From the moment Luke had said yes, it felt like things had been going sideways. His mom had broken her ankle when she was in Florida with her sister looking at new potential places to live for when after they’d sold the lodge. Her injury made it really hard to travel, and Luke hadn’t wanted her to risk it, or even to come back to Christmas Lake where there was so much snow on the ground. So while his mom was sitting by the pool in sunny Florida recovering, Luke had been left with having to figure out the Christmas Camp on his own.
Right now, Mike’s favorite promise of a win-win was feeling more like a lose-lose to Luke as he faced doing a live TV interview he was completely unprepared for and talking about working with an author he didn’t know, who had just run out on her own interview.
“So what’s it going to be?” the anxious producer asked Mike.
Mike looked at Luke. “Well, buddy, it’s your call,” he said.
Luke hated it when Mike made it sound like he had a choice when they both knew he didn’t. His family’s lodge was already part of this story. They’d just shown a video of it. He knew it would be a PR nightmare if someone didn’t finish the interview, and then this whole mess could end up hurting the lodge’s reputation.
He knew he couldn’t just bail on this interview the way Riley had. He didn’t know what he was going to do about Christmas Camp, but he knew he needed time to figure out how to do damage control. So that meant he was going to have to go on live TV and wing it.
The host, Joe looked annoyed as he stood up. “I need to know what’s going on here. Who am I talking to?”
Luke clenched his jaw. “Me. You’re talking to me.”
He didn’t miss Mike’s satisfied smile as they rushed to get him seated. Typical Mike, always getting people to do what he wanted one way or another. Luke knew Mike was only trying to help him and his mom get the best price for the lodge, but this little stunt today wasn’t cool. It wasn’t cool at all, and he really only blamed one person—best-selling author Riley Reynolds.
This was her interview. She should be doing it.
As the producer rushed to get Luke settled on the set, he hoped Mike knew what he was doing because his mom’s future depended on it.
“Hi, I’m Luke Larchmont from the Christmas Lake Lodge.” Luke held out his hand to Joe, but the host was too busy riffling through his notes to pay attention.
“Look,” Joe said without looking up. “We have three minutes to fill. I have no idea who you are so I’ll just ask you to tell us how you’re going to be working with Riley Reynolds, the romance novelist who will never be on this show again. Got it?”
Luke forced a smile. “Got it,” he said, but inside he was thinking, What a jerk.
When he looked over at Mike, who gave him an enthusiastic thumbs-up, all Luke could do was shake his head and hope he didn’t make a complete fool of himself on national TV. He told himself he’d be fine as long as he was talking about the lodge.
He’d grown up working at the lodge. He could remember his first job when he was eight, gathering kindling for the fireplaces in the guest rooms. Many of the guests returned year after year, making them feel more like family. Luke had always believed that the Christmas Lake Lodge was special because of all the people who stayed there.
Raised in Colorado’s breathtaking Rocky Mountains, Luke always knew he wanted to find a job where he could combine his love of hotels and resorts with his passion for protecting the environment, and he’d done just that.
After graduating from college in the top of his class, with a double major in hospitality and environmental design, he’d started working for a world-class company in Germany that was a leader in helping to create sustainable businesses. Over the years, he’d continued to exceed expectations. He’d been about to be named vice president when a year ago, his mom called saying his dad was sick and he’d rushed right home.
His dad had died shortly after, so Luke had stayed at the lodge to help his mom. He was an only child, and she needed him. That’s when he learned just how much the lodge was struggling financially. His parents hadn’t wanted to worry him, but after he saw the books, he was worried. Really worried.
Before he’d gone off to college, they’d talked about if he might someday like to run the lodge and keep it in the family. It had been hard, but he had been honest with his parents, saying he didn’t want to stay in Colorado for the rest of his life. He wanted more. He wanted to travel and learn from people around the world who were spearheading Green initiatives for businesses of all kinds, including hotels and resorts.
They had all agreed that when it was time for his parents to retire, they would sell the lodge. It would be the end of an era, but a positive change and a new start for all of them. This way they could hopefully give another family a chance to make their own history at the lodge.
But when the city next to Christmas Lake, Forest Hills, had changed its rules it had allowed a huge hotel chain to build the Skyline Resort, a monster property with close to 1,500 rooms. The lodge, its thirty rooms, had quickly started losing customers. Before the Skyline Resort, no hotels or resorts over a hundred rooms had been allowed in an effort to protect the environment and maintain the charm and authenticity the area was beloved for. Now the Skyline Resort, with all the fancy amenities the
