by Maggie Marr
She’d built many of these gingerbread houses, and she knew what she was doing, but building the Christmas castle for the Grande, as her father had done for years, was special. She’d grown up here, in Powder Springs. The Grande was a huge landmark and the Christmas castle a beloved tradition. She felt the weight of her father’s legacy. She wanted to make her family proud. She was a Bartoli, a fifth-generation resident of Powder Springs. Even when she settled in San Francisco, she’d still considered Powder Springs home.
Brinn held the gingerbread pieces in place and counted. Her fingertips tingled the moment when the white chocolate started to grab. A small smile breached the worry on her face. One by one, Pieter handed her long, straight metal sewing pins. She pressed the pins along the seam of the two gingerbread pieces. Once the white chocolate and icing were completely dry, she would remove the pins. She reached out her hand for the next piece of gingerbread. Her heart soared when the second and then the third pieces of gingerbread latched into place. She picked up speed and confidence as she entered the zone on this project.
*
“Tyler, we love your vision for the addition to the Grande.” Annalise Morgan bent over the conference table in her office and examined Tyler’s sketches. “Daddy and I feel that you’ve really grasped what we’re after with the addition. Your sketches are in keeping with the tradition of the Grande and yet add a modern twist.” Her almond-shaped green eyes glanced up from the sketches and met Tyler’s gaze.
“Thank you.” There was a but coming. He’d been in these types of meetings for a long while and whenever a client praised you but you still hadn’t locked down the job, there was usually a but on the tail end of the compliment.
“Buuut…” Annalise turned away from the conference table, walked toward the sofa in her office, and sat. “I’m not quite satisfied.” She reached for the coffee carafe on the settee and poured two cups of coffee.
Tyler sat in the chair opposite her. He wanted to close this deal. He’d cut his hours way back at the firm and this deal for Emerson & Jackson Architects would prove to his partners that he hadn’t completely slacked off in the aftermath of his divorce.
“What else would you like to see?” He took the cup of coffee from Annalise’s outstretched hand. He wanted to please his client, and he had a special fondness for the Grande.
“We’d prefer that someone with roots in Powder Springs do the addition.” Annalise settled back against the couch cushions. “We’ve looked at plans from firms all over the country. San Francisco, Los Angeles, Dallas, Chicago, even New York, but what impressed me the most was your grasp of what the Grande means, to not only me and my family, but to all of Powder Springs. This place”—Annalise waved one of her hands in the air—“has been the home for one kind of celebration or another for nearly every family in our community.”
“I remember the graduation party that your parents threw for our entire class in the ballroom right downstairs.”
“Exactly!” Annalise pointed at Tyler. A bright smile blossomed on her face. “And that is why you’re the perfect architect for this job.”
“Buuut?” Tyler prompted Annalise to tell him what prevented her from saying yes to him right this moment.
“I want more.”
“More?” Tyler tilted his head to the side.
Annalise nodded. “I just acquired three hundred acres of land that backs up to the Grande.”
“The Billings land? How?”
“Don’t ask how. Just know that it’s done.”
The enormity of what Annalise had said sank in. Three hundred more acres was enough land for an entire resort, for two entire resorts. “That’s a golf course, and another hotel, and a spa, and—”
“Condos! Time-shares, condos, individual vacation homes, from high-end luxury to middle-class family. I want it all. I want the Grande and Powder Springs to be bigger and better than Vail, Breckenridge, and Beaver Creek.”
Tyler ran his hands through his hair. This client, this project—his firm would be looking at tens of millions of dollars in fees if he got this project.
“Financing?” Tyler asked.
“Signed, sealed, and delivered.”
The job for the Grande had just multiplied by ten.
“This is amazing. Simply awesome. I’ll go back to the drawing board and come back to you with new plans. I need the boundaries and the topography.” His gaze met hers. “This just became the largest development project in the Rockies.”
“It certainly has.” Annalise took a sip of her coffee. “And while we love you and we want you, because of the enormity of the project, we need one more round with the three remaining architecture firms.”
Tyler nodded. Of course. He’d hoped that Annalise and her father had already decided on his firm for the project, but with the change in the size of the project he understood their need to see one more round of plans.
“We’ve narrowed it down to Emerson & Jackson, Murphy & O’Rourke out of Chicago, and The LC Group in Los Angeles.” Annalise put her cup on the coffee table. “Daddy and I would like to see some designs before the holidays.”
“Before?”
Annalise nodded. “Nothing detailed, but just a general overview of how you and your firm see the project. We want to start the New Year, if we can, with the firm that we’ll be working with for the next five years already in place.” Annalise stood and so did Tyler. She reached out her hand. “We really want to work with you, Tyler. Please know that.”
Her words made it clear that this project was his to lose.
“Thanks, Annalise. I’ll be back with sketches for you end of next week.”
“How’s that beautiful little girl of yours?” Annalise asked as they walked toward her office door.
“Excited for Santa. I’m meeting Charlotte and Mom downstairs for lunch.”
“Isn’t Christmas the best? I hear Brinn Bartoli is starting the Christmas castle today.”
“And I’ve got a little girl who can’t wait to see it.”
“One of my favorite parts of the holidays. We’re really pleased that the Bartoli family is back building the castle for the hotel. I’ve always liked Brinn. Quiet, but so nice.
A warmth rolled through Tyler with the mention of Brinn.
“Really tough what happened to her in San Francisco. Glad to see she’s happy again.”
Tyler tilted his head. Gossip wasn’t his thing, but a need to know what had happened to Brinn in San Francisco suddenly hit him.
“I don’t know anything about that. How long did she live there?”
“A long time. She went to the Culinary Institute and then I think she studied in Paris for a while and before going back to San Francisco. Started her own bakery, but something went south with her partner. San Francisco’s loss is Powder Springs’s gain. I’m certain Mrs. Bartoli and her grandmother are thrilled she’s back.”
“I’m sure.” How odd that he’d responded to her last night, and now, here, just after a business meeting, he found himself excited with the prospect of seeing Brinn again today. Tyler made plans with Annalise for another meeting late the following week, then walked past Annalise’s assistant’s desk and toward the elevator at the end of the hall. He was excited to see Charlotte, but he was also excited to see Brinn Bartoli and her Christmas castle.
Chapter Five
“Here comes Daddy!”
Charlotte squealed, let go of Mom’s hand, and raced across the lobby of the Grande Hotel. Her black patent leather shoes slapped the marble. Tyler bent down and Charlotte leapt into his arms.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The scent of powder and soap. The scents of his girl, his Charlotte. She was all sunshine and giggles. He tickled her ribs with his fingers and laughter burst from her lips. He planted kisses all over her face.
“Daddy! Have you seen the castle?”
“No, bug, I haven’t. Where is it?” Tyler asked whipping her around in his arms as he pretended to not know which direction to l
ook.
“I don’t know, Daddy. Grandma and I can’t find it.”
Tyler stopped. Oh. He thought she’d been kidding him and that when he lowered her to the ground, she would wrap her fingers around his and pull him to the spot where the castle was being built.
His mother now stood by his side. “I guess the first two days they don’t let anyone watch. I never knew that. We’re usually here closer to Christmas.”
Tyler scanned the lobby. Big black curtains were draped in a giant square in front of the Christmas tree. That spot was where the castle always stood. Brinn had to be behind those blackout drapes, working on the castle.
His body warmed with the thought of Brinn Bartoli, full of excitement over seeing the dark-haired baker with kind eyes. He smiled. When was the last time he’d felt this way? There hadn’t been a spark for a woman in a very long time. Now, here, in the lobby of the Grande Hotel, he realized that not only did he want to see the Christmas castle, but he also wanted to see Brinn.
“Give me two minutes.”
He slipped Charlotte into his mom’s waiting arms and walked toward the blackout drapes. He pulled back a drape and peeked inside. His eyes caught the round backside of Brinn. Heat flew through him. What might Brinn’s ass might look like in a pair of denim jeans? Or her legs in a skirt and high heels? Her black curls were wilder than last night, and ringlets drifted down her back. He fought the urge to step behind the curtain and place his hands across her ass and run his fingers through her mass of black curls.
“I hear you might need an architect in here.” Tyler’s tone was playful but soft.
Brinn quickly stood and turned. Her eyes widened. Surprise turned to a bright smile. “Do you know one?”
“I do.” He walked closer to her.
Heat fluttered between them. An undeniable attraction. He turned his gaze from her to collect himself, then looked at her work. The gingerbread base seemed to be complete. A pile of straight pins lay in a plastic case beside where Brinn, moments before, had been working.
“Seems like a really solid foundation.” Tyler’s gaze trailed over the neat seams between each piece of gingerbread, the even alignment, and the attention to detail. Those things were tough, but paramount on a building site where everything was made to exact measurements. How much tougher when dealing with cookies made from flour, sugar, eggs, and ginger?
“Thank you.” Brinn blew a breath of air upward and the curls on her forehead bounced. “We’ve been building since six. If I can finish up with these pins, we’ll only be about a half hour behind schedule.”
“I wish I could say that on my construction sites.” Tyler’s gaze locked on Brinn. Hints of pink decorated her cheeks. Her eyes contained exuberance, excitement, joy. She looked beautiful, stunning even. Tyler couldn’t tear his eyes from her face. He was rooted to the floor. Enticed by her gaze, a sudden desire to pull her to him and kiss her raced through him as he imagined his mouth pressed against those amazing lips. Instead, Tyler pulled a deep breath into his lungs and a stepped away from Brinn.
“I didn’t mean to barge in,” he said, suddenly conscious that he’d just sauntered into her workspace and interrupted her final stages of work for the day.
Her smile widened as if she were trying to reassure him. “You’re a welcome break.” She turned toward the beginning of her Christmas castle. “What do you think? Will it hold?”
“If the foundation is solid.” The castle looked good to him, but his specialty wasn’t gingerbread, it was concrete and rebar. “The pins are to keep it secure?”
“For twenty-four hours. So are the wooden boxes. After that, the foundation has to stand on its own.”
Tyler bent forward and looked closer at a seam filled with icing. “Looks good, Miss Bartoli. You’ve got some impeccable work here.” He tilted his eyes, and a smile flashed on Brinn’s face. “You said you were nearly finished?”
Brinn nodded.
“Well, two things. I know this is breaking the rules a little, but I’ve got a girl out there who really really really wants to see the Christmas castle. If I hold her close, is there any way I could let her peek in here?”
Brinn wiggled her eyebrows. “You are such a rule breaker, Mr. Emerson.”
“Just call me Tyler ‘Wild Man’ Emerson.”
A giggle burst from that beautiful mouth and heat coiled in his gut. Hearing Brinn laugh would be a pleasure he could endure often and for a very long time.
“Sure, bring her in. But will you warn her about this?” Brinn waved her hands toward the foundation. “Not very spectacular yet for a little girl who expects a castle.”
“Consider her warned. Now, second.”
Brinn nodded.
“Since you’re almost done here, after Charlotte sees the castle, would you join us for lunch in the dining room?”
Brinn’s face froze.
Oh no. Not good. Had he put her on the spot? Did she want to say no but felt like she couldn’t? Damn, he should have read the signals better. He was so out of practice though; perhaps a flush with a hair-toss and a giggle didn’t mean what it once had.
Her gaze darted toward the floor and back up to him. “I’d love to.”
There. His heart spun with joy. That undeniable look that a woman gave a man when there was, at the very last, interest.
“Afraid you’ll be stuck with me in my checkered pants and kitchen whites.” Brinn scrunched her nose.
“Are you kidding? So worth it. We get to dine with the woman who’s building the Christmas castle.”
*
“Brinn, will the castle have pink when you decorate it?”
Brinn sat beside Tyler and across from Charlotte. Her little face had crumpled with disappointment when Tyler had led her behind the blackout drapes and showed her the Christmas castle. The structure was only big brown squares of gingerbread held together by sewing pins. Charlotte hadn’t thought that spot a fit place for any princess.
“Beautiful pink pearls on every single seam.” Brinn clasped her hands together on the table in front of her. “I have pictures of what the castle is supposed to look like. How about you come and see them? Then you’ll be the only person other than Chef Hans and me who knows what the castle will look like when it’s finished.”
Charlotte’s smile widened across her face. Brinn’s heart melted like warm butter. “Plus, if you come back next week, the drapes will be down and you’ll be able to see what the castle is really going to look like.”
“Can we, Daddy?”
“Yes, we can.” Tyler looked from Charlotte to Brinn, then glanced at his mother.
“Brinn, how’s the bakery? This the busiest time of the year?”
“It is. We’re looking for a new assistant. I think Tom at the food bank may have someone. I’m going to check in with him later today.”
“I love the way Bea & Barbara have always supported the food bank. Does your mom still overbake just to make sure you have enough to donate?”
Brinn’s eyes widened. “How did you know that?”
Carol settled her napkin on her lap and smiled.” I used to be the volunteer in charge of inventory at the food bank. Did that job for a very long time. No matter what, every night Barbara had things to donate. And it was always right around the same amount. I kept track and realized that to keep that kind of continuity, your mom had to be planning to donate every night.”
“I always suspected that, but Ma would never admit it. Even if I asked her.”
“Your mother? Oh no, she would never admit to something like that. She loves people, but Barbara is a very private person.”
“Yeah, Ma can be pretty tight-lipped when she wants.”
Did Carol know something more about Ma? Something that Ma hadn’t told Brinn? Carol and Barbara were friends who lunched and sometimes shopped together. Before Brinn could form a question, their server appeared and set down Brinn’s salad and a plate with grilled beef.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t order this.”
<
br /> “Oh right.” The girl with red hair set a salad in front of Carol and then Tyler. She gave them each a plate of the beef too. “Chef Edgar wanted me to bring it to you.” The server placed a bowl of mac and cheese in front of Charlotte.
“Tell Edgar thank you, because really this is the best beef I’ve ever tasted.”
“I know, right?” the server whispered. “We’re only serving it on Christmas Eve. He gave me a tiny piece. I’m thinking of picking up the shift just to get a meal.”
Tyler tasted the beef. “Wow. I guess it pays to know someone who’s in good with the chef.”
“If you work in a kitchen, you’ll never starve.”
“How did your meeting with Annalise go?” Carol asked.
“She just closed on three hundred acres of Billings land that borders the Grande’s property line. The job just went from a remodel to the biggest expansion project in the Rocky Mountains.”
Carol’s jaw dropped open and Brinn, even with her limited knowledge of architecture and real estate, knew that this was a gargantuan deal.
“We’re still in the running, and if Emerson & Jackson get the expansion project, then Charlotte and I would live in Powder Springs for the next five years.”
“Oh my goodness.” Carol’s face lit with joy. Her eyes danced over Charlotte and she reached out and rubbed the perfect blond curls from her granddaughter’s forehead. “I’d get to spend the next five years with this perfect little girl.”
“You would, and she’d get to spend that time, here, in Powder Springs, surrounded by her family.”
“Congratulations.” Her heart thwapped hard in her chest. Tyler, the Tyler Emerson, whom Brinn had crushed on since she was fourteen, would be living in Powder Springs, Colorado, for possibly the next five years.