Her eyebrows lifted of their own accord. “You’re moving to Hidden Hollow?”
Elliot’s gaze flicked away. He scuffed his shoe against the ground as though he was bashful, which was entirely new for him. “I want to be with you, Mia. I want to erase the last six years and start over. I want to come back to Utah to be closer to my family and to scrap the entertainment industry altogether.” He sucked in a lung full of breath and blew it out, his cheeks puffing up. “I think I want to teach kids how to snowboard. Or teenagers. I don’t know. I liked instructing today, and I feel like I could be good at it.”
“Have you been on a snowboard yet?” She meant since the accident, but she felt like Elliot understood.
“No. But I can do it. I just might take it easy and avoid the half pipes until I’m a little more comfortable.”
Mia smiled. She couldn’t help it. “I think that sounds great, Elliot.”
He nodded, his face growing serious. “I really feel like my life’s coming together. And even if I don’t come to Hidden Hollow, I could get a job in Park City and only be twenty minutes away.”
Mia shook her head. “Elliot, this all sounds great and everything, but you’ve got your vacation goggles on. It’s not realistic.”
“My what?”
“Your vacation goggles. You know, like you are seeing everything through a different lens because you’re on vacation. Actually quitting the show and closing out your house in LA and saying goodbye to the people there won’t be easy. Plus, you have to actually get a job here and then move. And if you move here, you’re still an hour and a half away from your parents’ house. So it’s not like you’ll be seeing them all the time.”
“Let’s drop the realism for a moment, okay?” Elliot said. “Yes, that will all take time and work, but give me a month and I can make it happen. Do you know what I think is really happening?” he asked, his voice growing serious.
Mia shook her head.
“I think you’re coming up with any excuse to keep us apart. I think you’re scared to say yes to me because you’re afraid I’ll turn around and leave. Just like you automatically assumed Sophy was here to get back together with me. And you know what? Even if she had been—which is ludicrous—I wouldn’t have taken her back. Because I want you, Mia. I’ve only ever wanted you.”
He’d hit on the problem so astutely that Mia was afraid to say anything. She was scared. And she had a right to be. “How can I know it won’t happen again?” she asked him again, repeating her question from their conversation on the snowmobile.
“This is where you’ve just got to trust, Mia. Trust in us.” He stepped forward and reached for her hand. “Trust me.”
She let out a shuddering breath and Elliot pulled her forward, wrapping her in a warm, comfortable embrace. She hadn’t expected to see him again when she agreed to take on managing the lodge for the week, but she was fairly sure now that even if she had known everything that was going to happen, she still would have accepted the job.
Because Elliot was right. She’d already forgiven him, and she already knew she still had strong feelings for him. What she needed to come to terms with was the distinct possibility that he could succumb to his situational depression again.
It wasn’t something she understood firsthand, but she could learn. If he could be open.
“If I agree to this mad scheme,” she said, pulling away from him, “then you have to agree to go to counseling with me.”
The look on his face betrayed his surprise.
“There is nothing wrong with using a professional to help us have healthy conversations. You don’t have to be having problems to see a counselor.”
“I know,” Elliot said, raising his hands. “I didn’t say no. I’m just surprised by the request.”
“And it’s nonnegotiable. I know nothing about depression, Elliot. But if it ever happens again, I want to be prepared to help you in the best way I can.”
A slow smile spread across his face. “You know what you sound like?”
“What?” she asked, trying to keep her own expression flat.
“It sounds like you decided to trust me.”
The pure joy on Elliot’s face was hard to ignore and Mia found her own heart radiating in turn. “Don’t make me regret it,” she said.
“Never.” Elliot wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. Her hands rested on his arms while he rubbed his nose against hers like he used to do in high school.
“Mia Murphy, I love you.”
She thought her chest was going to explode from the joy she felt hearing those words. She tilted her head up to look him in the eye. “Yeah, I think I’m fond of you, too.”
“Come here, you little tease,” Elliot said and closed the space, bringing his lips to hers and kissing her with all of the pent-up energy he’d likely been holding in all week.
Someone whistled from down the sidewalk and they broke apart to find Brandon down by the hotel, crossing the road to retrieve something from his car.
“We better get back inside,” Elliot said. “My mom brought The Christmas Story.”
“I have to run back to the store to get more dog food for Pug.”
Elliot took the bag of sprinkles from Mia and cocked an eyebrow, sliding his free hand into hers as they walked back to the market. “Don’t you mean the pug. What’s his name?”
“His name is Pug.” She could tell Elliot was confused. “You know in Breakfast at Tiffany’s how Audrey Hepburn’s character calls her cat Cat? I’ve always wanted to do that. So when I got a pug, I named him Pug.”
Elliot chuckled, releasing her hand to reach for the door and hold it open for her. “You’ve always been weird about old movies.”
“Because they’re the best. Watch what you say, or I’ll make you watch some really old ones with me. There’s quite a few Christmas movies made before nineteen-fifty that rock, you know.”
Elliot leaned down and stole a quick kiss. “Hey, I’m not complaining. I’ll watch anything with you.”
Chapter Seventeen
Christmas had come and gone and both the Kirkpatrick and the Caldwell families had left the lodge, replaced by new guests. Mia was checking each suite for things left behind in drawers and under beds but reached the last room and came up empty.
The staff at the Powder Peaks Lodge really was top notch. And if Sylvia James’s glowing review on Yelp counted for anything, then Janice was going to be pleased when she returned from Arizona that evening.
Her phone buzzed and she pulled it from her pocket. There was a text from Ashlyn.
There’s a package down at reception for you.
Mia slid her phone back into her pocket and left the suite, making her way toward the elevator to ride down to the main floor.
Once she reached the lobby, Ashlyn glanced up and smiled. “I don’t know what’s in it, but its leaking all over the desk.”
“What?” Mia jogged the remainder of the way and recognized the familiar scrawl at once. It was the package from her mom. Ripping the box open, she started laughing.
“What’s in it?” Ashlyn asked, rising to peek into the box.
“Gingerbread and eggnog. But I think the eggnog carton opened somehow because its leaked everywhere.”
“And judging by the smell, it wasn’t refrigerated.”
Mia picked up a trash bin from the floor and slid the whole package into it. No wonder her mother had requested that she opened it up right away.
She was rummaging in the supply closet for paper towels and cleaning solution when she heard a familiar voice in the lobby and her heart stopped. It was time.
Hurrying back to the front desk, Mia brandished a wide smile on her face and set the supplies on the desk before crossing the floor to meet her boss.
“Janice,” she said pleasantly, “welcome home. How was your flight?”
“Too long,” Janice said. Her spiky white hair and bright pink lips looked undisturbed from the travel and her pantsuit was flawless. T
he woman was a machine. “And interesting. I had a message when I landed from a guest who called to chat about the service they received this week.”
Mia froze. A guest had called Janice? Who would have known her well enough to have her personal cell phone number?
“She had interesting things to say about how the rooms were handled after the bridge was damaged. And something about varying activities.”
Janice peered at her through indifferent eyes and Mia could not decipher if she was pleased or angry.
She swallowed. “After we were snowed in, I took it upon myself to create activities to keep the guests from growing too bored or uncomfortable. And there was one guest who was meant to leave but couldn’t, due to circumstances out of her control, so I comped her room until she was able to get past the bridge.”
“And then organized a free ride to the airport?” Janice asked with one sleek, white eyebrow raised in question.
“Yes,” Mia said. She wasn’t going to apologize for what she had done for Mrs. Bruin. The poor woman was stuck at a lodge when she wanted to be home. It was the least she could do.
“Well,” Janice said, her face unreadable. “I say well done.”
Mia stood in front of her boss, dumbfounded.
“Elizabeth Bruin is an old friend of mine. She comes out here every year around Christmas to see me and we spend some time together before she goes back to Seattle. When I decided to go to my daughter’s house for the holidays this year, I asked Elizabeth if she was interested in coming out as planned and being my little fly on the wall.”
“You spied on me,” Mia said, understanding.
“Well, yes. I suppose so. But I wasn’t worried. I just wanted to know how you would handle certain situations while I was gone. And according to Elizabeth’s report, you did a fantastic job.”
“Did you orchestrate everything?”
“Of course not,” Janice said, laughing. “I didn’t create the avalanche or damage the bridge. But those ended up working out in my favor so I got to see how you would handle guests under duress.”
“No one was under duress,” Mia explained.
“No, but they could have been. Being snowed in on Main Street in our tiny little town could cause some people to grow overwhelmed and claustrophobic. But you handled everything so well and kept the guests busy and their mind off of the problem until the problem was fixed. It was precisely what I would have done.” Janice tilted her head. “And it is precisely why I do not have any problem offering you a promotion to manager.”
Mia gasped. “You’re stepping back?”
“Just a little,” Janice said. “I’ll still be around a lot. But I’m passing off the official reins, and we can run the lodge together.”
Mia stepped forward and pulled Janice into a hug. She couldn’t be thrilled that Janice had chosen to test her in such a way, but she’d passed. She was now the manager.
“What about the chocolate cake?” Mia asked when she released her boss. “Was there a reason she only asked for it a few nights and then stopped?”
Janice chuckled. “I asked her to do that. I wanted to know if you’d go above and beyond for a guest. I didn’t anticipate that you’d have to go above and beyond for the duration of my absence, or I wouldn’t have devised the cake thing.”
Mia shook her head and left to clean the eggnog from the desk. She finished wiping up the remnants and tossing the paper towels in the trash when her phone rang. The lobby was empty, so she pulled it out to see who was calling.
Elliot.
Answering the phone, she put it to her ear and began gathering the supplies to return to the closet.
“Hey,” she said.
“Hey,” he said back. “I just got to my apartment. I don’t think I’m gonna bother packing. I think I’ll just donate everything I own and buy all new things again in Utah.”
“No, don’t donate anything,” Mia argued. “Sell it all on eBay. Then you’ll raise enough to buy even better stuff when you come to Utah.”
“Should I autograph everything, too?” Elliot asked, amusement lacing his tone. “I could take a sharpie to all my furniture and picture frames really quick.”
Mia mocked affront. “People would pay good money for that.” She paused, her voice thoughtful. “You know, in all honesty, it’s not such a bad idea.”
Elliot chuckled. “I think I’ll stick to paying movers to deal with all of it.”
“Once you have an apartment,” Mia reminded him, crossing the lobby toward the plush chairs.
“Actually,” Elliot said, drawing out the word. “I just might have found a place to live.”
Mia froze, dropping into a chair.
“You know that cabin-looking house between Hidden Hollow and Park City?”
“The one with the red painted door?” Of course she knew that house. It was set back from the road enough for privacy, but close enough to be easily accessible. And it was so cute.
“Yeah, that one. I might have bought it.”
Excitement bubbled up in Mia’s chest and threatened to spill out in the form of a squeal. “Seriously?”
“Yes,” Elliot said, very pleased with himself. “Seriously.”
“But you’ll be so close to me.”
“And close enough to Park City to make the commute a breeze, even in the winter.”
“I could kiss you right now,” Mia said.
Elliot whined. “I should have waited to tell you in person.”
“I’m glad you didn’t. So when do you come back?”
“I’ve got to wrap up some loose ends here, but I was thinking Saturday. I’ve got to wait until the house closes to move in, so I think I’ll go down and spend some time with my parents until then.”
“Hey, Saturday is when I go down to spend a few days with my parents,” Mia said facetiously.
“Fancy that. Mind if I hitch a ride?”
Mia couldn’t help but smile. “No, Elliot. I don’t mind at all.”
“Hey Mia?”
“Yeah?”
“I sure love you.”
Mia’s heart filled near to bursting. “I sure love you, too.”
Epilogue
Elliot had planned everything perfectly for a classic movie marathon. He checked the clock and sucked in a breath. Mia was going to arrive any moment and the DVD player chose now to quit working. Frustrated, he unplugged the whole TV, counted to ten, and then restarted everything.
A soft knock came at the front door and it opened. “I’m here,” Mia called. Yapping followed behind her and Pug ran up to Elliot, jumping onto his lap where he sat on the floor.
Mia put a few bags of takeout down on the counter and turned toward Elliot. “The bartender at Hal’s eyed my ring tonight,” she said, flashing her hand. “Maybe he’ll quit hitting on me now.”
“You mean my requests weren’t enough, but that ring might be?” Elliot asked, skeptically.
Mia beamed. “I don’t even care. I just walked around all day waving my hand so everyone can admire my rock with me. Hey, I’ve got an idea,” she said, turning toward him. “What do you think about a Christmas wedding? And we can do it at the lodge.”
Elliot chuckled, rising carefully while Pug jumped from his lap. He approached his fiancé and wrapped his arms around her. “I don’t care where we have it as long as no one knows.”
“Except our family.”
“Family is welcome, the press is not.”
Mia nodded in agreeance. “You know, I was kidding, but it’s not actually that bad of an idea. We could do it on Christmas Eve and you know Janice won’t care if we have it at the lodge. All of your family would be there anyway for the holiday, so we’d just have to make sure there’s room for mine.”
“And if not,” Elliot added, “your family could stay in your apartment. Because if we’re getting married you could finally move in here.”
Mia’s eyes lit up. “And then I finally get to decorate.”
Elliot chortled, a snort escaping
through his nose. “Excuse me? What do you call all of that?” He gestured to the many things Mia had added to his house since he’d moved in the January before.
“Gifts,” she said with a straight face. “But you wouldn’t complain about my adding a little touch here and there, right? Especially if we’re going to make this our home.”
Elliot rested his hands on either side of Mia’s face. “You can do whatever you’d like to this place as long as you’re living in it with me.”
“Deal,” Mia agreed.
Elliot leaned forward and kissed her. Pulling back, he gave her nose an Eskimo kiss. “Let’s do it. Let’s get married on Christmas Eve.”
Mia squealed. “Who’d have thought it, huh? This time last year I didn’t even want to see your face.”
“I believe you used the words, ‘I’d rather get run over by Santa’s sleigh than—”
“Yeah, yeah. I get the picture.”
Elliot picked up the takeout bags and took them into the kitchen to put the food on plates. “Aren’t you glad you decided to trust?”
Mia followed him into the kitchen, reaching up to place a kiss on his cheek. “More than you know.”
A preview of Snowflake Wishes, Holly Springs Romance Book 1
Chapter One
I saw the object flying right before it hit me square in the face.
“Watch out!” a masculine voice yelled from the other side of the street.
His warning was too late. Struck between the eyes by the small, but hard object, I dropped the box of Christmas decorations I’d been clutching and fell flat on my back, the wind leaving me in one quick swoop.
My lungs searched for air as I lay sprawled on the sidewalk, my eyelids heavy and thick. A headache formed instantly between my eyes and I blinked slowly as a sparkly silver object came into focus on the cement beside me. My tinsel garland, of course. I blinked away the fog threatening to descend on me, the trash can next to me and tree branches above it slowly coming into focus. My nose throbbed and tears sprang to my eyes, blurring my vision and the man that was now leaning over me.
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