Riley’s pulse quickened as she started to panic.
“It can’t be that bad,” she said as she flung open the door. An icy gust of wind and whirling snow instantly blasted her. She couldn’t see even a few inches in front of her.
“Whoa!” She quickly shut the door. She was trapped. She shut her eyes and took a deep breath before she turned back around to face Luke.
Their eyes locked.
The dog barked.
“It’s okay, Comet,” Luke said, never taking his eyes of Riley.
But all Riley could think was that all this, being trapped at a lodge where she wasn’t wanted, was anything but okay.
Chapter Nine
Luke turned his attention to Harry.
“You’re right,” Luke said. “No one should be driving in this weather. You are more than welcome to stay. We have plenty of rooms.”
Harry gave Luke a grateful smile.
“Thank you. I appreciate that,” Harry said. “Actually, I’ve always heard great things about this lodge. My wife and I always wanted to come here, but we just never made it happen.” Harry looked around, impressed. “She would have loved all these Christmas decorations. She loved everything about Christmas. She passed several years ago, but she is with me more than ever this time of year.” Harry smiled as he walked over to the bookcase and admired a nutcracker from the collection.
“That’s wonderful that you have so many special memories of your time with her,” Riley said.
Harry smiled and nodded. “Especially at Christmas.”
When Harry walked over to the big picture window, Riley joined him.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Harry asked, looking out the window.
She gave him a funny look. “The blizzard? Beautiful? More like a menace since it’s keeping us trapped here.”
“I can think of worse places to be trapped,” Harry said with a chuckle.
When Riley turned around, she found Luke staring at her. His expression was impossible to read.
“I really am sorry about this,” she said. “I’m going to call Mike and get this all straightened out.”
But when Riley got out her cell phone, she barely had a signal. She started walking around the lobby holding up her phone, hoping to find a better connection.
Comet, the dog, was following her.
She looked down at him. “So what’s the secret here? Where is the good signal?” She walked over to the fireplace but still didn’t have any luck. She looked back at Luke. “Where’s the best place to get a strong signal?”
Luke shrugged. “Depends, but right now you’re not going to get anything with the storm blowing through here.” He looked over at Harry. “Please sit, make yourself comfortable. You must be worn out after that drive up here in this weather.
When Harry sat down on the couch, Riley picked a big overstuffed comfy chair to sit down in, too. It was just close enough to the fire that she could feel the warmth from the flickering flames.
As soon as she sat down, Comet came over to her.
She smiled at him. “Sit.”
“Oh, he doesn’t do that,” Luke said. “Only for my mom.”
Comet instantly sat and looked up at Riley with adoring eyes.
Luke shook his head, surprised. “Well, that’s a first. Come here, Comet.”
Comet quickly trotted over to Luke.
“Sit,” Luke said.
Comet didn’t move. He just stared back at him.
Luke pointed to the floor. “Sit, Comet. Sit.”
Comet just kept standing and wagging his tail.
Riley patted her leg. “Come here, Comet,”
When Comet ran over to her, Riley leaned down and gave him a hug. “You’re a good boy, aren’t you?”
Comet barked and wagged his tail some more.
“Sit,” Riley said.
Comet sat perfectly on cue.
“Seriously?” Luke asked Comet. “That’s how it’s going to be?”
Comet barked again, looking quite pleased with himself.
Riley tried to hide her laugh. “Why is he named Comet?”
“After the reindeer, right?” Harry asked.
Luke nodded and smiled. “Exactly. Comet is my mom’s dog. She named him.”
“Reindeer?” Riley asked, confused.
Luke raised an eyebrow at her. “You know, Santa’s reindeer. I thought you would have gotten that right away, you being Miss Christmas and all.”
Riley laughed loudly. “Miss Christmas? Where did you get that crazy idea from?”
“Mike,” Luke said, but he didn’t look amused. “And what’s so crazy about it? I thought that’s why you were doing this Christmas Camp thing and writing a Christmas novel.”
Riley’s smile quickly faded while she tried to comprehend what Mike had done now. The question that hit her full force was, why she was paying him so much when all he’d done lately was wreak havoc on her life? She could have done that on her own for free.
She forced herself to smile. “What exactly did Mike say?”
“When he was pitching me to have you do this Christmas Camp, he told me you’d be perfect because you loved all things Christmas and were Christmas twenty-four seven,” Luke said, starting to look concerned. “Are you saying it isn’t true?”
Riley knew she had to choose her words carefully. She cleared her throat. “I’m saying Mike definitely has a way with words, that’s for sure.”
She was saved from having to say anything more, though, when Harry jumped in. “What’s this Christmas Camp you’re talking about?” he asked, intrigued.
“Oh, it was just something we were going to do—a weekend of special Christmas activities here at the lodge to help people really embrace their Christmas spirit,” Luke said.
“That sounds great,” Harry said. “But now you’re not going to do it?”
Luke looked into Riley’s eyes. “No. The plans have changed.”
“Well, that’s too bad,” Harry said. “I like the sound of this Christmas Camp. I bet it would have been really popular.”
“We had literally thousands of people who wanted to come,” Riley said.
Harry laughed. “Well, I don’t think you’re going to fit them all here. How many rooms do you have here, Luke? Fifty?”
“Thirty,” Luke answered. “But we were only going to have about a dozen people to keep the experience intimate so Riley here could interact with everyone personally. Everyone else was going to follow along online and send in their questions and ideas that
