2 Yule Be the Death of Me Read Online Free Page A

to
place custom orders for styles that would never sell in Cayuga Cove. Todd,
along with some of the more fashionable men in town, gave her a steady supply
of business.
    Vivienne often
wondered what functions they wore their more modern clothing to. There
certainly wasn’t any place in town that had a formal dress code, except for the
Bistro Parisian, and that was merely a request not to wear jeans and tee shirts
during Friday and Saturday dinner service. She assumed they must have found
some more use for them in the larger cities like Rochester and Syracuse, places
that actually had dance clubs and four star restaurants. She had to admit, she
often wished she and Todd were closer friends so she could experience the more
posh side of life every now and then.
    Like most of
the heterosexual men in town, Joshua had chosen his usual non-work clothing
option of a pair of dark denim jeans and a blue flannel shirt. The top two
buttons he usually left open at home were done up, which was about as fancy as
he or the other men ever went when it came to dressing up for an occasion that
wasn’t a wedding or funeral.
    “Feel free to
browse the other entries. We broke the record with fifteen this year.” Todd
said as he disappeared into a small room off to the side of the reception desk
with their coats.
    Several people
had gathered into the gallery for the annual contest, but Vivienne guessed they
were mostly fellow participants who were doing the same thing she was; checking
out what everyone else had designed. “Fifteen entries makes quite a bit of
competition.” Vivienne whispered to Joshua.
    “Yes.” Joshua
agreed as he offered her his right arm. They walked into the east wing of the
gallery. “But don’t get worried just yet. We haven’t even seen the others.”
    The clattering
of high heels announced the arrival of Kathy Saunders. “Sorry I’m late, I had
to get an order in before five tonight.” She was dressed in a simple black
dress that had a scattering of sequins along the low-cut top. “How’s the
competition?”
    Joshua offered
her his other arm. “We haven’t even started to look yet. Care to join us?”
    “You bet.”
Kathy gushed and eagerly took him up on the offer. She pointed to the first
entry that was displayed on a cylindrical pedestal. “Oh, look at that one.
Someone made a little cathedral.”
    Vivienne
nodded her approval at the creation. It was cute, but the steeple was tipped a
little to the side and one of the sugar windows was coming loose under the heat
of the spot lights above. “I wonder who made this one? ”
    “Doesn’t it
say?” Joshua looked along the base for an information card.
    Vivienne shook
her head. “No, you only get a number.” She pointed to the small card that had
the number one printed on it. “That way the judging panel can be completely
impartial.”
    Kathy pointed
to the crooked steeple. “Well, I think you can scratch this off as a winner.”
    Vivienne
shushed her and pointed to some of the other guests browsing the room. “The
creator just might be in here.”
    Kathy’s eyes
widened. “Oh, right. Sorry.” She smiled and raised her voice with praise.
“Isn’t this little church just darling?”
    Vivienne rolled
her eyes as they moved on to the next entry, a charming little tropical diorama
with gingerbread figures frolicking along a beach. “They used sanding sugar and
cinnamon to make the sand color. That’s pretty clever.”
    Kathy nodded
and pointed to the girl gingerbread figure. “She’s a little too doughy to be
wearing a bikini, don’t you think?”
    Vivienne
snickered. “I never thought of doing something atypical like this. A tropical
theme like that might stand out more in the judge’s minds.”
    “I like it.”
Joshua smiled. “It makes me feel warm.”
    “Are we
bringing up Florida again?” Vivienne groaned and pulled him away from the
display.
    “Florida?”
Kathy asked.
    “It’s
nothing.” Vivienne steered them toward a