Up until she entered her room, a towel wrapped around her wet hair, to discover the mess her dress had become. “Kringle!”
The cat, curled up on the red fabric and donating what looked to be half of his fur, blinked slowly at her. That blink said plainly,If you didn’t want me to sit on it, you shouldn’t have left it out.
Julie sighed. She shooed him off the dress and vigorously brushed it off. One thing she stupidly hadn’t thought to buy was a lint brush. In her defense, she hadn’t lived with a cat for years, let alone a long-haired cat like Kringle. When she finally decided that the dress was as clean as it was going to get, she slid into it.
Her phone rang.
Julie hopped on one foot and nearly crashed to the floor. She rarely got cell signal in her room. Her phone was plugged into the charger at the moment, in the furthest corner of the room. Stooping so she didn’t have to unplug it, with one leg in the dress and the other still out of it, Julie answered the call.
“Hello?”
“Congratulations on the interview! Why didn’t you tell me when you got the call?”
Cheryl’s voice crackled across the line, almost unfamiliar. Julie felt guilty. She’d been so busy with the party plans and the wrenches thrown into them that she hadn’t even thought of her life in Boston. But she couldn’t tell that to Cheryl. Cheryl had been a good friend, getting her résumé in front of the right people for Julie to get that call to begin with.
“Sorry. I didn’t think it was a big deal. I was going to tell you after if I got the job.”
“Not a big deal!” Cheryl exclaimed. “Of course it’s a big deal! You’re one of only three applicants they’re interviewing. You’ve got a real shot at getting this job, Julie. What outfit are you planning on wearing? It’s a fashion mag, you have to look your best.”
Julie, who had glanced down at the red dress before realizing that her friend was still chattering about the interview, said, “I hadn’t thought that far ahead. Most of my wardrobe is still in Boston.”
It was an excuse, and Cheryl heard it as one. “You’re going to have to do better than that. Are you going to get your hair done before the interview?”
“The day after Christmas?” Julie hadn’t planned on it. She hadn’t planned on anything, in fact. Even thinking about it now, she couldn’t dredge up a spark of excitement. She was too nervous about tonight’s party going off without a hitch.
“I’m sure there’s a salon open somewhere up there in the middle of nowhere.”
Julie made a noncommittal sound. Her hair looked fine as it was.
“I bet you can’t wait to get out of Podunk, Vermont, and back to your regular life. I can’t believe you lasted this long! I honestly thought you’d be back in Boston commiserating with me over drinks.”
“I know, right?” Julie had thought so too… at first. But now, she wasn’t sure she would be happy to leave Pinecone Falls behind. Her life had taken a complete one-eighty from where it had been before she’d driven out here. She hadn’t thought she’d like the quiet, small-town life, but now she had friends here. She had a purpose and a reason to keep busy rather than spending all her free time scrolling through social media. She hadn’t even thought about the city or Instagram in days.
“What?” Cheryl asked. “You’re breaking up.”
In the background, Julie heard sleigh bells. Raising her voice, she told her friend, “I have to go. Sorry! Talk to you later.” She hung up without even waiting for Cheryl’s response and quickly shimmied the rest of the way into the red dress.
When she hurried to the window, she caught sight of the horse-drawn sleigh coming through the woods. Stan sat up front, guiding the brown-and-white horses through the tricky, winding path. Nolan sat next to him, with Klaus, the caterer, and the first batch of food in the sleigh itself.
Julie grinned. She hurried to shake out her hair and brush it, the last thing she needed to do since she’d already applied her makeup in the bathroom. Her hair was still damp, but rather than taking the time to blow-dry it, she hurried downstairs to help with the food. The party was about to begin.
* * *
It had beena few years since Nolan had hitched one of their horses to the sleigh but driving it had come back as if it had been yesterday. The bay gelding stamped his feet and whipped his tail through the air to show his irritation at keeping still after they stopped behind the Cozy Holly Inn. Nolan moved to his head and rubbed the blaze down the center of the horse’s forehead. “You and me both, buddy,” he muttered under his breath.
Today was the probably last day he would see Julie—unless he did something drastic. Something like ask her to stay. He’d tried keeping his distance, but that hadn’t helped. Helikedher. He wanted to get to know her better. He wanted to hold her in his arms again. But he couldn’t do that if she fled to her old life in Boston. But what was he asking her to consider, by staying? His family was buying the Cozy Holly Inn. There was nothing here for her.
Maybe he could convince her to stay for the transition, make sure the inn was in good hands or something to that effect. Maybe his efforts were doomed from the start. But if he said nothing, she would definitely leave.
He had to take a chance.
The horses snorted steam into the air. Nolan murmured sweet nonsense while he stroked their noses. His dad and Gramps had already gotten out of the sleigh and were cheerfully joking with the caterer as they helped bring the steam-filled containers inside the inn’s kitchen through the back door.
“Nolan,” Gramps snapped. “Quit your daydreaming and come to help.”
Nolan gave the horses’ necks a pat and accepted a round container from Gramps. Dutifully, he brought it inside, where several others had already been laid out along the kitchen counter. The serving staff—two teenagers in black pants, white shirts, and aprons—were busy arranging the appetizers onto trays to bring into the party. Nolan found an empty space along the counter to leave his burden and started to back out to get another. There was a lot of food.
“Is that little Nolan Miller?”
