“Wow, you’re really good,” Riley said. “Are you sure you shouldn’t have been an investigative reporter?”
They shared a laugh.
“And then Luke said you liked all things cinnamon, even in your coffee, so I hoped you liked cinnamon rolls. I thought I’d combine the two. I wanted you to have something special. I’m calling these Christmas Lake Blueberry Cinnamon Rolls. Let me know what you think.”
“I think you’re a genius,” Riley said, picking up a fork and diving into the cinnamon roll. It was still warm from the oven, soft and doughy. When she took a big bite, her eyes grew huge. After she had another bite, she put down her fork with a contented sigh. “And now I know you’re a genius. These are amazing! I love the cream cheese frosting. That’s a favorite of mine, too.”
When Luke walked in and saw Riley, he laughed. “Someone looks like a happy Christmas Camper,” he said. “Let me guess . . . you tried the cinnamon rolls.”
“Uh, yes,” Riley said, “and they’re incredible.”
“Told ya she liked cinnamon,” Luke said to Maryanne.
Riley was licking some frosting off her fork. “Maryanne, you should sell these. You’d make a fortune.”
“Well, if you want more, you need to take it to go because we’re already late,” Luke said. “Caylee took everyone into town—to the community center—to get started on our first Christmas Camp activity for the day. We’ll meet up with them there.”
Riley jumped up. “Thank you for waiting for me. I’m really sorry I overslept. I’m ready. Let’s go.”
Maryanne had already put the rest of Riley’s cinnamon roll in a bag for her. “In case you need something to nibble on later.”
“You’re a saint,” Riley said as she happily took the bag. “That restaurant in LA would be crazy not to hire you. Have you heard anything yet?”
“Not yet,” Maryanne said, “but fingers crossed.”
Riley gave Maryanne a quick hug. “Thank you again. This was really thoughtful of you. I’ve never had a Christmas food tradition so this will be my first.”
As soon as she’d said the words and saw Maryanne’s and Luke’s surprised faces, she instantly regretted it.
She hurried out of the kitchen. “Come on, Luke. Let’s go.”
As they were driving into town, Riley was relieved Luke wasn’t asking her any follow-up questions about not having any Christmas food traditions. The less she said about Christmas, the better. At least if she didn’t want to blow her cover as Miss Christmas.
She was actually really looking forward to doing one of Luke’s family’s favorite Christmas traditions: volunteering at the Christmas Lake Community Center and helping to put together Christmas meals for families who needed a little extra help this year. The Christmas Camp theme of the day was giving back, and all the Christmas Campers seemed excited it.
When they got to the community center, she joined the Christmas Campers, who were already making great progress. Everyone had paired up to put the boxes together, and she’d paired up with Luke since they both arrived late.
When he pulled two Santa hats out of a bag and insisted they each wear one, she protested until he told her it was also a family tradition to the wear the hats. When she didn’t believe him, he called his mom on FaceTime. Apparently, it was, indeed, their tradition. However, since she was also a huge fan of Riley’s, she’d told her she could do whatever she wanted. Riley instantly liked Luke’s mom.
A few minutes later, the Christmas song “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” had come on, and instead of cringing and rolling her eyes, she’d found herself singing along with Luke and enjoying it.
They were having a great time together. And then Brianna showed up . . .
Brianna was quick to tell Riley that her family and Luke’s had been volunteering together at the community center since they were kids. When Brianna offered to take over for her so she could go do her job spending time with the Christmas Campers, Riley felt like it was more a way to get rid of her than a kind offer. Especially when Brianna happily took Riley’s Santa hat and put it on her own head as she smiled at Luke.
Riley was sure that if anyone knew what she was thinking about Brianna at that moment, it would have landed her on the Naughty List.
Two hours later, after successfully packing up more than one hundred boxes, everyone was getting ready to leave when Colin, Brendan, and Tyler showed up.
Riley was surprised to see them since the plan was for her to see them at the dance, but when Colin announced they were just stopping by quickly to drop off personal donations for the center, Riley felt so grateful and moved. Luke was also impressed, letting them know much he appreciated their gesture and how much it would make a difference to the families in the Christmas Lake community.
Before the guys took off, Riley gave each of them a hug and thanked them for being so thoughtful. All three of them had always been generous. Even when Colin and Brendan had been broke, they’d always found a way to give back. It was something Riley had always admired and loved about them.
When it came to Tyler, she’d met him when he was already very successful, but he’d also been one to donate to important causes and support charities he felt were making a difference in the world. He’d also helped her set up her own charity where she could give her books to libraries across the country who didn’t have the budgets to buy very many new books. They’d even gotten some other authors on board to donate their books, too.
After all the Christmas Campers had lunch in town, the group headed back the lodge for Riley’s Christmas Camp Author Chat. She couldn’t wait to hear more of their thoughts and ideas on
