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Wendy sighed, and smiled at her sweetly.
“Because we want you to appear like you’ve really fallen for this guy. Everyone knows you’re a “take it or leave it” kind of girl. This is a signal that you’ve changed all that.”
“Again, how is that important to the plan?” Frieda asked.
“Trust me,” Wendy stated, pulling out a pair of heels for Frieda to wear. “It will be.”
“Whatever you say, boss.” Frieda sighed, strapping the tiny death traps to her feet. How was she to walk in the snow in these things? She’d spent over forty years not wearing heels, and now here she was, in the tallest ones imaginable. She went to take a step forward and stumbled, only missing the ground because of Wendy’s quick reflexes.
“Come on,” Wendy urged, “I’ll help you. Before we leave, go out to the living room and walk around a bit. It’ll get easier.”
“Oh my gosh, look at this,” Erik teased as he and Regan saw Wendy and Frieda come down the stairs. “I need a picture of this. Your sisters won’t believe me without proof.”
“You snap that picture, and I’ll snap your femur,” Frieda warned him, still struggling in her heels as they made it to the landing.
“Wow,” Regan stated, looking her up and down, as if shocked.
“Listen, buddy, I’ll snap your femur, too, if you got any jokes,” she threatened, turning to him.
“Not at all,” Regan replied, shaking his head. “I’m just wondering how I’m supposed to break up with you looking like that. Even if it is just pretend.”
“Well, of course, you’ll go mad with loneliness,” Frieda teased, finally taking another look at him.
“Well, if I’m leaving you, I deserve it,” Regan teased back.
He and Erik had just returned from Erik’s place, where he had put Regan in one of his better suits.Sarabel’swas one of the more upscale restaurants in the place, and they both needed to look the part. Frieda realized she preferred him in just his jeans and sweater, but she had to admit that he could certainly pull off a suit as well.
“You look good, too,” she admitted, smoothing her hands down her dress stressfully. “At least we’ll look the part.”
For the first time since meeting him, Regan smiled at Frieda.
“Oh, we’ll do more than that, sweetheart,” he assured. “Just stick with me. We’re about to put on the best performance of our lives. People who don’t even know us will mourn the end of our relationship.”
ChapterThree
Birgit stared down at her phone, frowning. She’d been kept in the loop about Wendy’s performance the night before and how the plans had changed and now involved Frieda. She had faith in her little sister, and she knew that she would be successful. But, selfishly, Birgit wanted her by her side.
Christmas was now only a few days away, with only one contest left to go. Nothing had occurred during the last one they had participated in, but that didn’t make Birgit feel any better. Instead, it actually stressed her out even more. It was as if she was just waiting for something awful to happen, which was very much against her nature. She and her sisters were go-getters, and playing the game of wait-and-see had been difficult for all three of them.
“What’s the news?” Heidi asked, appearing by Birgit’s side in the lobby ofThe Mystic Refuge.
“There were some complications with Wendy last night,” Birgit explained. “Frieda’s now going to be a part of the trap Erik, Tucker, and the guys are setting up for Anita and Jimmy.”
Heidi made a face, her blonde brows rising up in surprise.
“Are you sure that’s wise?” she asked. “I love Frieda, but she’s…”
“Tightly wound?” Birgit offered, both of them trying to speak delicately about their dearly loved middle sister. Heidi gave her an appreciative look and nodded.
“She’s not really one to play cool when issues arrive,” Heidi agreed.
“No,” Birgit sighed, “she’s not. But Erik has faith this plan will work, and I have faith in Frieda’s strong will. So, I think what we should do is start putting our final plans into motion for this last contest, and take care of things on our end.”
“Right,” Heidi agreed, choosing to think optimistically. This chaos had to come to an end. Surely. “So, the last contest of the year. The Christmas pageant. Do you still have the dress?”
The Christmas pageant was not only the wrap-up of the month-long themed contests but also the wrap-up of the year. Business representatives from the town and the state of Washington had to listen to each contestant’s story as to how the year affected them and the creative ways they worked toward positive solutions. For this contest, the winner would not only get an award from the town but also from Washington as well.
“I do, I checked this morning,” Birgit agreed, giving a curt nod. “They may have figured a way into the hotel at times, but I was able to keep them out of my quarters. Tucker went through my computer and place last night and found no trace of any intruders. So, at least we have one secure place.”
