“You can just fill out the reservation request online,” Luke explained for the third time.
“Thank you, and I’ll see you soon.”
“See you soon,” Luke said back before he hung up the phone and looked at Comet again.
“I don’t know what is going,” he told Comet. “Riley said she’s not dating anyone, but there are three guys coming up here to see her.”
Comet lay down and put his head between his paws as if he could see trouble coming. Luke laughed.
The phone rang again.
“Oh, come on!” he said. “There can’t be another one . . .”
But this time, it was his mom.
“Mom, I’m so glad it’s you,” Luke said.
His mom laughed. “Why do you sound so relieved? Is everything okay at the lodge? With Comet? I’m sorry I missed your call yesterday. I didn’t even realize my phone battery had died.”
“Mom, everything is fine—the lodge, Comet, we’re all good. And I told you, you have to remember to plug in your phone every night before you go to bed,” Luke said.
“I know. I know,” she said, still laughing. “I just forgot. Blame it on my ankle.”
“Is everything okay?” Now it was Luke’s turn to sound concerned. “How is your ankle doing? Do you need anything?”
“I’m fine,” his mom said. “The doctor says everything is healing well. I just need to stay off it and take it easy, but I’m worried about you. I wish I were there at the lodge with you for Christmas Camp. I can’t believe I’m missing this. And you sounded stressed when you picked up the phone. What’s going on?”
Luke rushed to reassure her. “Don’t worry. Everything’s great. We’re just getting some last-minute reservations that I wasn’t expecting—friends of the author’s or something like that. They all want to surprise her.”
“Well that sounds lovely. What’s she like? Riley Reynolds,” Mom asked. “I loved all her books, and I’m about to read her most recent one, Heart of Summer. I’m finally getting a chance to catch up on my reading now that I’m being forced to spend so much time sitting around.”
“But you’re sitting around by the pool, right?” Luke asked with a laugh. “Aunt Mary sent me a picture.”
She laughed, too. “Well, that is one of the perks of hurting yourself in Florida. It has been sunny and seventy here almost every day. No wonder everyone retires down here.”
“Well, I’m just happy you’re recovering. That’s the most important thing,” he said. “Don’t worry about anything here. I have everything under control.”
“And Riley?” she asked. “What’s she like?”
He had hoped he’d successfully avoided the question, but apparently not. “She’s okay,” he said.
“Just okay? I’m going to need a little bit more than that.” She chuckled.
Luke shrugged. “I don’t know what you want me to say.”
“I’ve seen her picture in her books. She’s very pretty, don’t you think?” his mom asked.
He rolled his eyes. He knew exactly where she was going with this, and he needed to shut her down fast.
“Yes, Mom, she’s pretty, but no, Mom, I’m not interested, so don’t even go there. And those friends of Riley’s who are all coming to Christmas Camp? They’re all guys.”
“So?” she said. “You said they were just friends.”
“Honestly, I don’t know what they are,” Luke said. “Besides, I have way too much going on in my life to worry about dating.”
“There’s a thing called work-life balance, and you need to find it,” his mom said.
Luke laughed. “Mom, you’re watching way too many of those daytime talk shows. My life is great just the way it is. As soon as we sell the lodge and get you settled in Florida, I need to head back to Europe and my job, as planned.”
“Well, sometimes life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans,” she said.
Luke laughed again. “And now you’re quoting John Lennon?”
“Whatever it takes,” his mom said sweetly. “I love you, son, and I just want you to be happy. I don’t want you to miss out on any opportunities that are right in front of you.”
“Mom, if you’re thinking Riley is one of those opportunities, I told you she’s already taken. But I promise I’ll work more on that balance you’re talking about if that would make you happy.”
“That would make me very happy,” she said. “Oh, sorry, your aunt is calling me. I better go. But keep me updated. I don’t want to miss anything. I have a really good feeling about this Christmas Camp.”
“I hope you’re right,” Luke said. “You take it easy and let me know if there’s anything you need.”
“I will,” Mom said. “And don’t forget . . .”
“Forget what?”
“Keep your heart open because anything is possible at Christmas,” his mom said happily.
Luke laughed. “I love you, Mom.”
“I love you, too,” she said.
Chapter Thirteen
The next morning Riley woke up to a Santa alarm clock calling out, “Ho! Ho! Ho! Time to get up and go! Ho! Ho! Ho! Let’s go! Go! Go!”
Still groggy and struggling to make sense of what she was hearing, Riley sat up in her sleigh bed, and looked around her room.
“Ho! Ho! Ho! Time to get up and go! Ho! Ho! Ho! Let’s go! Go! Go!”
Her eyes landed on a stuffed Santa sitting on her nightstand. Only this was no ordinary stuffed toy. This was a Santa alarm clock, and it was getting louder and louder with each Ho! Ho! Ho!
“Ho! Ho! Ho! Time to get up and go! Ho! Ho! Ho! Let’s go! Go! Go!”
“You have got to be kidding me,” she said, grabbing the Santa and shaking it, trying to get it to stop.
“Ho! Ho! Ho! Let’s go! Go! Go!”
“No! No! No!” Riley said back to the Santa and then finally found where the batteries were hiding in Santa’s black boots.
“Ho! H—”
The Santa finally stopped when she yanked all the batteries out.
“Ha! Take that, Santa!”
As she victoriously set the Santa back on the nightstand, she noticed her laptop, phone, and iPad were surrounding her on her bed.
It all came rushing back to
