Holly’s gingerbread replica of her grandma’s house was really taking shape. And it was a great distraction from the fact that Elda and Danny were out on their date right now. The baking was done, and she’d moved on to constructing the showstopper out in the garage. By herself. Away from people, just the way she liked it.
But Holly wasn’t completely alone. Her grandmother was with her. Holly sensed her presence in the air. This was what she was meant to do. She was supposed to recreate this house that had meant so much to Grandma and Holly and the rest of the family. They were about to hand the keys over to someone new, and this would be Holly’s last opportunity to honor their past, to show the entire town what this place had meant to all of them.
She was just adhering the turreted roof when Elda came in, wearing a pair of old jeans from when Aunt Vixi was in high school and an oversize men’s undershirt. She waved and went right over to Grandma’s workbench, hunting for tools.
Holly checked her watch. Almost six. “How was your date?”
“Um…fine.”
“Fine?” Was that really all she had to say? Maybe it was enough. Holly’s mind was stuck between wanting to know and wanting to run away screaming with her fingers in her ears.
Elda slammed a drawer shut. “I’ve got to go to the hardware store.”
“What for?”
Elda wrapped an old tool belt around her waist and threw her long, dark hair up in a ponytail. “Pipe dope and water-pump pliers. The valve seat in the bathroom sink is rough.”
Holly only understood about half the words in that statement. With her life on the line, Holly would have no idea where to start on a sink. She’d probably flood the whole house. Her parents were terrified of pipes and drains and faucets. Holly’s dad had never attempted anything more difficult than unclogging a drain.
Elda came over and crouched down next to Holly, hiking those baggy jeans up over her slender hips. “Wow. This is really coming together.” Elda ran a hand over the turret’s cone-shaped roof. “How’d you even do this?”
Holly was super proud of the roof. While baking the walls of the house, she’d hemmed and hawed about how to do the turret. Then she found a can in the recycling bin, around which she baked the rounded wing of the house. Then she used a scrap of sheet metal from the garage to form the mold for the cone-shaped roof. It turned out perfectly on the first try, like Holly had experienced divine baking intervention. Thanks, Grandma.
Elda picked up one of the tiny gingerbread fence posts Holly had been working on earlier. An actual gingerbread house wasn’t the sexiest, most out-of-the-box idea, but she was going to create such a perfect replica no one would be able to accuse her of taking the easy way out. “I’m impressed.”
“Hopefully the judges will be, too.” Holly wiped her sticky hands on a wet towel and grabbed a sip of water from the “World’s Best Grandma” mug. “So, please, tell me about your date.” She didn’t really want to hear, but she had to know.
Elda popped a gumdrop in her mouth, and Holly swatted her hand away from the bowl. She needed every last piece for this showstopper. “Like I said, it was fine. I just…I don’t know if we’re compatible.”
“Sure you are,” Holly said. “You could be the king and queen of North Pole.”
Elda pulled up a chair next to Holly’s at the table. “He’s pretending to like the things I like.”
Holly shrugged. “That’s how it works, right? You pretend to like the stuff he likes, he pretends to like the stuff you like, and by the time you figure out you have nothing in common, it’s too late.”
Elda laughed. “Tell me you’re kidding.”
“I’m kind of kidding,” Holly said. “But, like, isn’t it all about putting your best foot forward to make a good impression? Isn’t that the game?” In her own case, Holly was putting her cousin’s face forward, since it was such a good face. Elda, as awkward as she was, drew people to her. Holly, the loner, didn’t.
“I’m starting to think it should be easier, like, I want a guy to like me for me. Isn’t that what you want?”
I’d like a guy to like me at all, thanks.
Elda picked up the little marzipan figure of herself. “The only time our conversation really clicked was when we were talking about you.”
Holly folded her arms and gazed over at her cousin. “Stop.”
“I mean it. He was all, ‘Holly hates me. What did I do?’ Maybe you should date him.”
Holly giggled. She should date him. Yeah, right. Maybe in some universe that didn’t even exist yet. Her nervous laugh was nearly out of control right from the start. When she was finally able to control herself, she said, “You’re out of your gourd. Don’t be ridiculous.”
“I’m not being ridiculous. You’re the one who’s had all these meaningful chats with him on my phone. I mean, you two text for hours. Hours, Holly. He bought the architecture tour tickets to impress the girl he thought would appreciate them.”
“He bought them because he thought he was talking to you.”
“Okay, I just spent the afternoon with him, and he was not impressed by me. Not even a bit. But he’s all concerned that you don’t like him. Which I don’t think is true at all. I think you do like him. Very much.”
Holly rolled her eyes. Oh my God, this conversation. Elda had to get off this topic. If people started talking about Holly liking Danny, holy crap, she’d be mortified. She’d be dead. She’d literally not survive the next ten days. “Do I think Danny’s cute? Sure. But who doesn’t? He’s universally attractive.”
“And you think he’s smart and nice. The two of you have a lot in common.”
“And we have one very, very glaring difference—we are not even remotely in the same league. He’s, like, Mr. Super Celebrity, King of Popularity around here, and I’m hiding from the world in my grandma’s garage.”
“Stop selling yourself short.”
“I’m not, Elda. I’m valuating myself at exactly the right price.” Her hand twitched involuntarily. She hadn’t texted Danny in over twenty-four hours, and she was jonesing for a fix. Building the gingerbread showstopper was great, but it couldn’t hold a candle to chatting with her crush, the guy whom she was trying desperately to hand over to her cousin, if only she would take him. “Someone like Danny Garland would never, ever go for a girl like me. Not that I want him to. I don’t like Danny, so let’s stop talking about this, oh my God.”
“Okay.” Elda hoisted herself up from the floor.
“Hey,” Holly said, “you want to run with me out to Wal-Mart in the morning to find more candy?”
Elda shrugged. “Sure. Early?”
“Early,” Holly said. “Like eight?”
“Perfect. And Holly, one more thing. Danny and I were together all day today. He didn’t even try to make a move on me. He patted my shoulder once.” She laughed.
So did Holly, because who patted a shoulder?
“If he was just looking for a meaningless fling with a pretty girl, he would’ve tried harder today.” She raised her eyebrows all the way to her hairline, as if that was supposed to complete her thought.