Luke nodded. “Yeah. You need to go get some rest because if we’re going to do this Christmas Camp together, we have a lot of ground to cover in the next two days.”
When Riley let out a huge sigh of relief, she felt her heart start beating again.
“Thank you so much!” she exclaimed, and without thinking, she gave Luke a heartfelt hug. “I promise you won’t be sorry.”
When Luke didn’t hug her back, she quickly backed away and laughed nervously. “And I promise you I won’t do that again. I’m just really grateful. You’re literally saving my career, which is basically my life.”
“Well, don’t thank me yet. Let’s see how this goes,” Luke said. “I’ve never run a Christmas Camp before, but Mike says you’re Miss Christmas so I’m looking forward to hearing all of your great ideas about what you want to do. He was supposed to send me your list, but he never did. You can just give it to me tomorrow morning, and we’ll get started.”
“A list of activities?” Riley asked, confused. “Do you mean the activities you’ve set up for us to do that I need to approve?”
Now it was Luke’s turn to look confused. “No, the other way around. Mike said you had a list of all the activities set up for me to approve.”
When her eyes grew huge, he gave her a sharp look. “Is everything okay?” he asked.
Riley quickly recovered. “Yes, of course. Everything’s great,” she lied. Her mind was whirling. None of this was adding up. Mike had told her everything would be taken care of and all she had to do was show up at Christmas Camp and interact with the guests, but now Luke was saying he was waiting for her to give him a list? She didn’t have a Christmas clue as to what kind of holiday activities they should do.
When she absentmindedly rubbed her throbbing temple, Luke looked concerned. “You’re sure everything is okay?”
Riley forced a smile. “Yes, all good,” she said. “I was just thinking that you’re right. I need to get some rest so we can start bright and early tomorrow morning.”
“Great,” he said. “I’ll look forward to hearing all your ideas tomorrow. I know we got off on the wrong foot, but if we’re going to do this right, we really need to work together.”
“Agreed,” Riley said, having no clue what she was truly agreeing to.
“I can show you to your room if you’re ready,” Luke offered.
Riley could only nod and then follow him out of the kitchen.
When Comet looked up at her she mouthed the word, Help!
She just needed to stay calm, she could figure this out. She was an award-winning reporter. She could certainly hop on Google, do a little research, and figure out some Christmas activities for the weekend.
But when Luke opened the door to her guestroom, she didn’t even pretend to be okay.
“Whoa!” she blurted out without realizing it.
Inside her room were dozens of Santas. From a life-sized Santa cardboard cutout in the corner, to a collection of figurines on the dresser, to all the pillows on the bed, there were Santas everywhere. There was even an elaborate eight foot red-and-gold velvet Santa chair next to a real Christmas tree with Santa ornaments and a quaint stone fireplace. Hanging from the wooden mantle above the fireplace was just one red felt stocking that had Riley’s name embroidered on it.
But it was the bed that Riley couldn’t stop staring at.
It was a red Santa sleigh—an actual sleigh—that had been converted into a bed. And above the bed was a sign that read, Always believe.
Still in shock, Riley instantly covered her mouth with her hand to keep herself from blurting out anything she’d regret, because the only thing she believed right now was that if she had to sleep in that bed, she would go Christmas crazy.
“It’s really something, isn’t it?” Luke asked, walking over to the giant Santa chair.
Riley was relieved that he’d apparently taken her horror for wonder.
“It is . . . something,” Riley said, forcing a smile that made her cheeks hurt.
Luke sat down in the Santa chair and smiled back at her. “When my mom, who is a huge fan of all your books, heard you were going to host the Christmas Camp and that you were Miss Christmas she insisted on redecorating this room just for you.”
“Wow,” Riley replied. She didn’t know what else to say.
Luke stood up from the chair, walked over, and picked up one of the Santa figurines. It was about six inches tall, ceramic, and had an old-world charm about it. The Santa was holding a Christmas tree.
“She even included some of her own favorite Santas, like this one here, that my dad gave her. She wanted to make sure you were surrounded by . . . What did she say? Oh yeah, lots of Christmas love. She said you’re going to be like Santa Claus bringing our guests so much joy and making their wishes come true, so you needed your own special room.”
“Well, this is . . . special. That’s for sure,” Riley said. “But it’s so special, if you want to save it for one of your favorite guests, I completely understand . . .”
“My mom would never hear of it,” Luke said. “She was so excited to do this room for you. She knows you’re writing your first Christmas novel, and she wanted you to have lots of inspiration. That’s why she even made you your own stocking.”
When Riley walked over to the fireplace and touched her name on the stocking, her Grinch-like mood softened a little. “I’ve never had a stocking with my name on it. This was very thoughtful of her.” She didn’t add that she hadn’t had any kind of Christmas stocking in a long time. “Please thank your mom for me.”
Luke nodded and smiled. “I will be sure to do that.”
As Riley continued to look around, even though all the Santa’s were freaking her out,
