“We do,” Luke said, his voice softening a little. “And we have a lot of loyal guests who have come year after year, especially at Christmas, that have made their own memories.”
“Are any of your regulars coming to Christmas Camp?” Riley asked.
Luke nodded. “Yes, one couple was selected. I put in a good word for them. They actually got married here on Christmas twenty-five years ago, so I thought they’d be a good fit. Plus, Beva loves your books.”
“I like her already,” Riley said with a smile. This was her opening. “You know, I’m sure Beva and the rest of the Christmas Campers would be very disappointed if you had to cancel all of a sudden, with only a few days before the camp is scheduled to start.”
Luke frowned. “I know. I’ve thought about that. But the only thing worse than canceling on our guests is having them come for an experience that disappoints them.”
“Disappoints them? What do you mean?” Riley asked, confused. “This place is amazing. I’ve never seen anything like it before. Almost every room is incredibly decorated. Anyone who loves Christmas will fall in love with this place.”
“I’m not talking about being disappointed in the lodge,” Luke said.
Riley bristled. “So then you’re talking about the guests being disappointed in . . . me.”
Silence.
Riley quickly covered her hurt with annoyance. “I’ll have you know,” she said, marching right up to him until they were toe to toe, “your Christmas Camp sold out because my readers are coming to see me. They are my fans . . .”
Luke met her challenging stare. “And they were promised an experience where they could relax and reboot and embrace the true meaning and magic of Christmas, and to connect with one another and with you.”
“So?” Riley demanded, warning herself to stay calm but not able to help herself when her voice became louder. “I’m here. What’s the problem?”
“Frankly,” Luke said, “your attitude. That’s the problem. How do I know if everyone shows up here for Christmas Camp that you won’t get upset about something and just storm off again?”
“That’s not fair,” Riley said. “You can’t just judge me by what happened with that one interview. That was a unique situation. You don’t really know me.”
“You’re right,” Luke said. “And that’s the real problem here. I don’t know you, and that means I don’t know how you’ll act. After almost a hundred years of taking such good care of our guests, I don’t want anyone’s last experience here to be a negative one and ruin our legacy. I take full responsibility for this being on me. I should have never agreed to do this without knowing more about you first. Mike insisted that it would be easy and . . .”
“Let me guess,” Riley jumped in, “a win-win for everyone.”
“Exactly,” Luke said.
“Look. I get it,” Riley said. “I would be nervous, too, but I can promise you I’m a very reliable person. I love my readers. I would never take off and leave something I was hosting.”
Luke gave her a skeptical look.
Riley held up her hands in her defense. “Again, you can’t judge me on just that one incident. I’ve never walked out on an interview in my life before that. But that reporter . . . he just went too far.”
“Agreed.” Luke said. “What he did was wrong. I would have been furious, too. But I have my family’s legacy to worry about. Especially now that we’re looking to sell the lodge. We were doing this Christmas Camp as a last positive event for the lodge, something for our guests to always remember . . .”
Riley nodded, excited, and smiled back at him. “And I think that’s an amazing idea. Honestly, I do. This place is obviously the perfect location to host any event that has to do with Christmas. If you cancel now, not only are you going to be disappointing a lot of people but it’s going to be a PR nightmare for both of us, and that’s not going to help you sell this place.”
“Or help you sell any of your books,” Luke added.
“Exactly,” Riley agreed. “So, as much as I hate to agree with Mike right now, I think he’s right. I really do think this can work for both of us. Your guests will be able to have one last special memory at the lodge, and for the people who have never been here, they’ll have a chance to experience how special it is before you sell. Wouldn’t your mom want that?”
Luke walked over to the kitchen window and looked out, even though it was too dark and snowy to see anything.
Riley joined him there. She took a deep breath. She knew this was it, that her only hope was just to be completely honest with him.
“Luke,” she said in a voice that, for the first time, sounded the way she felt . . . scared. “I need this. I really need to do this Christmas Camp.”
When he turned around, he gave her his full attention.
She looked into his eyes. “The truth is my last book isn’t selling well.” She looked away as she crossed her arms in front of her chest, hugging herself for comfort. “If I don’t do this Christmas Camp, I’m done. My publishing career is over. So this Christmas Camp means everything to me.”
When she looked back at him, she couldn’t read his expression. “Please, Luke, I promise I won’t disappoint you or the people who come to Christmas Camp. I care about them, too. I’m just asking that you give me another chance.”
She held her breath as she continued to hold Luke’s gaze.
Comet had come over to join then and was now sitting at Luke’s feet. His big brown eyes gazed up at Riley when he barked.
Riley glanced from Comet to Luke and then waited for what felt like an eternity for Luke to stay something.
“I think you need to go,” Luke finally said.
Riley’s heart sank. “Really?” her
