receptionist from the medical center, holds up a tray of tiny cupcakes. Each one is decorated in blue icing with edible glitter balls adorning their tops.

“That’s the one. Thank you so much!”

“No problem.” Taylor beams at me as she hands me the tray, then she helps me set it down on the table next to me. “These are prizes?”

“Mmm.” I strain further up the table with one cupcake in hand, placing it on the outskirts of the circular pattern I created with the pink and yellow cakes.

The charity party is due to start any minute now. Even if I’d been on time, I’m not sure I would have gotten all of this done before the launch. I keep thinking of more things I have to do, and the perfectionist in me is really shining.

After placing several blue cupcakes in a line, I straighten up with a groan and press one hand to my stomach. “Oh, I need to work on my core.” I chuckle.

Taylor laughs but she looks quizzical.

“What is it?”

“Well…” Taylor swings her arms back and forth at her sides. “Don’t get me wrong, your cakes are super cool, but why would people bid on them?”

“Ouch,” I tease with a smile. “The cake is just decoration. You bid on a cupcake, and if you win, you then get to choose which cupcake you’d like. Each one has a small poker chip hidden inside which corresponds to one of the gifts donated by people around here. So, the cupcake is just a sweet treat. The real prize is the chip inside.”

“Oh.” Taylor smiles widely. “That makes so much sense. I was like, who even likes cake enough to bid hundreds of dollars?”

“You’d be surprised.” I resume my placement of the blue cakes. “You wouldn’t believe how much people are willing to pay me when commissioning my larger cakes. I like to think it’s because of my talent, but it’s mostly because of laziness. Those people would never do it themselves, so they pay someone else obscene amounts to do it.”

“I’d love to do that,” Taylor sighs wistfully. “But I think my mom would have a heart attack if I told her I wanted to bake for a living.”

“It’s hard work.” Sitting back up, I admire my creation. Up close, it’s just a jumble of colors but from a little further away, the cake display matches the flower display in the town square. “But there’s no other job quite like it.”

Taylor smiles warmly at me, but before she can say anything else, someone deeper into the hall yells her name and she scampers off with a quick wave goodbye.

The charity event is already looking amazing, and once the people are here, things will really get into full swing.

With the lights down low, the dance hall has a warm, nocturnal feel. Black netting covered in silver and gold sparkles drapes in loops across the ceiling, weaving between the old, gigantic chandelier that’s hung in this hall since the building was built. Each table is covered in gold cloth, with tiny little Christmas trees set in the middle and covered in various colors of glitter.

In the furthest corner of the room stands a gigantic Christmas tree that’s positively swimming in blue, silver, and gold lights. The only things keeping the tree from looking bare are the countless tickets tucked into the branches. Yet another small game for people to bid on to win a random prize. The band setting up next to the tree will play for a couple of hours, and then they will have to clear the stage for the auction, which will be the most nerve-racking part of the night.

That’s where the real money will be raised, and my plans for the free clinic ride entirely on the funds from it.

Checking my cupcakes one last time, I turn on the cooling rack to keep the icing from melting in the room’s heat and head back to the entrance. I pass by the photo booth set up near the door and step quickly past the projectors sending starry constellations across the walls, making a beeline for one of the smaller closets.

My phone remains silent, and while I will be here all night while Emma has a sleepover with a friend, I was expecting James to call. We’re supposed to be attending this together as our main date so that James can fully pretend we are dating.

Only, he’s not here.

He’s never struck me as someone to be late, but given his job, maybe that’s just the nature of things now. He wasn’t treating people when I met him. He was just a sidekick to his father’s speeches.

Slipping into the room, a smile immediately creeps across my face when I spot a bottle of champagne wrapped in a bow sitting on the table next to my dress.

Approaching, I pick up the small white card attached to it and warmth blooms through my chest.

‘Sorry I couldn’t stay, but you’re going to do amazing! Love you, Amelia’

Amelia had helped me get all of my cakes here, and she’d helped me set up all three tiers of the gigantic cake for the main display. It was just a pity I couldn’t say goodbye before she left.

Putting that out of my mind, I quickly shed my jeans and T-shirt, and in the nearby sink, I wash away any lingering icing or flour that still clings to my skin. Retouching my makeup, it’s time to squeeze into my dress.

My skin is clammy as nerves start to set in.

What if no one bids? What if there just aren’t pockets deep enough to fully fund a clinic? Am I asking too much from the people of this town?

If it fails, if I fail, will I always be remembered as the fool who tried to create a free clinic with cakes?

A sudden pull of nausea rushes through my gut as I step into my red dress. It’s figure-hugging with ruffles around my hips and chest to give the illusion of bigger curves, but with my nerves making me sweat, the silky fabric catches against my skin.

“Fuck.” The more the dress sticks on its way up my body, the more flustered I become, which gets me trapped in a cycle of hot flashes, sweaty skin, and a dress that sticks everywhere I don’t want it to.

Straightening up, I pull the dress up to my boobs and force a deep breath while flapping one hand near my neck to try and cool myself down.

Suddenly, the door opens at the same time someone knocks, and James pokes his head through. “Lily? Are you—oh, my God, I am so sorry!”

He immediately slaps one hand over his eyes, stepping into the room and closing the door while I spin away from him with a squeal.

“James! What the hell?”

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t expect you to be changing in here!”

“Why not? Did you think I would get dressed up and then set out a few hundred cakes?”

“I mean…” James hisses through his teeth. “No, of course not. I wasn’t thinking.”

“And you should have knocked!” I hold the dress to my back as another hot flush consumes my body, sending another rush of prickling sweat down my spine and around my thighs.

“Technically, I did.”

“You don’t knock and enter at the same time!”

“You’re right. I’m sorry.”

I glance over my shoulder. James is pressed against the door with his hand still firmly over his eyes while I stand here, feeling pathetic with a dress halfway over my body.

“I’ll leave.”

“No,” I snap. “You might as well help me get into this damn dress.”

James slowly lowers his hand. “What’s the problem?”

“I’m hot and I’m nervous and it’s making me frazzled, so my dress isn’t going on smoothly and I feel like I’m going to look like a frump and people will only donate because they feel sorry for me!”

James’s lips curve into an upside-down smile, and he approaches slowly.

“I don’t think that’s true at all. The hall looks amazing, and I saw the cupcake display. Is it meant to look like the Christmas display at the town square?”

I nod, ignoring the ticklish way my hair dances over my bare shoulders.

“It looks amazing. And there are so many people here already. Everyone is going to have an amazing time. So try and take a deep breath.”

I narrow my eyes. “How will that help, huh?”

“Trust me.”

Rolling my eyes, I force my shoulders to relax, but the closer James gets to me in this half-dressed state, the faster my heart races. He stops about a foot away and leans down to smooth out the material of the skirt so that it’s not as twisted up against my legs. Then he straightens up and lightly grasps my shoulders.

His touch is electric, searing into my bone, and I nearly flinch away from him. His face doesn’t change, though. Am I the only one who can feel the charge building between us? Maybe it’s one-sided.

Just my luck.

“Breathe,” James instructs softly. He turns me to face the wall and then he blows very lightly on the nape of my neck. The ghost of a touch sends a tingling shiver down my spine.

“James,” I murmur, but he hushes me quickly.

Then he blows once more. Cool air dances across my hot neck and over my heated shoulders until finally, a powerful shiver warps my spine. I shudder in his grasp and gooseflesh spreads across my arms and legs as if I’ve just caught a chill.

James releases my shoulders from his grip and two slightly callused fingers slide down my spine.

I bite my lip, immediately jolted back to the countless nights James and I would be in a similar situation, only he was taking my dress off rather than helping me put it on.

Is it weird for us to do this? Although, out of everyone attending this dance, maybe he’s the only one who can.

James locates the zipper and tugs it upward. With guidance from his other hand, the fabric of my dress slowly pulls together over my back as he zips me up. The dress closes around my waist, then my ribs, and finally, my bust as the zipper reaches the top. Then James’s broad hands press against my back, and he smooths the fabric all the way down to my ass.

“Better?” James asks.

It’s only then that I realize I was so caught up in his touch that I forgot all about being overheated and stressed. Pressing my lips together, I slowly turn to face him and his hands fall away from my body.

“Yes,” I say softly. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Lily, I might not have been in this town for long, but I know that this place is full of good people. If there’s a way for this clinic to happen, your cakes will definitely make it happen.”

I roll my eyes. “If you say so. Now get out. I need to fix my makeup.”

“Oh, is that more revealing than you half in a dress?”

“Out!” I shove him playfully. He laughs and dips out of the room.

In his absence, my heart races once again. What the hell am I doing, acting like some giddy teenager?

Shoving those thoughts aside, I touch up the last of my makeup, throw on a dark lip, and then meet James outside.

“I didn’t even notice your tux earlier,” I say as I loop my hand around his offered elbow. “I’m sorry. You look good.”

“Thanks.” James adjusts the collar with his free hand. “It’s been a while since I wore one of these.”

“Let me guess, you had to order one just for tonight.”

“Sort of.” James grins. “I rented it, actually. I don’t want to own one of these ever again. Trying to be a new, normal me.”

“Oh?” My brows lift as we walk toward the ballroom. “Normal people have tuxes.”

“Sure, but suits are as common as joggers where I’m from. I’d rather wear joggers.”

It makes sense. As we enter the ballroom, we fall silent. Music fills the air as the band throws their whole heart into blasting out Christmas tunes. There are already a couple of people on the dance floor while the majority of guests mill around the corkboard showcasing all items up for auction.

“Does the lovely couple want a picture?” The photographer from the booth steps in our path, bringing us to a halt.

“A picture?” I hadn’t considered that part. I glance up at James, and he meets my eyes with a smile.

“It would be fitting, right?”

He’s right. Nothing like a picture of the date to seal the deal. “Sure. Why not?”

We step in front of the glittering backdrop. James’s arm slides around my waist, sending my heart into a flurry of uneven beats. I turn into him, placing one hand on his chest and smiling widely into the bright lights.

“Say cheese!” The photographer cheers, and then the cameras all flash quickly, just as James presses his soft lips against my cheek.