Sealed with a Kiss: A Small Town Christmas Romance

Chapter 1

Rachel parked her car outside her friend's apartment. For the entire ride across town, she'd been thinking about the envelope sitting on the seat beside her, the exciting news that would bring a smile to Annie's face.

For the last couple of months, Rachel had been helping a group of friends who'd started The Bridesmaids Club. They gave donated bridesmaids' dresses to brides in distress.

Most weeks, at least a dozen dresses were sent to them, packed in boxes, bags, and anything in-between. Sometimes she helped with the dress fittings, but her main job was to sort through the letters they received. She made appointments for the bridesmaids to see the dresses and contacted the people they couldn't help.

Nearly a year ago, a letter had arrived from a little girl called Bella. All of Rachel's friends had spent weeks trying to find her. But Bella wasn't easy to find. With no return address and no last name, the glittery card with sparkling jewels had become their mystery card. The only clue to where she lived was the Bozeman postmark on the envelope.

Bella's big, round handwriting made them smile, and her request had touched their hearts. Bella didn't want a bridesmaid's dress. She wanted a bride for her daddy.

Rachel picked up Bella's envelope and smiled. She was almost one hundred percent positive that she'd found the little girl they'd been looking for.

She stepped out of her car and headed toward Annie's apartment. The cold October wind tore through her coat and left her shivering on the doorstep. They were lucky it hadn't started snowing. Montana's weather could be unpredictable at the best of times but, during the fall, they could have four seasons in one week.

Annie opened her front door just as Rachel was about to knock. "Tell me you've got good news?" She pulled Rachel into her apartment and closed the door.

"What's happened?" Rachel stared at the boxes scattered around the living room. Annie was getting married the following weekend. She had everything organized, right down to the way each napkin would be folded on the tables. She'd been determined not to get stressed or give in to the last-minute pre-wedding nerves that most brides seemed to develop.

Annie ran her hands through her hair. "Dylan's mom is driving me insane. She doesn't like the table favors we've chosen. We should have waited until next April. Why did I want to get married now?"

"Because you love Dylan and couldn't wait to be his wife." Rachel glanced at the tulle and ribbon bags they'd filled two nights before. "What's wrong with peppermint creams, anyway? I thought Dylan's mom liked peppermint."

"So did I, but she's found a company in Vermont that makes maple toffee crunch brownies. One of her friend's daughters got married last weekend. The brownies were the most delicious thing she'd ever tasted. They come in individual boxes, gift-wrapped with ribbon to match the theme of the wedding."

"But this is Montana, not Vermont," Rachel said carefully. She didn't want to get between Annie and her mother-in-law but, with one week left before the wedding, it wasn't the time to be changing anything.

"Precisely. But is she listening to me? No. Dylan called her this morning, but she's determined to have the brownies. She called the company and they can send enough boxes to us by Friday. She even offered to pay for them. What am I going to do?"

Rachel took off her coat and scarf and left them on the back of a chair. "What difference does it make if you have the brownies?"

"Nothing, if they arrive in time. We could give the sixty bags of peppermint creams to someone else. But it's the principle that counts. Dylan and I have spent months getting everything ready."