Free Getting to the Church On Time by Erin Nicholas Page A

gazebo in Sapphire Fall’s town square. “I appreciate you coming out and supporting this effort.”
    Everyone in town had, seemingly, turned out to see what Tucker, TJ, and Ty had come up with and to give Levi their opinions on their favorites.
    There was a smattering of applause from the crowd gathered in the square on the sunny, if cold, afternoon. The snow had stopped around six a.m. and now the town sparkled in the sunshine. The two plows were busy clearing the roads and the diner, bakery, grocery store and hardware store were all open for business. The other shops around town were slower in opening their doors, but no one seemed to care. There was a surprising sense of optimism and happiness in the air and Levi couldn’t help but think some of it had to do with the contest and the pending wedding.
    For the most part, the townspeople decided to hang out in the square, waiting for the announcement. Many headed to the cocoa/cider/coffee stand on the corner of the square. Others headed for benches where they could cuddle for warmth in the forty-degree air.
    Levi turned toward the long table where they had the contest items set up.
    None of the contest entries were labeled with names but Levi knew exactly which things were from which couple. The first were from TJ and Hope. Their recipe wasn’t edible but it was a useful mixture of natural ingredients including salt, peppermint oil and red coloring, according to the tag. It was candy cane bath salts and could be used for a number of health benefits. Their decoration went along with the theme as well. It was a Christmas wreath made of candy canes. Even if the salt with peppermint essential oil hadn’t been a giveaway, the plethora of candy canes would have been after last night’s trip to the grocery store.
    The next in line were Tucker and Delaney’s items. The recipe was a white chocolate peppermint cheesecake and it was delicious. Even if it was no bake. That part just made Levi grin. But what Delaney might lack in the kitchen, she made up for in her workshop in the back of Tucker’s barn. She did gorgeous woodworking, including everything from custom-made cabinets to coffee tables to rocking horses. What she’d made for Levi and Kate was a sled, like the old-fashioned ones with wood slats and metal runners. It had been painted a bright red and said “Happy Holidays from the Spencers”. It would look perfect on their front porch and Levi was touched by it, knowing that it was also meant to commemorate the day he and Kate had gone sledding around Valentine’s Day, when Kate had told him she was moving to Sapphire Falls.
    The last entry was Hailey and Ty’s. They also had a theme. Their recipe was a peppermint hot chocolate martini and their decoration was a large round glass ornament filled with hot cocoa mix, mini marshmallows and a crushed candy cane. He appreciated that they’d coordinated their items and he knew that it was also meant as a tribute to the night he’d met Kate. They’d had hot chocolate in the square together and Hailey had told him weeks later that she and Tucker had witnessed them drinking cocoa—and kissing—within an hour of meeting each other. On the bench not thirty feet from the gazebo where he was now.
    Damn he missed Kate.
    “So what do you think?” he asked his co-judge.
    Kathy Bennett grinned at him. “You know I’m not going to choose one.”
    Which was what she’d told him when he’d first asked her to help him out. But it didn’t matter. He wasn’t going to choose one either.
    “It’s a three-way tie,” he said.
    Kathy gave him a surprised look.
    He shrugged. “I can’t choose one of them over another. They all want it. And this whole thing did what it was supposed to do—it entertained everyone and helped take my mind off of the fact that I won’t be getting married tonight.”
    Kathy’s eyes were sympathetic. “I’m so sorry about that.”
    “It will be okay.” And it would. Of course. They could get