“You’re on.” If he wanted to spend his money on her, she was going to let him. He was an adult and knew his own mind. Who was she to argue? “Come on, let’s go.”
It only took seconds to check their jackets. She took an extra minute to introduce herself to the elderly lady running the coat check. Mrs. Adelson was adorable, and somewhat of a gossip unless Clara missed her guess.
“Nice to meet you, Clara. Any friend of the Flint family is a friend of mine. Tricia used to live in my building. Her suite is empty now.” She turned toward Zane. “I’m sure it wouldn’t be hard to get in if you wanted to move there instead of staying at the inn. You know, in case you decide to stay in town because you’re falling for a local gal.” She pinned Zane with a stare that made him wince.
“Come now, Mrs. Adelson. Zane is a guest. He has no plans to move to Coyote Creek. He’s got a job and a life to get back to.” The thought saddened her. She could easily get used to seeing his handsome face every morning and evening. And his kisses—she wouldn’t think about those and where they might lead. If she did, she’d drag him out of here and back to her bedroom.
“I do have a successful career to get back to,” Zane agreed. “But if I had any intention of ditching it and leaving the city, Coyote Creek would be a top contender. The people here are friendly.” He winked at Clara, making her blush, and Mrs. Adelson laugh. He leaned close to the gray-haired woman. “Tell me, are you single? It might sway my decision.”
“Go on with you now.” She smiled broadly and waved toward the displays. “Get in there. Buy something nice. The vendors have paid to be here, we’re raising funds for the toy drive. Support them for helping others. Buy yourself a cup of coffee at the back. The costs go to the drive as well.”
“Oh, how can I get in on the toy drive?” Clara asked. She’d love to pitch in to help underprivileged kids receive gifts. She was going to need to connect more with her new neighbors to get in on the loop of what was happening in town.
“Talk to Ken Flint. He’s heading the committee this year. Now move along, these nice people are waiting.”
“Bye, Mrs. Adelson.” Zane flashed her a wink, making her giggle as they walked side by side to the closed doors at the end of the hallway, their hands brushing.
Zane pulled open the door and stood back for Clara to enter. A wall of sensation slammed into her. The chorus of Frosty grew louder. Children’s excited squeals and the chatter of adults invoked a smile. The tantalizing aroma of mini donuts and coffee made her stomach growl. It was chaos. It was incredible. An enormous smile spread over her face. “This is amazing. Don’t you just love this?”
“It’s something. Let’s get inside and investigate the vendors’ offerings.”
She glanced at him. He sounded as excited as she was, why was he trying to downplay it?
They wandered from table to table. She took a moment to introduce herself to each vendor. Halfway down the first row they stopped at Tricia’s table. Riley and Tricia stood behind it chatting. Childish singing came from under it. “Daisy?” Clara asked, pointing toward the voice.
“Yes.” Tricia groaned. “She loves music. She never stops singing. I’m so tired of Rudolph.” She rolled her eyes, and in a heartbeat, Clara knew she was exaggerating.
“Would she be interested in piano lessons? I’m going to start teaching in the new year.” The decision exploded into her mind and out her mouth before she realized it.
Two heads popped out from under the table. Daisy and Jane jumped up. “Please, Mommy, can I take piano lessons. I’ll try really hard.”
“Me too,” Jane put in. “We could go together.”
“I’ll work out some details with Auntie Clara, we’ll see.” She turned to her niece. “Jane, you’ll have to ask your father.”
The girls high fived each other and ran off to find Jane’s father, Clara’s cousin Ken.
“I hope they realize it’s one on one, not group lessons. I only have one piano.” Clara laughed. “I suppose they could watch each other.”
“That would be a disaster,” Riley said. “They’d just distract each other. Better stick to separate lessons on different days. How are you, Clara? We haven’t seen you for a while.”
“Great. Things are going well at Sweet Dreams. No more watery disasters. I have a good routine and I’m sticking to it. I’ll call you about those lessons. But right now, I want to look at these lovely scarves. Tricia, these are beautiful. You’re very talented.”
Clara fingered the scarves, pulling out several and spreading them across the table. She was torn between the teal, the fuchsia, and the black and white checkered one, which was slightly higher priced. “I don’t know which one to choose.”
“Try them on,” Zane suggested. “We’ll tell you which looks best.”
“Do you mind?” she asked Tricia.
“Not in the least. Go crazy.”
When she’d modelled all three as well as a forest green one, Zane spoke up. “I’d go with the black and white one. I like the way the two colors mimic the colors in your hair. You’ve got that adorable white patch by your left ear and the solid tones suit you better than the variegated ones.”
The silly white patch. She didn’t usually give it any thought. Today was the first time in her life that she’d been glad of the genetic anomaly, which left her without color in one small patch of hair. It was nearly a perfect circle just behind and below her left ear. She’d long ago given up fretting over what she couldn’t change, but Zane seemed to like it. A trickle of happiness washed over her, and she bit back a smile. All she’d done today was grin.
“I agree. I like the checkered one. It suits you,” Tricia said.
“I’ll go check on Daisy and Jane.” Riley chuckled.
