A Unity Falls Holiday Story
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!
Previously in Decoration Games:
Ben learned the official rules of Decoration Games, and he’s about to be introduced to the town’s unwritten version.
Chapter 4
Ben gave Dani a hard, confused stare. He wasn’t sure which way this was going to go yet. “What’s really going on? You guys take your decorations seriously, don’t you?”
Kei laughed. “You have no idea. It’s less about the decorations and it’s more about… the spirit of the event.”
Dani smirked. “The spirit of the event,” she said, like a benediction.
“The spirit of the event?” Ben repeated. He doubted his parrot impersonation made him seem intelligent, but he was honestly flailing.
“You noticed the part about the prize money?” Dani asked.
Ben nodded.
Kei continued. “Well… typically, that money is used for a community party.”
He scratched his chin. He’d been thinking along the same lines if Riley’s painting on his cafe won the prize money.
“Historically, Loubelle won every year when the contest first started,” she continued.
Ben nodded again. That didn’t particularly surprise him. Loubelle prided herself on her hospitality, and her domestic diva manifested so intently it bordered on demonic. In his humble opinion.
A slight sense of schadenfreude welled up in Ben. He didn’t like to admit it, but it was there. He crouched down so the women could hear his whisper. “She didn’t keep the money for herself, did she?”
Then he stared off into the distance and wished he’d kept his mouth shut. He wasn’t a fan of the woman. But she wasn’t a monster. “No. Scratch that. I don’t see her doing that. She threw the party, right? So, what’s the big deal?”
Kei and Dani exchanged looks. He’d seen that look in Unity Falls a lot. The kind that meant an explanation was not forthcoming at all or would take several bottles of beer and hours to tell the tale.
“No. She didn’t keep the money. And she did throw the party,” Kei said.
Dani picked up the story. “Oh, she threw a party. She just throws a certain kind of party.” Dani waggled her eyebrows suggestively.
Ben could feel his rising to his hairline. That sounded…intriguing. Weird. But small towns… “Is this why I haven’t been able to find any pictures, other than that yearly winner in The Sun?”
Dani chortled again. “There are reasons there are no pictures of the Decoration Games.” Her voice was ominous.
Kei smacked Dani in the arm. “My God, Dani, just stop being so dramatic!” She turned to Ben. “She’s making it sound like Loubelle and Eddy are super kinky.”
“Hey, she could be!” Dani protested. “I don’t think anybody’s that uptight without having like some secret way to let loose. It has to be how she keeps Eddie worshiping the ground she walks on.”
Kei closed her eyes and shuddered. “Could you please stop talking about their sex life?”
“You’re so uptight, Kei.” Dani snickered. “It’s like you think I’m going to wax poetic about your silver fox of a dad.”
Kei gave her a cool look. “Not uptight. I just respect people’s privacy. And leave Mr. Silver Fox his dignity.”
Ben could tell from Kei’s voice that Dani had crossed a line. And in typical Dani style, she was either oblivious or didn’t care.
“Whose privacy am I invading? It’s not like I’m showing pictures of them getting kinky,” Dani protested.
Dani must have finally realized she’d gone too far. She stepped back, holding her hands up in a calm-down gesture. “Geez. Stop staring at me like that. Of course, I don’t have pictures of them.”
Kei used her best teacher’s stare. “Maybe just stop talking about this.”
Dani mimed zipping her mouth shut.
Ben put some of the pieces together. “So, people are what… just upset about the style of party?”
Kei nodded. “Yeah, in a nutshell. She always tries to make it into some sophisticated soiree. Insists that people wear evening clothes. Although lately on a $200 budget, that’s impossible.”
“Remember the year she wanted to charge people?” Dani added.
Kei snorted. “Most of us just want to have a relaxed time, hot chocolate drinks for the kids, maybe Santa, some gifts. And one year, somebody decided that they were going to make that happen.”
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