Chapter Eleven

Star

The gingerbread house sat on the table in front of Axel and me and looked like it had just survived a natural disaster. Goopy frosting oozed down the walls and pooled around the base like it was giving up on life. Half of the roof had slid off and was teetering precariously on one side. A few gumdrops and candy canes had taken the plunge and were now scattered across the table, along with crushed pretzel sticks that had once been a valiant attempt at shutters.

Woods, Axel, and I had failed miserably at naming that Christmas song, and flipping cotton balls into a bowl with a spatula while blindfolded was not a secret talent any of us had.

The gingerbread build was supposed to be our saving grace.

It was, in fact, not.

Woods swiped his finger through a blob of icing and popped it into his mouth. “I think it looks great.”

I caught Axel’s eye, and we both cringed in unison. The look on his face said it all—this was not our finest moment.

“So,” Ben said, his voice dripping with mock seriousness as he eyed our masterpiece, “business is good at Armstrong Construction, huh?” He turned to Axel and clearly relished the opportunity to tease.

I bit the inside of my cheek and tried not to laugh. I really did. Axel was incredible at his job—an absolute perfectionist when it came to real buildings. But gingerbread construction? Maybe not his calling.

Axel rubbed the back of his neck and laughed. “Well, yes. But I can say with certainty that if cement was like this icing, I’d be looking for a new job.”

That did it. I couldn’t hold it in any longer and burst out laughing. Everyone else followed suit. Even Carmen, who was usually the epitome of composed holiday cheer, was wiping tears from her eyes.

“We really thought we had this in the bag,” I admitted between giggles and gestured toward the sad mess in front of us. “I mean, we had a plan.”

“Yeah, and that plan went out the window about five minutes in,” Axel said and shook his head with a grin. He reached over to poke at a gumdrop still clinging to the edge of the roof. It fell off instantly and landed with a soft plop in the frosting puddle below.

Rain leaned against Ben and laughed so hard she could barely breathe. “This… this is amazing,” she managed to get out. “Armstrong Construction: Now taking gingerbread contracts.”

“All right, all right,” Axel chuckled.

Jim strolled over and took a long sip of his eggnog. He tilted his head and studied our creation like it was a piece in a museum. “You know,” he said and rubbed his chin, “it’s got a kind of… post-apocalyptic charm.”

“Oh, absolutely,” Carmen chimed in. “Very avant-garde. The frosting really speaks to the fleeting nature of time.”

“Or the fleeting nature of gravity,” Rain snorted.

“Hey!” Woods piped up, hands on his hips. “It’s not that bad! Right, Aunt Star?” His big, hopeful eyes turned on me, and I couldn’t bring myself to crush his spirit.

“Not bad at all, buddy,” I said and ruffled his hair. “It’s, uh, unique.”

“See?” Woods said, looking at everyone else like he’d just won an argument. “Unique is good!”

Ben raised his glass of punch. “To the unique house that tried its best.”

“To the house that defied the laws of architecture,” Rain added and raised her own glass.

“To unique charm,” Carmen said with a smile.

Axel reached for his eggnog and held it up. “And to never, ever using frosting as mortar again.”

We all clinked glasses—or, in Woods’ case, his bright green Grinch drink. I couldn’t help but laugh again as I looked at the mess in front of us. It was ridiculous and chaotic, but somehow, it was also perfect. The kind of imperfect memory that makes the holidays worth it.

I leaned into Axel and nudged his arm. “Thank you.”

Carmen clapped her hands together with a bright smile. “Okay, that’s enough for tonight. We all need to get to bed before Santa gets here.”

“Santa!” Woods shouted, and his face lit up with pure joy.

Ben scooped him up effortlessly and swung him into his arms. “Yup, he’s coming, but only if you’re sleeping.”

Woods threw his fist in the air like a miniature superhero. “To bed!”

Rain chuckled as she followed them toward the hallway. “This is the only night of the year I can actually get him to go to bed without a fight.”

“See you in the morning!” their voices echoed as they disappeared to their bedrooms, Woods still chanting, “Santa!” like he was leading a parade.

I turned to Axel, who looked as content as ever and leaned casually against the counter. “I can help my mom finish cleaning up if you want to head to bed,” I offered.

“You sure?” he asked, tilting his head like he wasn’t fully convinced.

I nodded. “Yup. I’ll be quick.”

“Okay,” he said and smiled warmly. He turned toward my mom and Jim. “Goodnight, everyone. Thanks for an amazing night.” Then, with a quick squeeze of my hand, he added softly, “I’ll meet you in bed,” before he headed down the hall.

Jim went to the living room to pick up the remnants of the cotton ball game and left Mom and me to deal with the disaster that was our gingerbread table. We worked together, corralling the sticky houses into trays and wiping the counters clean of rogue frosting and sprinkles.

“That was a fun night,” Mom said as she wrung out a dishcloth.

“Yup,” I agreed, though the word came out more like a sigh. “It was definitely something else.”

Mom chuckled as she dried off the tray she’d been rinsing. “I really thought you and Axel were going to build some kind of gingerbread mansion.”

I rolled my eyes, though I couldn’t stop the small smile that tugged at my lips. “Yeah, so did we. Turns out there’s a big difference between real construction and frosting construction.”

She laughed and shook her head. “Still, it was fun to watch. I like him, Star.”

I paused mid-swipe on the counter but didn’t look at her. “Yeah, he’s a great guy.”

“He’s not at all the type of guy I thought you’d end up with,” she added thoughtfully, and that made me scrub the counter just a little harder.

“Star,” she said gently.

“Yeah?” I replied, not meeting her eyes and instead focused on a spot that probably wasn’t even dirty.

“You can stop scrubbing. I don’t want a hole in my granite.”

I froze, then sighed and set the rag down.

“I like Axel with you,” she said softly, and her words sunk in deeper than I wanted them to.

So did I. But the truth was, Axel wasn’t with me—not really. This whole thing was temporary. A few more days, and we’d go back to what we were before. Nothing.

“Yeah,” I finally said, my voice barely above a whisper. “Axel’s a great guy, Mom.”

She leaned on the counter and watched me with that all-knowing look only a mother could manage. “You seem happier than I’ve ever seen you. And I love that.”

I swallowed hard and didn’t trust myself to look at her. “I do, too,” I admitted, because it was the truth. Axel made me happy—happier than I’d ever been. But in a couple of days, this would all be over, and I’d probably feel the exact opposite.

I tossed the rag into the sink and forced a yawn. “I better get to bed. Woods isn’t the only one excited to see what Santa brings.”

Mom laughed and pulled me into a warm hug. “Goodnight, sweetie. See you in the morning.”

I headed down the hall toward my old bedroom, and my steps were slower than usual. Something about my mom’s words had left a lump in my throat, and I needed a moment to shake it off.

No matter how much my mom had driven me crazy about meeting my boyfriend for the past year, I knew she just wanted the best for me.

And she thought that was Axel.

Oh, how I wished it would stay that way.

When I pushed the door open, though, I stopped dead in my tracks. My breath caught in my throat as my gaze landed on Axel, sprawled out on my bed, shirtless and entirely too smug.

“Up to doing some counting before bed?” he asked with a wicked grin.