A Cup of Cheer by Heather Miekstyn

“Friendship is the springboard to every other love.”
-Alan Loy McGinnis (author and therapist, married for 31 years)
“Love is friendship that has caught fire.”
-Ann Landers (advice columnist, married for 36 years)
“Friendship is another word for love.”
-Unknown (but probably married, or at least dating someone)
“Unrequited love for your best friend is far less romantic than literature makes it out to be. To be completely frank,
it stinks.”
-Felicity Heart (former teacher turned nanny, unlikely to ever marry due to her unrequited love for her best friend)
Desperate to purge herself of her romantic feelings for her best friend Alex Beckett, Felicity Heart leaves her hometown of Mistle Berry, Michigan to start a new chapter of her life in Southaven, Mississippi. But when the holiday season rolls around, Felicity finds herself back home and still hopelessly in love with Alex. Who is still hopelessly… not in love with her.
Case in point, Alex agrees to partner with local baker and Home Ec teacher, Mindy Halloway, for the town’s annual Mistletoe Mayhem competition, a beloved couples’ tradition. When Felicity responds by teaming up with David Fredericks, the mayor of Mistle Berry, Alex and Felicity’s previously unshakeable friendship morphs into an intense rivalry.
Or at least it does for Felicity. But as each round of the competition goes by, she can’t help but notice that Alex seems to care more about finding ways to connect with her than he does about winning. Is it possible that after all of this time, her unrequited love is about to become…requited?