Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 79587 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 398(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79587 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 398(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
“The fresher?” Mattie frowned but then she remembered that was what the Kindred called the restroom. “Of course—it’s back in the main lobby by the stairs,” she told him.
“I won’t take long,” Grath promised. “I just drank too much of that bright orange juice your mother served us with breakfast.”
He took another look around, as though making sure Mattie was safe, and then headed off in the direction of the bathrooms.
After he left, Mattie looked around and felt a little surge of excitement. So here she was again—at the Christmas Cookie Bake-off! And this time, she might even have a chance to win. After all, Mrs. Kranst had been a tough teacher but she was also very fair—Mattie had gotten out of her class with a solid A.
She could feel the buzz of excitement in the air and someone had turned on the PA system. Christmas music was drifting out of the speakers in the corners, making it feel even more festive.
“Have yourself a merry little Christmas,” Mattie sang under her breath. “Let your heart be light…”
She was just getting to work, unwrapping the sticks of butter to dump into the bowl of her mixer, when a familiar voice said in her ear,
“Well—if it isn’t little Fatty-Mattie—back home in Christmasville!”
SEVENTEEN
GRATH
Grath finished using the fresher facilities and washed his hands scrupulously in the sink. There was an extremely inefficient blow dryer on the wall—he only bothered with it a moment before he decided to dry his hands himself by sending more heat to them. This only took seconds and then he was making his way back to the large hall where the Bake-off was being held.
He headed back towards table number nine but before he got there, he saw that Mattie was speaking to another female. She was tall and thin and had long blonde hair—she also looked somewhat familiar. After a moment of scrutinizing her, Grath realized she was one of the skeleton-girls he had seen in the book that had pictures of Madeline’s formative education years.
Amanda Hutchinson—that’s her, I’m sure of it!
His protective instincts rose and he was about to charge in and put himself between Madeline and her old nemesis but he realized in a moment that she wasn’t in any physical danger. He decided to hang back and listen instead, to see what the two females were talking about. Then he could best decide how to approach the situation.
“…can’t believe you’re back in town! Did you come just for the Bake-off?” the female named Amanda asked.
“Not exactly—I’m just here to see family. My mom decided to enter me at the last minute.” Madeline’s voice sounded stiff and the look on her face wasn’t a very happy one.
“Maybe you think you’ll finally have a chance to win since my uncle isn’t a judge anymore, but don’t count on it, Fatty-Mattie,” Amanda sing-songed.
“Don’t call me that,” Madeline said in a low voice.
“Why not? It’s still true, isn’t it?” The skeleton girl gave her a scornful look. “You know, I would have thought you’d have lost weight after high school but I guess I was wrong.”
“I’m happy with my curves,” Madeline said steadily. “And I refuse to let you body shame me like you did in high school.”
“Oh, happy with our curves, are we?” Amanda Hutchinson gave a nasty-sounding laugh. “Well I guess you’re happy all alone then. I don’t see a ring on your finger, Fatty-Mattie!”
All right—that was enough! Grath’s blood was boiling but unfortunately, he couldn’t rush in and break the stick-thin female over his knee the way he wanted to. As a Kindred, he was sworn never to hurt or abuse a female.
Suddenly, though, he knew what he could do. Squaring his shoulders, he headed for the table.
EIGHTEEN
MATTIE
Mattie felt like she was back in high school all over again. Fatty-Mattie—that horrible old nickname still had the power to cut her to the quick. And Amanda Hutchinson was as skinny as ever—whippet-thin with long, shiny blonde hair. She might have a few wrinkles around her eyes and the corners of her mouth but she was still the head cheerleader with the killer body that all the guys wanted.
How did she end up at the table beside mine? Mattie wondered despairingly. Why couldn’t she have been located literally any other place in the room?
For these questions, she had no answers and she didn’t know what to say to the vicious, spiteful jeers the other woman was tossing her way either. In that moment she felt about two inches tall.
And then, from seemingly out of nowhere, Grath came into view.
“Hey, baby—setting up without me?” he rumbled.
“Oh, uh—” Mattie began.
“You know you’ll have to pay the penalty for that, don’t you?” he growled. And then he swept Mattie into his arms for a long, passionate kiss.
Mattie gasped and then found herself kissing him back, winding her arms around his neck, forgetting everything and losing herself in the moment. When he finally sat her back down, she was breathless and flustered, her cheeks hot with a blush.