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I lower my brows. “What kind of help do you need?”
She starts to speak again when her phone rings. “I’m sorry. It’s crazy times right now.”
She looks at the screen and holds up a finger.
Lia leans a little closer to me and lowers her voice. “Run. Save yourself now. She’s already roped me in.”
“I can’t. You’re in my way.”
She scoffs. “Like you’ve never vaulted over these booths before. I’ve seen it.”
“Hey, I’m an upstanding citizen in the community these days. I can’t go around acting like a hoodlum.”
She rolls her eyes. “Like that ever stopped you before.” She smirks. “I think you’re afraid you’re going to pull something.”
“I’ll give you something to—”
“Sorry about that,” Emily says, laying the phone on the table. “Now where was I?”
“You need help?” I prompt.
“Right.” She folds her hands together like she’s praying, and her eyes plead with me. “I need the garage to be Santa’s headquarters this year.”
I raise my brows and look back and forth between Mom and Emily. “I’m sorry, what?”
Emily reaches across the table and lays her hand on my forearm. “Stella is about to lose her damn mind,” she says on a sigh, referring to Lia’s aunt who is the head of the town Chamber of Commerce. “And we realize it’s a lot to ask with it so close to Christmas. But the general store has a busted pipe, and the area where we have Santa’s workshop flooded. It won’t be fixed in time for Christmas activities, which is now, by the way.” She pauses just long enough to breathe. “And we will make sure it doesn’t interfere with your work.”
“What about Casteel’s Christmas Village?”
She shakes her head. “Their space for it isn’t ready yet. They weren’t expecting to start until next year and so they don’t have all the materials they need to finish the build. And with shortages everywhere, they can’t get it in time.”
“What about the chocolate shop?”
“They’ve got their candy making station decked out this year. Takes up the whole back wall now.”
My brain whirls, trying to think of any other place besides the garage that could act as Santa’s workshop.
But I come up empty.
I shift in my seat, trying to keep from brushing up against Lia. Not an easy task since I’m not small but these booths are.
Not to mention my body has a tendency to gravitate to her.
“Yeah, it’s kind of last minute.” I rub the back of my neck and glance at my mother. She’s giving me those eyes that tell me I know what I’m going to do regardless of what I actually want to do.
At this time of year, business is a little slower with people wanting to spend money on holiday stuff and not so much on car things unless it is an emergency. But how the hell would this even work?
I clear my throat. “I don’t even have the same setup as the general store.”“I have some ideas for that.” She beams in Lia’s direction. “They were my baby girl’s ideas.”
I glance over at Lia, and she lifts her chin and gives me the side-eye, but her cheeks are faintly pink. I can’t help the smile that curves my lips. Her embarrassment still shows up on her face.
Maggie shows up with our food, and there’s a lull in the conversation while we eat.
“So what are these ideas?”
“Well, Lia here has agreed to help you.” Emily’s smile is bright as the sun as she gestures to the woman next to me.
“Oh, no no no.” Lia shakes her head quickly and her fork clatters onto the plate. “I didn’t agree to help him.” She thumbs over her shoulder. “I agreed to helpyou,Mom.”
