Oliver photographed each piece, and Luciana collected samples for the collection binder and for the materials and source binder. Under a microscope, Luciana identified the color and type of yarn and registered them alongside the provenance.
Mr. Wynthrop entered the room. “Miss Romano, you do know you have an hour for lunch, right?”
Luciana looked at the clock on the wall. They’d been working for almost six hours straight. She stood and tapped her feet on the ground to restart circulation. “I didn’t realize it was lunchtime already,” she said. She pulled a sheet from the binder. “I have the museum’s floor plan, but I’d still like to look at the room where the exhibit will be placed.”
“How about we do that after lunch?” Mr. Wynthrop said. “I’ll take you on a tour of the building and show you everything.”
Oliver grabbed his jacket and excused himself, leaving quickly. Mr. Wynthrop soon followed. Luciana’s stomach rumbled, and she set a hand over her middle. Lunch was beginning to sound better and better. She secured the samples and closed the binders, then put on her pea coat and scarf.
Mrs. Wells had given her a town map showing the restaurants, but Luciana already knew where she was going for lunch.
* * *
Luciana was here. For the second day in a row.
Jack had been watching the door all morning, waiting for her to come to the café. He’d told himself that it didn’t matter if he never saw her again, but that was a lie. He’d hoped she’d return around the same time as the day before, and when the hour came and went without her showing, he pushed all thoughts of her aside. The busyness at the café on Tuesday morning and the preparations for the festival kept him working at a fast pace and with little time to wonder why she hadn’t texted yet.
When she walked through the door at lunch hour, the rush was in full swing. Jack peeked at her from his spot at the counter in the galley, and then went back to slicing bread. The corner of his mouth pulled up, but he reined in his smile, not wanting any attention from Mom and Nonna. He chided himself. So Luciana had returned. In a small town like Hudson Springs, outsiders who were not skiers stood out. By the end of the week, when the Christmas Festival was in full swing, there would be too many people in town to notice.
But Jack had noticed Luciana from the first time he’s seen her.
He grabbed two more loaves from the rack. She looked at the chalkboard, where the specials of the day were written. Her brown eyes were shiny, and her nose and cheeks flushed from the cold—just like the first time she’d caught his attention.
When she saw him across the way, here expression bloomed in a wide smile. Jack’s chest squeezed, and he paused. What would it be like to experience that reaction and smile every day?
He willed himself to calm down from the nervous energy that momentarily surged through him. From the corner of his eye, he saw Mom sidle up to Nonna and elbow her in the side. They were on to him, and there would be explaining to do later. He ignored them pointedly and came from the kitchen to take Luciana’s order.
“Hi. You’re back.,” he said with a smile. So original.
She smiled at him, and nodded. “Hi, Jack.”
The door bell jingled and three customers came in. Jack hid his annoyance. With all the interruptions and work he had to do, there was no way he’d have a chance to exchange more than a few words with Luciana. Of course, admitting to himself how truly interested he was in her didn’t help keep the jitters at bay.
She followed his gaze to the front door, then turned back to him. “Are you always this busy?”
Jack chuckled, unable to stop himself. “A lot of skiers prefer to stay in town, but we get even busier during the festival.”
As the line grew behind her, she shrugged a little. “I’m stalling the line. Sorry.” She gave him her order.
Jack smiled again. “Don’t worry about it,” he said as she moved down the line to pay.
He cringed inside. He was so not used to this—what was it anyway? Flirting? Chatting up a pretty woman so he could invite her out? He kind of had done that already and was still waiting for her reply. Did he really want to go out with her? He hadn’t even been out on a date in some time, not after his disastrous past.
Luciana looked around until she found a place at the end of the bar, then looked up to meet his eyes once more.
That feeling again. Like a stutter in his heart.
He was in so much trouble and totally unprepared for it.
A few minutes later he grabbed the tray from his mom’s hands.
She raised an eyebrow at him. “I thought you didn’t want to wait the tables.”
Jack lifted a shoulder and winked at her. “It’s the counter, not a table.”
He approached Luciana. “Here we go. The cinnamon chocolate cappuccino, the breakfast pizza, the pane del giorno with the cheese and fruit spread of the day, and a sparkling water. Buon appetito.”
She was reading a small leather book and put it down when he placed the cup and plate in front of her.
“Thank you.” She smiled up at him. “This looks fabulous.”
“You’re welcome.”
Before he did something stupid, like ask about her work schedule, Jack walked back to the kitchen and pulled out the list for the festival, trying to keep busy and away from the front of the café.
He went through the freezers and recounted the trays of cookies for Friday at the festival, then went through the fridge to check the labels on the bags of frosting. Some of the cookies were old Italian recipes and required minimum assembly—just defrosting. Only the pizelle needed to be made fresh. In fact, they’d have a pizelle iron on Friday to make the traditional flat lace cookies. They were always a hit with festival goers, young and old.
Would Luciana be able to come? He didn’t even know what she was doing in Hudson Springs. Why had he been flirting with her? However long and whatever reason she was in town for, it was likely her stay was very short. Did he really want to get involved with a woman who wasn’t staying? Or did the fact that she wasn’t staying for long made it easier to go out with her?
Of course, being new in town, she probably wouldn’t want to go out with him once she heard about his past. Maybe it was a better idea to not flirt with her and disappoint her expectations. After all, he had not dated in a while for a very good reason. It would serve him well to remember that.
“Jack, your mom wants you,” Ashley called at him.
Jack raised his head from the festival map on the counter and looked across the opening between the galley and the café. At the end of the bar stood Mom, Nonna, and Luciana. Nonna said something and the three women turned toward him. Luciana’s smile was uncertain and Mom motioned him over. When he just stood there, Nonna mouthed presto.
A flash of clarity rushed through his mind. They had cornered Luciana to take the tour of the festival. He recognized their smug expressions.
He walked over to them.
“Luciana’s in town for two weeks working at the museum,” Mom said when he approached.
Only two weeks then. “Are you staying through Christmas?” He asked.
Luciana nodded. “Yes, I’m leaving on the twenty-seventh.”
Jack nodded back then caught himself. Did she not mind being away from her family at this time of year?
Mom went on. “She has some time to look around on Friday.”
Luciana looked away for a brief moment, but Nonna nodded and smiled.
Mom and Nonna wouldn’t let it go, even if he wasn’t ready to date. He was confused to not know what he wanted. This wasn’t a good time of the year for him—the second anniversary of his breakup with Madison. Something more than a breakup, but he didn’t like to think about it too much. Last year he’d stayed away from everything to do with the season, and Mom and Nonna had let him alone. No such luck this year.
But if Luciana was only in town for two weeks, couldn’t this be his chance to get his family off his back about dating? Even his younger si
sters had started making not-so veiled comments about it, and it wore him out. Fifteen days were too short a period to develop any real feelings for someone, even if his heart somersaulted each time he laid eyes on her. He could take Luciana out on a couple of dates, play the perfect local host, and have a good time while at it.
Couldn’t he?
Nonna touched his arm. “We were telling Luciana how Fridays are the best days at the festival.”
Nonna said Luciana in Italian, with the hard ch sound instead of the soft c sound Luciana had used when she’d introduced herself. It was Luceeana, not Luch’ana, but if he pointed it out, it would get awkward really fast.
“Fridays are great days,” he said at last.
The three women raised their eyes to him with mixed expressions in their faces, from relief to mild surprise, and even a bit of doubt, this from Luciana.
Jack scrambled for something to say. “Do you like cookies?” Seriously? His brain couldn’t come up with anything better to say?
When a group of customer entered the café, Mom and Nonna excused themselves and left to attend the newcomers, leaving Jack and Luciana by themselves.
Hesitation flashed in Luciana’s eyes, then she reached in her purse and handed him a business card. “Sorry, I gotta run. I’ll be at the museum until six.”
She was out the door before he had a chance to respond.
Jack glanced at the card. It simply said Luciana Romano, Knits and Textiles, followed by a phone number.
He had her number. Again; this time directly from her. She had his but hadn’t used it yet. The situation was turning more awkward every time they met. Maybe it was up to him to take the next step.
He slipped the card into his pocket, hoping this wouldn’t turn into another mistake.
Chapter Four
Wednesday, December 13th
Jack hadn’t slept well again. Not sleeping well was nothing new, but the source of the problem was.
Luciana. Just her name made him pause and turn all his thoughts to her. It was a soft, happy name, just like she was.
He’d meant to set his alarm so he could wake up and call Luciana in the evening, but he’d been so tired that he must have slept through it. he’d forgotten. By the time he woke up, it was two in the morning. Although he didn’t have to get up quite that early, he ended up in the kitchen and finished decorating the cookies for the three days of the festival.
In the meantime, setting up the booth gave him the time he needed to think.
Jack couldn’t remember a time when the café hadn’t participated in the town’s festivities. As a child, he’d come with Dad to set up, and before he was old enough to help bake cookies, he’d been in charge of handing out the napkins and spoons.
In the past few years, since taking more of the baking responsibilities, he’d been training some of the younger cousins for the duties of setting up and taking down, making and serving the hot chocolate, and selling the cookies. Jack preferred to stay at the café’s kitchen, rolling new batches of dough rather than dealing with the hordes of happy festival goers.
As one of the oldest businesses in town, DiLorenzo’s had a booth across from the stage where Santa Claus sat, the most popular spot of the season. It was a good location that brought lots of business.
Today, Liam and Gavin were on duty assisting Jack with the wood panels. For the rest of the festival, the DiLorenzo and the Barisone families had a schedule of two people at all times rotating every two hours. Even with temporary electricity and heating, the outdoor paneled booths got cold really fast. The café was a popular spot, and their booth occupied a double space.
Liam held the first of the side panels while Jack used the cordless drill to secure the sides with screws. Around them, some of the booths had already finished setting up and had started decorating, and others were barely getting their walls and roofs up.
The day was sunny and cold, and being outdoors was a welcome change to the warmth and humidity of the kitchen where he usually worked.
Methodically, Jack handed the screws to Liam while he shored up the panels that made the sides and roof of their booth. As he stepped onto the path to reach for a fallen bag of screws for the next section, he turned to find Luciana walking in front of their booth space.
She paused when she saw him. “Hi, Jack.” She gave him a hesitant smile, then resumed walking.
“Luciana, wait,” Jack said.
She slowed down and looked back over her shoulder. “I’m on my way back to the museum.”
Jack handed the drill to Liam. “I’ll be right back.” His cousins knew what to do. It wasn’t the first time they’d helped setting up the booth for the festival.
Luciana kept walking even as he caught up to her.
“I meant to text you yesterday,” he said.
“Don’t worry about it.” She waved her hand to encompass the town square. “So is all this part of the festival?” she asked.
Instead of walking around the square on the sidewalk, they cut through the center, right in the middle of all the preparations. “You’ve heard about the festival?” Jack asked in a playful tone.
Luciana smile. “It’s kind of hard not to. Everyone is talking about it. At the inn, at the museum, even at your café.” She gestured to the row of stores closer to where they stood. “I’ve never seen so many Christmas decorations.”
“Yeah, Hudson Springs is a bit obsessed with everything the season has to offer.” Sometimes, it was hard to explain to the out-of-towners why this small town in upstate New York put so much effort in bringing out all the best of Christmas. “The town starts decorating on December eighth, which is also a holiday: the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.”
“We celebrate it in Portugal too.” Luciana smiled.
“Hudson Springs had an influx of English, Irish, and Italian immigrants in the nineteenth century, and lots of traditions are rooted in the Catholic holidays.” Jack’s family was Italian on both sides, but he had lots of friends from English and Irish families. “The decorations come down right after Epiphany.”
Luciana nodded. “King’s Day on January sixth. What are the booths for?”
“This is the culmination of that Christmas obsession I mentioned earlier.” He chuckled. “By tonight, the town square will be transformed into a Christmas village. There will be vendors with decorations and food, and lots of Christmas music.”
“Sounds like fun.”
“It is actually.” He was too used to it. Having been raised here did that to some of the townspeople. “Part of what makes Hudson Springs special.” He believed it, even if he took it for granted more than he should.
“I’ll have to come by and see what it looks like tomorrow,” Luciana said.
“You should. If you like Christmas, you’ll love it.” As jaded as he might feel, Jack liked to see the looks on children’s and visitors’ faces.
“I come from a big family, and we always try to get together for the holiday season.”
“A big family, huh?” Most people’s families were not big, compared to his. “How big are we talking about?”
Luciana’s eyes gleamed with amusement. “My grandparents had seven sons. Those sons married and produced nineteen grandchildren—cousins who are close enough to feel like siblings, adding to the three brothers I already have. I imagine the great-grandchildren starting to come now. Total chaos.”
Jack let out a low whistle. “So you do understand about big families.”
“More than you think,” Luciana said. “Two of the cousins I grew up with are getting married next year, starting with one on New Year’s Day. Another cousins will soon be engaged, according to family rumors. I called my grandmother before I left Lisbon, and she said in passing that I need to start looking at wedding gowns.”
“Congratulations on your engagement,” Jack said as he turned the information in his mind. He glanced at her left hand, but didn’t see a ring. Did they hold the same traditions in Portugal?
; Luciana shook her head and held her right hand up for him to see. “Not engaged.”
He frowned at her and slowed down.
“I’m not even in a relationship.” This time, Luciana chuckled.
“So, your family—” Jack started.
“My family is just like yours,” Luciana finished. “Full of good intentions and always meddling.” She stopped and looked at him. “Not that I’m saying your family is meddling. Sorry.”
Jack laughed. “No, they totally are. And it sounds like yours is too.”
She nodded again. “I could see what your mother and grandmother were trying to do yesterday. I’m sorry. I won’t hold you to it, by the way.”
She bit her lower lip, and, for a moment, Jack wanted to reach out and touch her. Did she think he was being coerced?
He slipped his hands in his pockets. “Christmas season is the busiest for us, especially with the festival this week, but not so busy that I can’t show you around.” He could skip a few hours of sleep. Going out with Luciana had moved to the top of his list. “Do you have plans for Friday evening?”
“I’m trying to finish a gift for my goddaughter, but nothing else going on.”
“How about I pick you up at seven at the inn?”
She raised an eyebrow. “How did you know I’m staying there?”
“The motels are all located out of town, but since you’re working at the museum, I figured you’d want to stay closer, and the inn seems like the logical option.”
They’d walked to the museum and stopped on the sidewalk.
“Well, my lunch hour is over,” Luciana said. “Oliver is probably back already, and we have a whole list of samples to finish.”
“I hope you had the time to stop at the café for lunch. I’m sure Mom and Nonna were happy to see you.” If she hadn’t walked by the booth, he’d have missed her too.
Keep Me At Christmas (Romano Family Book 4) Page 3