The energy in Snowfall Valley was electric, buzzing with the excitement that only Christmas Eve could bring. The Snow & Ice Festival was in full swing, but the evening's main event—the Christmas Eve Ball—was what everyone was talking about. Holly could hear the chatter wherever she went: vendors gossiping about who would wear what, volunteers debating the perfect playlist, and kids chattering excitedly about the twinkling lights that would adorn the town hall.
For Holly, the idea of a ball felt both foreign and unnecessary. She wasn’t a ballgown-and-dancing type of woman. Parties weren’t her thing, and she’d rather be anywhere else than at a glorified small-town prom. But Emma, ever the social butterfly, had other plans.
“You’re going,” Emma declared, standing in the middle of Holly’s ro
