Page 84 of Deck the Hauls

Dana stepped closer to me, and lowered her voice. “I think I know what’s next. At least I hope I do.”

“Oh, do you?” A shiver of anticipation shot down my spine, and I had to resist the urge to lean in and kiss Dana. “But yes, I would love lasagna. I haven’t eaten any for almost six hours. I’m due for my hit. But perhaps we should eat some vegetables at some point.”

“Hmm, possibly.” Dana’s hand brushed against mine. “Let’s worry about that later. I want to get you home.”

We began walking over the grass to Dana’s truck, which was faintly lit by the lights from the farmhouse.

Dana cleared her throat. “So, I was talking to Roz earlier and had an idea. I don’t know if it’s something you’d be interested in, but I figured it’s worth at least discussing.”

I turned to look at Dana, barely able to make out her face in the dark.

“Roz is planning to convert the barn into a museum of The Christmas Tree Farm. She convinced Charles to let her keep some props and he’s going to send her a few stills from the movie. She wants to have it all done by the movie premiere, but since that’s in less than two weeks, she’s worried about timing. So, I was wondering if that’s something you’d be interested in helping out with—paid, of course? You could even share some insider stories of the filming. And Roz would also love to keep you on in your role as elf until Christmas as well, if you wanted to. I know it’s not as exciting as acting roles, but it could be fun.”

An excuse to stay until Christmas? My chest lifted. A mix of Christmas elf and museum curator roles sounded much more enjoyable than serving at my parents’ restaurant or picking up uninspiring voice-over work.

“That sounds fun. Would you be fine with me staying with you, or should I try to find somewhere else to stay?” The thought of being in Sapphire Springs and not being cozied up in Dana’s cabin was distinctly unappealing.

Dana squeezed my hand. “You can stay with me for as long as you’d like.”

My pulse picked up. “Are you thinking we’d, um, keep up our current arrangement?”

“If you’re okay with that, I would like that. A lot,” Dana said.

I grinned into the darkness, my head slightly giddy as I contemplated another two weeks with Dana.

We were delaying the inevitable, but surely as long as we had a firm cut-off, it would be fine?

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

DANA

I wrapped my arm around Emily’s waist as we took in the barn’s interior, which had been transformed over the last couple weeks. The sets from The Christmas Tree Farm were still intact, and a showcase of photos and props were set up with their accompanying stories and fun facts.

“This is incredible, Emily,” I said, turning my attention to her. “You’ve done an amazing job.”

“Well, Roz and Olivia helped a lot. And all these pictures are hung very nicely too.” Emily grinned at me.

“Why thank you.” I smiled. I’d done all the drilling. “My personal favorite is ‘The fake snow incident.’” I pointed at the photo of Emily standing on a ladder next to the Christmas tree with white foam covering her.

The last two weeks had been incredible. I loved waking up with Emily, seeing her throughout the day, then cooking dinner together before finally falling into bed. My throat constricted. It would all be over soon.

But we had to face reality at some point. Actresses didn’t move to small-towns like Sapphire Springs. They lived in big cities like LA or New York.

The barn door creaked, and Emily stepped back abruptly before Roz entered. My arm fell from Emily’s waist and I bit back a sigh. Having to constantly stop myself from touching her or delivering flirty comments while around anyone else was posing quite the challenge. But Emily wanted to keep our relationship under wraps, even from my friends.

“We’re getting quite a crowd out there,” Roz said. “Are you ready to start?”

“Yes, we’ll come out now,” Emily said, starting for the door.

We blinked as the bright winter sunshine hit us and Emily stopped, her eyes wide.

“Wow,” she said. “There really is quite a crowd.”

A sea of locals was gathered on the grass in front of the barn.

“I guess having a movie filmed here is the most exciting thing that’s happened to Sapphire Springs for years,” I said as I scanned the crowd, spotting several familiar faces. “Roz must be thrilled.”

Roz attached ribbon across the barn door, looking as cool and collected as usual.