“I mean holiday decorating. That’s what I do, remember? I turn spaces into winter wonderlands.” Felicity was already moving around the room, her decorator’s eye taking in every corner. “Right now this place looks clean and bright, which is great, but it doesn’t scream ‘Christmas bakery.’ It needs garlands, maybe some fairy lights, definitely a tree in that corner. Something that makes people feel the holiday spirit the moment they walk in.”
“Felicity, I can’t afford?—”
“Who said anything about afford? Look, I’ll be honest with you. All my clients right now are residential. Houses, apartments, the occasional holiday party. But what I really need to grow my business is commercial work—restaurants, shops, office buildings. The money’s better, and the exposure is incredible.” She gestured around the space. “This could be my first commercial portfolio piece. I photograph the transformation, use it to market to other businesses in town and beyond.”
Jade looked around, trying to imagine the bakery transformed into something more festive. “You really think some decorations would make that much difference?”
“Are you kidding? Christmas decorations are retail magic. They make people happy, they make them spend money, and they make them tell their friends about the adorable little bakery that looks like something out of a Hallmark movie.” Felicity was practically bouncing now. “Plus, with the Tree Lighting ceremony coming up, this place should be the crown jewel of Main Street. People will be walking by all week, taking pictures, posting on social media.”
“That... actually makes a lot of sense.”
“Of course it does. I’m a professional.” Felicity grinned. “So what do you say? Partners? You handle the technical repairs, I handle making this place look like Christmas threw up in here in the very best way possible?”
Jade felt that flutter of hope again. “You’d really want to do that?”
“Honey, I’ve been decorating the same twelve houses in this town for three years. A commercial project? Even a small one like this? It’s exactly what I need to take my business to the next level.” Her eyes were bright with genuine excitement. “Besides, what’s the point of having a best friend with a bakery if I can’t make it look absolutely magical?”
CHAPTER FIVE
Leo was supposed to be checking Comet's harness, but his attention kept drifting to the bakery's back door, barely fifty yards away across the fence line. Through the bright new window lighting—when had she fixed that?—he could see Jade moving around inside, apparently wrestling with something under the kitchen sink.
"She's been at it all morning," Brice observed, following Leo's gaze as he approached with a bucket of feed. "Saw her carrying in what looked like a pipe wrench around eight."
"Plumbing," Leo muttered, giving Comet's harness a perhaps unnecessarily thorough inspection. "That's... better than electrical work, I guess."
"You guess?"
"Less chance of burning down the town.” Leo moved on to checking Vixen's bridle, though she was perfectly content and didn't need checking. "Someone should keep an eye on the situation. Make sure she doesn't flood Main Street or something."
Brice's eyebrows rose slightly. "Someone."
"Someone with experience. Who knows about old plumbing." Leo was aware he was overexplaining, but couldn't seem to stop."Those buildings are from the 1920s. The pipes are probably original. One wrong move with a wrench and you've got a geyser."
"Uh-huh." Brice leaned against the fence post, clearly enjoying this. "And you're volunteering to be this... someone?"
"I'm just saying someone should check on them occasionally. As a neighbor. A responsible neighbor."
"Right. Neighborly concern." Brice's grin was infuriating. "Nothing to do with the fact that you've been staring at that bakery like a lovesick teenager for the past three days."
Leo shot him a warning look. "I have not been?—"
"Uncle Leo! Uncle Leo!" His niece, Lila, came barreling around the barn, her backpack bouncing and her cheeks pink from the cold. "Can we go see Miss Mabel? Please? I smell cookies, and she promised to teach me how to make the swirl pattern in the icing!"
Leo's stomach did something complicated. Lila and Mabel had been close since she was tiny—Mabel had been like a grandmother to her, always ready with fresh cookies and patient lessons in decorating techniques. Before Jade came back, Leo had encouraged the relationship. Mabel was good for Lila, and Lila brightened Mabel's days.
But now...
"Not today, kiddo," he said, his voice coming out rougher than he intended. "Maybe later."
"But she's probably making hot cocoa," Lila protested, her lower lip starting to tremble in a way that usually demolished his resolve. "The good kind with the real whipped cream. And I want to see if the display case lights are really as bright as they look from here."
They were bright. Leo had noticed them immediately yesterday morning—the whole front of the bakery looked more inviting, more alive. He'd seen Mrs. Henderson go in aroundlunchtime, and old Mr. Peters had stopped by with his granddaughter after school. More customers in two days than Mabel had probably seen all month.
"Maybe tomorrow," he said, hating the disappointment in Lila's eyes but unable to offer more.
"Why not today?" she pressed. "You take me over there all the time. Miss Mabel says I'm her best student, and she's working on a new recipe for Christmas trees that?—"
"I said maybe tomorrow." The words came out sharper than he meant them to, and Lila's face crumpled.
