It’s the insider tradition nobody talks about. But every resident of Unity Falls knows it’s coming.
The lights go down.The lines are drawn.
For one night, everyone has to choose a side.
Welcome to the coziest sabotage of the year!
Now that Ben and Riley are official, it’s his first Christmas as a “real” member of the community. And things don’t go quite the way he expects.
Holiday snapshot of Unity Falls is an ensemble story about competition, tradition, and what happens when a quiet town gets just a little too invested.
Ben Nichols watched as his girlfriend—his girlfriend! He still couldn’t believe his luck— studied the winter scene she was painting on his green tea café window.
Her eyes narrowed, then her brush darted out to make one more stroke. She reassessed the scene again. Ben found he was holding his breath waiting for her reaction.
She stepped back with a grin, carefully put the brush down on the drop cloth.
“Done!”
She threw her arms around him and gave him a deep kiss. He enjoyed the kiss, but his curiosity got the better of him.
“Can I finally see it?” he asked. He’d been looking at the back of the window painting all day and was dying to see the final effect.
Her face lit up. “Grab a jacket, I’ll plug in the lights and meet you outside.”
Ben jogged outside to take in Riley’s work. The lights flicked on, and he gasped as he took in the design. He knew she was good, but he hadn’t expected this. She’d kept the design a secret and though he’d caught glimpses, he hadn’t been able to imagine the finished effect.
Once the Winter Decoration Competition had been announced, she’d been obsessed with decorating Ben’s café, trying to win.
Ben had mixed feelings about it. The prize money was only two hundred dollars. Enough to make a difference for some over the holidays. He didn’t need the money and as much as he wanted to win for Riley’s sake, he felt weird about winning the money.
He’d decided that if Riley’s decoration won, he’d give her the money. And if she didn’t accept it, he’d hold an open house on New Year’s Day with a free drink for the town.
Riley joined him, practically bouncing with excitement. “What do you think?”
Fairy lights framing the window and throughout the painting illuminated a cute fox and badger sitting next to a cozy fire among the pines, drinking cups of steaming tea. Snowflakes and frost patterns swirled across the design.
“It’s amazing! You are so talented.” He placed a kiss on the top of her head.
“It’s not too cute?” she asked, biting her lip.
“It’s perfect.” The café had a more Japandi, minimalistic style, but this design gave the café a warmth in winter.
“You are so going to win the Winter Decoration Contest!” he put his arm around her and drew her next to him.
He noticed her body shaking. “Hey, you okay?”
He drew back to take a better look at her face. But she was laughing.
“I appreciate your faith in me, but you are seriously underestimating the competition.”
“Not hard to do, since everyone in town treated their decorations as top secret.” He’d tried looking online for past winners but there were no photos. Which was odd, now that he thought about it.
Riley nodded and handed him a knapsack.
“What’s this?” he asked.
“Our kit.” She said it like it was obvious.
He picked up the bag and stared at it like he was holding a skunk. “What am I supposed to do with this?”
“You didn’t think that this was just about the decorations, did you?” Her eyes glinted with mischief.
“Uh… I guess I did?”
She gave him a playful nudge. “Newbie!” She gave him a kiss to take away the sting. “You’re about to take part in one of Unity Falls’ secret traditions.”
She started jogging, obviously expecting him to follow. She turned back when she noticed he hadn’t moved. “I already locked up. Let’s go. Don’t want to be late.”
Ben shrugged on the knapsack and followed her footsteps in the deep snow, wondering what secret tradition this sleepy little town was hiding.
Want to see how Riley and Ben got together?
Their story begins in Riley and the Love Jinx → link
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About the author:
Cleo Croft writes sweet contemporary romance set in the fictional town of Unity Falls. → About Cleo