“It’s nothing,” Caylee said, then viciously bit the head off a gingerbread boy cookie.
Riley raised an eyebrow. “Well, it doesn’t look like nothing by the way you’re attacking that cookie.”
Caylee, annoyed, broke the gingerbread leg off next. “Did Paul say something?”
“No,” Riley said. “He didn’t tell me anything, but come on, I write romance novels for a living. The sparks between you two would fit perfectly in one of my books. What happened?”
“Caylee broke his heart,” Maryanne offered.
Caylee shot Maryanne a frustrated look. “It wasn’t that simple.”
“Yet, you still broke his heart,” Maryanne said.
“And that wasn’t my fault,” Caylee said stubbornly. “Can we not talk about my personal life, please?”
“Really?” Maryanne looked at Caylee. “Because you’re always talking about mine and everyone else’s.”
Caylee was saved from answering anymore questions when an alert went off on her phone.
Riley stared at it. “Cell service is working?”
“It is today,” Caylee said and checked her text. “Some of the Christmas Campers are heading this way. They’ll be here an hour.”
Riley felt a rush of nerves. She grabbed a gingerbread cookie and bit off its arm.
“Okay, no more talk about Paul,” Caylee said, finding a smile. “I’m not going to let anything ruin our first day of Christmas Camp. We have work to do, including finishing up the lobby.”
“And we need to make sure Riley’s in her room before anyone shows up and sees her,” Maryanne said.
“Exactly,” Caylee agreed.
Riley tried to jump in. “I really don’t think we need to do that . . .” But she was quickly shut down by look on Caylee and Maryanne’s faces.
Maryanne looked almost giddy. “I can’t believe this is about to happen.”
Riley swallowed her cookie. “Me neither.”
When they walked back into the lobby, the two dozen poinsettias were lined up on the floor.
“Oops,” Riley said, looking guilty. “I meant to tell you guys the florist was bringing these in. I wasn’t sure where you wanted them?”
“Luke thought it would be nice to have one in each guestroom,” Caylee said.
Riley nodded. “I can do that.”
“Are you sure?” Caylee asked.
“Of course,” Riley said. “It will give me a chance to check out all the rooms now that the final decorations are up.”
“And then you’ll go to your room and get ready,” Caylee said.
Riley laughed. “Whatever you say, Mom.”
They all shared a laugh.
Caylee picked up a poinsettia and gave it to Riley. “Perfect! Then here you go. Thanks.”
Riley picked up another poinsettia. You could barely see her face. “You’re welcome,” she said through the red leaves.
When Riley got to the first guestroom, she turned on the light and looked around. Not only was the room beautifully decorated in a style similar to the downstairs area with wreaths and garland over the fireplace and some nutcrackers and snow globes on the mantel but strung all across the ceiling were white twinkle lights.
Riley put the poinsettias down and looked up. “Wow,” she said. “So cool.”
When she looked up, she felt like she was looking up at the stars in the sky.
When she finished delivering all the poinsettias and got to her own room, she saw that Luke had somehow found the time to even add the white twinkle lights to her ceiling. She had to admit, it was a happy surprise, and that was saying a lot coming from the I don’t do Christmas girl who never liked surprises.
Chapter Twenty-Five
After shoveling the snow off the entrance one more time, Luke stood in front of the lodge making sure all the Christmas lights were working. He wanted everything to be perfect. He’d already been down to the lake and the Christmas Lake Christmas tree was shining bright. The lights on all the other Christmas trees along the lake were also on and twinkling.
It was one of Luke’s favorite times of day, golden hour, just before sunset, when the clouds could change colors quickly and dramatically before darkness falls.
He looked down at Comet, who was by his side. “Well, Comet, we’re as ready as we’re ever going to be. Are you nervous?”
When Comet barked and wagged his tail, Luke bent down to affectionately scratch the top of his head. “Yeah, I feel the same way.”
But as Luke looked back at his family’s lodge, he felt a sense of pride knowing he’d done everything he could to get ready for this Christmas Camp. He was glad he’d decided not to cancel it. He trusted that Riley wouldn’t let him or the Christmas Campers down. He knew she had just as much riding on this event being a success as he did.
As he looked up at Riley’s window, he couldn’t help but think that even though he’d spent a lot of time with her the last two days, she was still a mystery to him.
At times she could be funny, smart, and playful, and at other times she was no-nonsense, serious, and driven. These were all traits he admired and understood. But it was when she became very quiet, distant, and guarded that he couldn’t figure her out.
The only thing he knew for sure was that somehow talking about her Christmas past triggered her to withdraw, and that didn’t make any sense for someone who was known as Miss Christmas.
He wanted to get to know her better, but he was afraid she wouldn’t let him in. The few times he’d tried to get closer, she’d put up her walls so fast he knew he didn’t have a chance. The last thing he had planned was to have any kind of feelings for her, but there was something about her that made him want to know more. At times he’d felt that maybe she was feeling something, too, but then as quickly as the moment came, it disappeared.
Maybe he was imagining all of it. Or maybe he was just interested in her because he couldn’t figure her out. Whatever it was, it made him nervous. He couldn’t afford
