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That afternoon in the rain had been a special memory for him, but maybe it hadn’t meant much to her at all. They’d never hung out apart from that anyway, so it made sense that she wouldn’t remember it—or him.
A lot of time had passed since then. A lot of water under the bridge. And some really didn’t need to be crossed again.
He shrugged off the thought, trying to shake off that lingering feeling of his old crush along with it. Caffeine and breakfast in hand, Aiden headed out the door, going on to his workday ahead.
Hopefully, without any more memories of Nora.
Fortified with pastry and caffeine, Nora made her way to theEvergreen Hollow Gazetteafter breakfast. She’d made notes of what she thought might suit the event and how they could bestarrange them, and she felt more than prepared to broach those suggestions with Sabrina. Really, as busy as the woman was, she felt sure that Sabrina would probably be glad for the respite. Running a newspaper probably took up most of her time.
TheGazettewas in the same building Nora remembered, a wood-slat building with stonework in the front and the ubiquitous gabled roof, made of dark wood dusted with snow. The path leading up to the dark, green painted front door was made of neatly fitted stones of varying sizes, meticulously cleared off after the last snowfall, holly bushes near the steps. A large wreath hung on the door, with a knocker in the center, but Nora opened it and walked in. It was a business, so the knocker was really just there for show.
It reminded her of most of the businesses in Evergreen Hollow. Decidedly small-town, but neat and respectable.
A tall, auburn-haired receptionist was sitting at the front desk, flipping through a magazine with one hand and typing with the other. She glanced up as Nora walked in, a bored smile on her face. “Can I help you?”
“I’m just looking for Sabrina Burns, if I can snag a minute with her,” Nora said politely.
“You can go to her office. Last door on the left.” The receptionist pointed, and Nora followed the direction of her finger. It wasn’t a large building anyway, so it was hard to get lost.
Sabrina’s office door was cracked open, and Nora knocked lightly. “Come in.” She heard from inside, and she nudged it open, walking in.
The office was decently large, with a hardwood floor and two tall white-birch bookshelves along one wall. Sabrina’s desk was maple, with a black leather seat behind it and two blue velvet chairs on the other side, and an unused fireplace along the opposite wall. Nora noticed there were harvest decorationspiled in the space on the iron rack instead of wood—the fireplace clearly never used for its actual purpose—and candles scattered along the mantel along with Christmas cards.
Sabrina looked up, her eyes immediately narrowing when she saw Nora. She gestured brusquely to one of the chairs, pushing her cat’s eye glasses up on her nose as she set down her pen. “Is there something I can do for you?” she asked primly, and Nora let out a breath, sitting down.
What on earth did I do to make this woman so prickly around me?
She really couldn’t imagine. She’d tried to keep her opinions to herself during that first meeting, and she hadn’t even said anything yet to Sabrina about helping out with the festival. Sabrina just seemed on edge around her, and she truly didn’t know why.
“Bethany came by the inn, and she was discussing some of the decorations with my mom,” Nora began, careful not to bulldoze her way into this too quickly. “They were looking them over, and I thought I might be able to help with some of the decor planning. I offered, since Bethany mentioned you’re very busy here, especially this time of year.”
“There was nothing wrong with the decorations I had in mind.” Sabrina’s tone was instantly defensive, and her shoulders stiffened. “They were perfectly well-thought-out and I chose them myself.”
“Of course there’s nothing wrong,” Nora said tactfully. “They were absolutely fine. I just thought I could lend a hand and help out. I’m happy to do it, really,” she added quickly. “So many of the others are juggling the planningandwork, and I’m currently on vacation with a lot of time on my hands. There’s no reason I can’t pick up the slack.”
Sabrina gave her a suspicious look, and Nora charged forward, hurrying to explain further.
“I have a lot of experience with event planning.” She chose her words carefully, not wanting to put Sabrina even more on the defensive than she already was. “This time of year is always very busy for us too. There are plenty of over-the-top wintry decorations, like ice sculptures, or themed trees, or light displays, but it’s also really easy to do things both beautifully and economically.” Nora could feel herself slipping into a pitch, but it was hard not to. This was her element. What she was good at. She felt a little of the confidence that she’d lost since Rob had dumped her curbside coming back.
“A pinecone centerpiece, for example. Not expensive at all, but with some neutral linens on tables, a little bit of a gold accent, and those pinecones? Rustic chic, right there. And you can’t go wrong with greenery, maybe with a bit of berry accents here and there. Simple, but with small festive touches. Red and green plaid bows on the back of wooden Chiavari chairs. Chiavari can run a tab up, so there are less expensive options too. We could definitely do this in a way that wouldn’t be excessively costly, but still pretty and seasonal.”
Nora could see, throughout her entire spiel, that Sabrina was listening grudgingly at best. Her red-lipsticked mouth was pressed thinly together, her arms crossed over her cream-colored ribbed sweater, but shedidlisten, at least.
“Fine.” Sabrina let out a sharp breath. “I’m slammed here. These articles all need proofreading, and our typographer went and sprained her wrist skiing last weekend. As if anyone has time for a vacation right before Christmas. So if it will give you something to do, go ahead and fiddle with the decorations. I’m sure some of your ideas will be just fine.”
Nora didn’t miss the small dig about her vacation, but she let it slide. It was clear that Sabrina was still on the defensive, but she was on board at least, and that was all Nora really needed. As long as Sabrina didn’t stand in her way, she could move forward.
She let it all roll off her back, as she said her goodbyes and headed back out into the chilly Vermont afternoon. It was impossible to live and work in a city like Boston without developing something of a toughness, and she was more than able to handle Sabrina’s coolness toward her. She certainly wasn’t going to let it mess up her work.
She was determined to make sure the venue looked fantastic.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Aiden hummed lightly to himself—God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen—as he worked on sweeping up the floor of the event space. The roof was entirely re-shingled, new and improved, and cleaning up the bits of sawdust and leftover detritus was the last task before the job was officially done.
He discarded it all into a black garbage bag that held the rest of the wood shavings and leftover trash, and headed into the front room to get his tools and ladder. He’d load them into the truck, take the bag to the dumpster, and then turn in early for the day. Maybe take another of those hikes, since that recent one had done a lot to clear his head.
Humming the last few bars of the song, he strode into the front room—only to stop short.
