Luke's laugh lingered in the air, warm enough to melt the snow still clinging to his coat. Evie wasn't sure if she should be flattered or deeply offended that her personal disaster was his entertainment.
She swept up the shards with unnecessary vigour, muttering, "Well, glad I could make your day more… explosive."
Luke smirked. "You've definitely made it memorable."
Before Evie could produce a clever comeback, Sophie slid his gingerbread order across the counter and chirped, "Don't mind her. Evie just has this… unique talent for breaking things. Spirits, ornaments, sometimes hearts."
Evie whipped her head toward her best friend, eyes wide. "Sophie!"
Luke chuckled, collecting the box. "Good to know." He tipped an imaginary hat toward Evie, and with that, he strolled out into the snowy street, leaving her both mortified and, annoyingly curious.
Evie leaned against the counter, heart still doing that fluttery thing she refused to acknowledge. "Who even is that guy?"
Sophie grinned. "Luke Carver. Moved back to town last week. Word on the street is he's some big-city architect."
"Architect?" Evie wrinkled her nose. "He looked like the kind of guy who designs… expensive bridges or smug expressions."
Sophie laughed. "You like him."
"I do not." Evie shoved the broom back into the closet. "Anyway, I have more important things to worry about. Like not getting fired for turning Mrs. Maple's heirlooms into glitter bombs."
But even as she said it, Luke's laugh replayed in her mind like a broken record.
Later that afternoon, the bakery calmed down. A soft snow had started to fall outside, muffling the bustle of the street. Evie finally got a break and decided she deserved one thing: hot cocoa.
She poured the thick, chocolatey drink into a festive red mug, topped it with marshmallows, and inhaled deeply. Perfection. She carried it out toward the front counter, ready to bask in five minutes of peace.
That's when the doorbell jingled again.
And of course, it was him.
Luke, brushing snow from his hair, stepping inside like he'd been summoned by fate and poor timing. He caught sight of her, his smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
"Back again?" she asked, too quickly, nearly sloshing cocoa onto her own apron.
"Forgot my wallet earlier," he said, reaching into his coat. "Thought I'd come back before you had a chance to demolish the rest of Christmas."
Evie rolled her eyes. "Funny."
She turned to set the mug down, but her elbow caught the edge. In horrifying slow motion, the cocoa tipped, teetered, and then cascaded forward, directly onto Luke's very nice, very tailored coat.
The steaming liquid splattered across his chest like some kind of caffeinated crime scene.
Evie gasped. "Ohmygosh ohmygosh ohmygosh" She lunged forward with the closest thing at hand: a dish towel. Unfortunately, she forgot towels don't magically erase boiling hot chocolate. Instead, she ended up frantically patting his chest, which made the entire situation look ten times worse.
Luke stood frozen, looking down at her, eyebrows raised in disbelief.
"Stop! You're making it worse," he said, half-laughing, half-wincing.
"I'm making it worse? You walked into it!"
"I walked into the cocoa? Really?" He gave her a look so dry she could feel herself shrivelling.
Sophie peeked in from the kitchen, eyes wide, then ducked back out with a muffled snort of laughter.
Evie groaned, dropping the towel. "I swear, I'm not usually this… this disastrous."
Luke glanced down at his cocoa-soaked coat, then back at her, lips twitching like he was fighting a smile. "You're doing a really convincing impression."
For a beat, they just stared at each other, the smell of chocolate hanging thick in the air, the silence broken only by the faint sound of jingle bells outside.
Then Luke laughed again, low and warm, and Evie's stomach did that stupid fluttering thing all over again.
"Tell you what," he said. "You owe me a hot cocoa. One that doesn't come with third-degree burns."
Evie exhaled, cheeks blazing. "Fine. But you're drinking it out of a paper cup this time. For everyone's safety."
And just like that, Luke grinned, really grinned, and Evie knew two things for certain:
He was trouble. And trouble had officially found her.