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It was automatic, his reaction to something commandeering the next four hours of his life. But as he held the door for his daughter and Faith at the Mexican restaurant, it occurred to him that there were worse things he could do for the next four hours than spend time with these two. In fact, whether they were watching figure skaters glide around on ice or sitting at home watching a movie, this was where he was at his happiest. He just needed to turn off work for a few hours and enjoy.
“What do you know? There’s your guy.”
Faith said that as he stepped inside, the door slamming right into his backside. He’d stopped a little too soon, apparently. He followed her stare to the booths on the far wall, where Lucky Howard sat with a woman Holden recognized as Jordan Strongblossom.
“You can go talk to him if you need to,” Faith said. “We’ll go ahead and order drinks. Sweet tea for you?”
Holden nodded, still staring at Lucky. He didn’t want to interrupt the guy’s date, but he really did need to talk to him.
“I’ll just be a few minutes,” he said, nodding his thanks to the host, who already had two menus in hand and was ready to lead them to their table.
“Lucky!” Holden said as he approached the table.
Lucky had a huge smile that Holden understood all too well. It was the look of a man who was truly happy with the woman seated across from him. Strange that suddenly he could relate to that again. It had been so long.
But he didn’t have time to dwell on that. Lucky shifted his gaze over to Holden, already looking puzzled. His brow was furrowed, but his smile remained in place.
“Holden Pryce!” Lucky said. “We were just talking about you.”
Holden shifted his stare over to Lucky’s date-girlfriend.
She shook her head. “Not us.”
“No, I was talking to William Martin about you,” Lucky corrected. “He said you were looking for some investors. I think I have an idea.”
Those words were the last thing Holden expected to hear. “William Martin?”
Lucky laughed. “The guy in the Santa outfit. I know it sounds absurd but trust me. It was the weirdest thing. I came home one day and saw a business card on my door. No idea how the guy knew where I lived. But I called him. Would you believe his phone number registers on my phone as the North Pole?”
Holden would believe that, but he didn’t say it. He just shook his head numbly.
“When I called him, he asked me to meet him at the top of the mountain,” Lucky continued. “I’ll be honest. I almost blew him off. For all I know, the guy had plans to push me off the top of that mountain. But when I arrived, there was this red pickup truck parked there, and he stood out there in that red coat and those red pants, not acting the least bit cold even though it felt like it was a hundred degrees below zero up there.”
“Santa doesn’t get cold,” Jordan pointed out with a teasing glint in her eye.
Lucky flashed her one of those loving smiles before returning his attention to Holden. “He said he had a business proposition for me and pointed to all the empty land. He talked about what a draw a resort would be. I thought it was his idea, and he wanted to hire me as a developer. In the end, though, he gave me your name. Weird, huh?”
“Doesn’t sound too weird to me,” Jordan said. “Do you know him?”
Holden shook his head. What was happening here?
Lucky shook his head, too. “Who knows what’s going on with the guy? Anyway, let’s get together for coffee or lunch one day this week. Or we can wait until after the first of the year if you’d prefer.”
This was better than he could’ve imagined. He’d been prepared to give Lucky a sales pitch, even before this William-Santa character had stepped into the situation. This allowed him to skip right past that and discuss the opportunity.
He agreed to meet and returned to the table to find Faith and J.J. laughing over something. Even when J.J. asked to borrow his phone to play her game, he didn’t mind.
Yes, everything was exactly as it should be.
16
Faith assumed she knew what to expect from an ice show. She was wrong.
She’d seen plenty of figure skating in her time—mostly sports competitions on TV. It was always the same. Beautiful, glittery costumes on graceful people skating to some sort of classical music. They either skated solo or as part of a couple. This was an actual show, complete with colored lights and a story.
The best part of the performance was that she got to watch it seated next to Holden. The seats were narrow, so they were packed together, her arm pressed against his. In fact, she’d swear he was leaning toward her a little. But that could be because the guy on the other side of him was encroaching on his space. Whatever the reason, she didn’t mind.
“Dad, I have to go to the restroom,” J.J. said the second it was clear they were at intermission.
