Page 11 of Wrapped in You

Suddenly, another figure appeared at the catering table. "Sophie, it smells amazing!"

Sophie turned to find Jeremy in that same bright traffic vest with his hands on his hips. Sophie's heart sank. "Oh. Hey."

"Is this your great-aunt's recipe? The one with salted butter?" he asked of the biscuits.

Beck, Isaac, and Mike watched them curiously. Sophie's cheeks were warm. "It's the same." She hated how tentative her voice sounded.

Jeremy took a bite and moaned with his eyes closed. "They're better than they used to be. Like loads better. You're killing it, Sophie."

Sophie flared her nostrils. She wasn't going to thank him for that backhanded compliment—one that implied she used to be worse at baking than now.

"That traffic won't stop itself," Jeremy said. He sounded chipper as he hurried back to his post.

"Is anyone going to tell him there isn't any traffic this early in the morning?" Mike wondered.

Sophie stifled a laugh.

Excited by the savory smells, several other crew members came up, including Natalie the actress. Her makeup was superb; her lipstick was sharp. She gazed at the food with her hands clasped.

"I can't have any of it till after the scene," she moaned.

"Why are you wearing so much makeup, anyway?" Sophie asked. "Isn't your character going for a run?"

"In movies like this, women always wear lipstick," Natalie said with a wink. "Just in case they meet the love of their life under the mistletoe!"

Sophie cackled.

"I know," Natalie said, waving her hand. "I love Christmassy and romantic movies just as much as the next person. But they don't resemble my life in Los Angeles at all. I usually meet guys on dating apps. Then, they inevitably disappoint me, and I get back on the apps, and the cycle continues."

Sophie nodded and smiled. She couldn't really relate to dating. After Jeremy broke up with her, she hadn't bothered with the apps. It wasn't like anyone from Willow Creek was on the apps, anyway. Everyone was either married or engaged or too young or too old.

Sophie had missed her window.

About twenty-five feet from the catering table, the director continued yelling at the cameraman.

Natalie sighed. "We're meeting all week at four a.m. Somebody needs to tell Derek to get enough sleep so he's not this grumpy."

"It's weird," Beck admitted. "He wasn't like this on the set of the last film."

Sophie and Natalie turned to peer at him curiously.

Beck raised his shoulders. "He was the director for this crime drama we filmed last spring. He was great. Kind to the workers. Kind to the actors. Funny at film parties. Always very complimentary of the caterers."

Sophie's heart sank.

Isaac nodded. "Seriously. I remember saying I wanted to work with him again."

"And now?Silver Bellshas already ruined his reputation," Mike agreed. "I've been texting everyone back in LA about him. They're calling him Krampus."

"Krampus?" Natalie asked.

"It's like the evil version of Santa Claus from Germany," Mike explained.

Natalie and Sophie looked at one another and shrugged.

"But we have our very own Christmas fairy here," Isaac said of Sophie. "She's the lightSilver Bellsneeds."

"You should be the director!" Mike said.