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“Do you keep entire trees back here?”
“Flynn!” she cried, exasperated.
“Sorry. I’m sorry,” I replied, trying to wipe away the laugh that threatened to bubble to the surface.
“I don’t have much time to get this done—”
“I’ll take this seriously. I promise.”
Silently, she moved to another door and walked inside. A few seconds later, she came out with a bucket of branches.
“They have to stay cool so they don’t dry out,” she replied, answering my unspoken question. “It’s a walk-in cooler. I get these from Aiden, at the tree farm.”
“You can get branches from Christmas trees after Christmas?”
She tipped her chin up. “I can’t tell if you’re being serious.”
I’d honestly never given much thought to what happened to evergreens outside of the holiday season. Every answer suddenly felt like it would be the wrong one.
“I don’t know much about evergreens.”
“I’ll save that lesson for another day when I have time for it.” She chuckled. “I’ve got to make these arrangements and get it done quickly. The last thing I need is for anyone to figure out I’m not there.”
“I’ve tried really hard not to ask, but I’ve got to know. What do they have over you?”
She crossed back over to the walk-in cooler and snagged another bucket of greenery I didn’t recognize.
“I know I haven’t been overly specific, but this job landed in my lap thanks to Madison. They wanted to film at the Sugar Plum Inn since it had been redone, and since you were the star, and this is your hometown. Madison refused to let them unless they used me.”
“I always liked her, you know.”
For the first time in the last few days, Harper threw back her head and genuinely laughed.
“She’s a mess. But she has my best interests at heart. We both do. I pushed her to redo the inn, and this was her way of pushing me back.”
I watched her as she worked, her concentration never wavering from her project. After a couple of finished pieces, I attempted to mimic the same.
“That tells me how you got the job planning the arrangements all over the house and pulling roses for me to give out, but that doesn’t tell me how you ended up on the show.”
“Honestly, luck of the draw, I guess.”
“Luck of the draw how, Harper? Because I’m the consolation prize?”
Her head shot up, her cheeks ablaze.
“That’s not at all—”
“Then tell me. What’s so bad about being on this show?”
“Are you kidding me?” She slammed down the branch she’d been working with, catching me in a steely gaze. “Wait, that means you’d have to take something seriously.”
“Oh, you mean like you’d have to open up to me?”
She opened her mouth to say something, then closed it again. It was a low blow, but it had to be said.
“What’s so bad about you being on this show?”
“I don’t have time for this. We’re going to have to head back in a little bit.”
