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"Nice alliteration," Sofia teased, tipping an imaginary hat at Holly.
"Thank you," Holly said with a laugh before turning back to Grace. "So, to fix both of those issues, I propose you stay at the inn for free..."
Grace leaned forward. "Hang on—"
"Ifyou expand your blog coverage to include a specific write-up on the inn, as well as a feature about my cooking show, making sure to highlight Joan and everything she accomplishes with both. What do you say?"
Her heart swelled—because yeah, it sounded amazing. And if anyone deserved that kind of recognition it was absolutely Joan. From what Grace had seen, the woman was a powerhouse and likely only pretended to go to sleep. In reality, she was probably more accomplished than all of Santa's elves combined.
"Deal," Grace said, surprising herself as much as the rest of them with how quickly she agreed. The others cheered and clapped as if she'd just signed a major contract, and she had to agree.
It felt like more than a business deal regarding her blog; it felt like she was committing to something deeper, something that had the potential to change her life entirely.
"Welcome to the family," Robin said, raising her glass in a toast.
When the celebration ended and Grace and her friends parted ways, she took the stairs slowly, her mind replaying the evening's events and the conversations shared with her new friends.
As she reached the top of the stairs, she remembered the comparison she had made of Holly and Sofia earlier, now adding herself and Robin to it, rounding out the foursome they'd formed. She'd seen Robin effortlessly transition from a crisp business suit to the casual mom vibe in a flash. And her own attire consisted of leggings and sweatshirts for the winter... and leggings and crop tops for the summer.
Not very fashion-forward, but comfortable for travel, easy to pack, and with colors that coordinated enough that she never had to worry about what was clean in order to make an outfit.
The four of them were so different... and yet, even with those differences, Grace could see herself being lifelong friends with them.
By the time she got to her room, Grace was practically floating on air. She checked her email as she settled in, eager to see the responses from the article she'd posted announcing her extended stay in Snow Hill.
Thankfully, there was nothing from Snow Hill's Biggest Fan. But she did see one from someone who lived in a small town in Texas, asking if Grace would ever make it out there because they have a lot of things she'd probably like to experience.
The email did funny things to Grace, leaving her feeling cold, and it was a stark contrast to the warmth she'd felt earlier.
Her life, always a pendulum swinging from one place to the next, now felt unexpectedly anchored by Holly's plan. But she had to leave at some point, right?
Only... now she was afraid that the longer she stayed, the harder it would be when it was time to go. With a brand new request for her to visit a new town burning a hole in her inbox, no less.
Staring out the window, Grace sighed. She had no idea what her plan was... and for the first time in her life, the thrill of the unknown didn't excite her.
Instead, she was more than a little scared.
CHAPTER10
Tommy
"Hey,Tommy, how's the case of the missing Christmas decorations going?" his sergeant asked with a sardonic smile as he strolled by Tommy's desk.
Tommy looked up from the stack of papers and grinned. "Well, it's not every day we get to chase down a band of rogue reindeers, but I think we're close to cracking it."
Despite the lighthearted nature of the case—one where a group of teens dressed in reindeer pajama onesies had stolen the decorations from an entire street last night—Tommy was distracted.
Grace had a Snow Hill superfan begging her to stay longer than a few days, and thenboom—her inn at the next destination cancels her reservation.
What were the odds?
As cliche as it was, Tommy didn't believe in coincidences.
The door opened, and Ida and Mrs. P appeared, arms loaded with trays of holiday treats. Tommy got up and lunged for Mrs. P just as a tray of cookies nearly toppled out of her hands. "Whoa, hey, I got that."
"Thank you," she said with a sigh of relief as Tommy relieved her of the sprinkle-covered mountain range. "That would've been terrible."
"Eh, we're tough. We would've eaten 'em off the floor."
