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Talent—that was it!
“What if we had Santa come in to do a reading ofThe Night Before Christmas? We could provide cookies and hot chocolate for the kids, and suggest a freewill donation,” Mia said.
Del nodded. “Traditional—I like it. And don’t forget: for the adults, we’re trying to line up a best-selling author to do a book signing.”
“Really? Wow, that’s definitely thinking outside the box,” Robyn said. “But what big author could we possibly convince to come all this way right before Christmas?”
Del said, “Here’s a name you may remember: Alex Wellington.”
Robyn’s jaw dropped as she looked to Mia. “No kidding?”
“No kidding.”
“Now we know why you let him stay here this weekend,” Margaret said with a wink. “I always knew you were one smart cookie.”
Mia shook her head. “No, that was all just coincidence. Handy, but just a coincidence. What’s even cooler is that Alex writes about all these different distilleries across the country, and he’s trying to connect with Max to see if Tipsy Barrel Bourbons will fit into his next book.”
“I like him already,” Nan said. “You get your new beau to sign books; Barbara and I will work on the cookies.”
“What about me?” Gina asked.
“You’re in charge of the hot chocolate,” Mia said. “And making sure Margaret gets nowhere near it.”
Mrs. Harper shrugged. “Fine, I’ll just stick close to Alex and run off any competition of Mia’s that might walk in the door.”
Competition?
As the others laughed, Mia worked to keep her worries in check. Did she have competition down in Indy? Did he already have other women waiting in the wings? Mia didn’t know. For now, she’d just have to trust him until he gave her a reason not to.
Hopefully, that reason wouldn’t arrive.
Chapter Eight
Mia dropped Brooklynoff at the high school Tuesday night, then circled back to pick up Margaret Harper. Tonight was the school’s annual winter music concert, with both the band and show choir set to perform. Mia had planned to go alone, as the rest of her family was working at their respective jobs, but Margaret had volunteered to come along.
Well, more like volun-told. She refused to have Mia go alone after learning Greg and his family all planned to attend. Mia had insisted she would be fine, that participating in school functions as a split couple was gradually getting easier, but Margaret wouldn’t hear of it.
After living beside her for over a decade, Mia had learned that arguing with the woman was a lost cause.
“You’re late,” Margaret said, easing into Mia’s Equinox.
Mia, ever punctual, frowned. “The concert doesn’t start for forty-five minutes.”
“Exactly. How will we get to people watch if we’re not there before everyone else?”
Shaking her head, Mia steered for the school. Was this what it would be like if she was still single at Mrs. Harper’s age? So bored and eager to get out of the house that people watching at their high school was a highlight of the week?
Her mind drifted back to Alex, afraid to daydream about their future. Probably best not to get her hopes up too high. Still, she couldn’t help but wish he’d been here. If nothing else, the look of shock on Greg’s face that she’d brought a date would have been entertaining.
The drive back to Bourbon Falls High took only a few minutes, and soon she was hurrying after Margaret who seemed bound and determined to be one of the first spectators to arrive. Seats with a clear view of both where the band would perform and the main entrance to the auditorium were soon selected, and the ladies shed their coats and settled in.
Margaret assessed Mia’s outfit and smirked. “I knew it.”
Mia scanned her patterned red sateen shirt and black cardigan, looking to see if she’d spilled something from their hurried early dinner on herself. “Knew what?”
“You twoarea thing.”
Mia stopped her fretting and sighed. “Alex and I are just longtime friends reconnecting.”So far. Mostly.“And why do you say that?”
