Page 31 of The Friendship Pact

Levi scooted closer to his mom’s leg, but nodded. Rachel pulled out a chair for him, and Kate placed a few colors in front of him on the table. Pretty soon, Emma, Elsie, and Ruth all joined in and decorated their own cookies.

Rachel sat next to Kate. “It’s nice to see you again, Kate.”

“You too.”

Rachel lowered her voice. “Levi discovered Nick is Santa, but he made sure Levi knew he was only a helper filling in for the ‘big guy.’”

“You’re going to have some lovely pictures,” Kate said.

“I think so. Chloe said she’d email them to me.”

Nick came up behind Levi and placed a white-gloved hand on his shoulder. Chloe went to the ballroom doors and pulled them shut. “Okay. We have successfully pulled off another Santa Days.” She pulled off her hat and removed her pointy ears and laid them on the table. Levi’s eyes grew large. Chloe tossed him an ear, and the entire table laughed when he poked at it like it would come alive and bite him.

“I’m going to change,” Nick said.

All the ladies looked at Nick with fear. “Don’t worry, this little guy figured out I’m only helping Santa.” He ruffled Levi’s hair. “The real Santa is busy watching over the North Pole so the toys will be ready for Christmas.”

Levi finished smearing red and green frosting over his cookie while Ruth placed the leftover icing into the fridge and Elsie and Emma packed the last of the cookies into airtight containers.

The office door opened, and Nick appeared with the Santa suit in a garment bag over his shoulder. “I’ll bring this to laundry,” he said to the room of ladies.

“Thank you, Nick,” said Ruth. “We’re finishing up and heading to the Blue Ox for drinks. Rachel and Levi are saving us a table. Will you be joining us?”

Nick placed a quick kiss on his mom’s cheek. “I’m calling it a day. I need a shower, and I’m beat.”

Nick needed to get away from Kate. Part of him wanted to hang out and share another laugh or two with her, but that’s why joining the group was a bad idea.

Concern etched his mom’s face. “At least place an order to go.”

“Nah. I’ll call in an order from Rosie’s and pick it up on my way out of town.”

With a mischievous wink at Kate he said, “I’ll text you later.”

Then he got the hell out of there before he screwed up again, and the entire gang noticed he wasn’t immune to Kate.

CHAPTER TEN

Kate sat down at her desk with a glass of malbec. Laboring through her budget required the full-bodied plum-red wine. She added a new column titled “$20,000” to her spreadsheet and began chipping away at the amount. In order to keep the hardwood floors, she eliminated items she had planned for but could live without.

Cancelling the order for the booths had saved her some money, but she’d need to cut more. She had given Alexis the go-ahead to replace the wood floors where they had found rot, instead of replacing them with a cheaper alternative.

Kate sipped her wine, enjoying the taste on her lips, and came to terms with eliminating the outdoor patio.

Knowing Maggie created items from salvaged material, she texted her: Do you know where I can find old barrels or containers for outdoor flowers? I need to save money and give up on the terrace.

Not the best at gardening, she’d find a few videos and hope it would work out until she could afford to hire Reynolds and Sons Landscaping.

She heard the muffled sounds of a saw and knew someone was working next door. While she waited for Maggie’s response, she slipped her shoes on and went to find Pete.

She stepped into the coffee shop area and beamed. The walls were all erected for the industrial kitchen.

“Hi, Kate. What do you think?” Pete said as he approached.

“I can finally see what it’ll look like.”

“Have you had time to look at the floors?”

“Honestly, I haven’t. I’ve been too busy baking desserts.”