Holiday Reunion (Hollyberry Harbor #1)

Chapter 3

THREE

The following morning, Sarah marched into her bakery with her hands balled into fists and bags beneath her eyes. She hadn’t slept at all last night and all because she couldn’t get James and their stupid conversation out of her head.

He was going to ruin everything. When it was just a few shops on Lake Harbor Avenue, she’d managed to let herself ignore him. But then Brie had given her the full rundown for what the other businesses who were currently open were doing.

Much like James had alluded to, those businesses were now sharing part ownership with James’s development company. If they wanted to make any changes to their shop, they had to get approval from the board that oversaw everything.

How could they do that to themselves? The whole point in running a business was to have the freedom to make one’s vision a reality. She stomped around the kitchen, fuming, only to be interrupted by Brie’s arrival.

“That bad, huh?”

Sarah didn’t know how long Brie had watched her storm through the shop, but it didn’t matter. Her friend had seen worse.

“He called me after work yesterday.”

“James?”

“Who else.” Sarah growled again. “He’s going to ruin everything.”

“Maybe he won’t.”

Sarah glowered at Brie. “I know you don't understand because you didn’t grow up here, but this place… it doesn’t need to be changed. It doesn’t need some traitor to come in and turn it into some circus.”

Brie bit back a smile.

“I’m serious,” Sarah insisted. “What’s the point in living in a small town where everyone knows your name if you start turning it into something unrecognizable?”

Her friend shrugged as she pulled away from the door. “You know, something I’ve learned is you can’t judge something until you’ve had a chance to let it speak for itself first. Maybe James will do something unexpected.”

Sarah snorted. “I doubt that. He just wants to put on a show so everyone will believe he's a great guy. It’s like no one remembers he left for several years. If he really loved this place, he would’ve stayed and tried fixing up Lake Harbor the right way.”

Brie tilted her head and squinted. “Is there really a right way?”

Rolling her eyes, Sarah turned from her friend and focused on what they had planned for today. “With this new project, I won’t be in as much for the next couple of weeks. I’ll try to have everything ready the night before so you can just put them in the oven and be done with it.”

“Wait, you’re going to try to work and plan the festival?”

“What choice do I have? I can’t exactly close down for a couple weeks. And the mayor asked me to do the festival. I can’t say no to him.”

“Sure you could have.” Brie moved closer, her voice gentler. “Even you need to accept that you can’t work yourself to death. Dead people can’t keep their business going either.”

Sarah nodded. “Yeah. I know. Thankfully, it’s only for the next couple of weeks.” She shot her friend a concerned look. “Do you think you’ll be able to handle it okay?”

“I’ll be fine,” she assured her. Even though Brie’s voice had a soothing effect on Sarah’s frayed nerves, it wasn’t enough to help her completely forget that in a few short hours she’d be working side by side with James on something she didn’t even want to do. Brie touched her arm, causing her to jump. “You should probably just go home. Get some rest. Heaven knows you’re going to need it if you’re going to have to deal with James for the next several days.”

Sarah groaned. “Don’t remind me.” She offered her friend a smile. “But I can’t leave yet. I have to finish the peppermint eclairs. It’s tradition. People are going to be expecting to have them. it’s the first day of December.”

Brie all but pushed Sarah toward the exit. “I’ll have them ready just fine. You don’t have to worry about a thing.”

Tossing a fleeting glance over her shoulder toward her friend, Sarah allowed herself to succumb to her friend’s request. As if she’d teleported, she landed outside in the snow. She shot one more look at her shop and sent a small prayer it would be able to survive while she was away.

It had to.

Sarah sat at the table in the coffee shop in the middle of town. There was no coffee near where she worked, and James had insisted he wasn’t worth anything without his caffeine fix. Her legs bounced as she waited for him to show up. She told herself she was here first, so she had the upper hand, but in reality, she simply didn’t know what to do with herself.

Every time the door opened, she looked up only to find it wasn’t the man she was expecting to see. On the table before her, she had her own documents drawn up regarding the festival. There were notes about past festivals, what worked and what didn’t. She included everything she thought would be a good addition and there was even a list of things she refused to budge on.

If James thought this project was going to be easy, he was sorely mistaken. They had one chance to get it right.

The door opened and a chime rang through the lobby. Sarah glanced up to find James standing just inside. His eyes swept through the room until they landed on her. He wore a deep blue suit with a red vest and a festive looking tie. The second their eyes met, Sarah had to catch her breath.

Even from this distance, his blue eyes were amazing. She’d been so engrossed with her fury the other day to truly appreciate his looks, but now that she’d cooled off and had a plan, her heart was trying to get away with treason.

He held up a finger to place his order and then in no time, he was seated at the table.

Before he had a chance to speak, she spun her papers around for him to see. “Obviously, we need to stick to tradition. The tree lighting ceremony will be the focal point for the festival. It’s going to run for two weeks and we need to have plenty of activities going on during that time. I have a list here for everything that has worked in the past.” She pointed at the ones with little stars by them. “These are the ones that must take place, no questions asked.”

His focus scanned the paper before him. Then he settled back in his chair. “This is all very thorough.”

“Yes, it is,” Sarah beamed.

“I think we can make everything on your list happen. Even a small scaled Santa’s village. I’m sure there is someone who would be willing to dress up as the jolly ol’ fellow.”

She didn’t know whether to be suspicious at how easy it was to get all of her demands met, or to be relieved he wasn’t going to fight her. At this point, she just wanted to get this project done and over with, so she opted for the latter. “Wonderful. I’m sure there are some city council members who we can delegate some of this to. It will be important to remind the people what our town used to be and that it still exists in the hearts of the community.”

“I couldn’t have said it better myself.”

She bit back a smile. Maybe Brie was right. James wasn’t as bad as she’d thought he was.

“There’s just one thing I want to add.”

Sarah stiffened. She’d given him the benefit of the doubt far too soon.

“We need to do something to draw people out. Something that says, look out Maine, here’s Hollyberry Harbor.”

“No we don’t,” she muttered dryly. “We’re great the way we are.”

“Sure, sure. But this part of town is dying. You can’t deny that.”

He was starting to sound a lot like Brie. What was it about people who had lived in other parts of the world that they continued to think this town was on its way out?

“I’m thinking we need an attraction that will draw in neighboring communities. Maybe we could do a light show.”

“Absolutely not.”

James frowned. “That’s where you draw the line? You’re pushing for ice castles and ice skating, Santa’s workshop and a reindeer petting zoo, but you won’t let me figure out a way to do a drive-through light show?”

“ Drive through ? What you’re suggesting is for people to come drive through our town and not even bother getting out of their vehicles. I thought you wanted people to come and sample what we have to offer. How can you be promoting new businesses when you’re not trying to figure out a way to get customers to visit?”

His frown deepened.

“See? You get it. Even in your mind, you can agree I’m right. People who aren’t willing to get out of their vehicles to see the sights aren’t going to want to get out to wander down Lake Harbor Avenue. The answer is no.”

He leaned over the table and punched his finger onto her paperwork. “Lucky for you, this isn’t just your job. I can make suggestions just as much as you can. And if it comes down to budget, who do you think the mayor will side with? Reindeer are expensive.”

Her eyes locked with his in a staring match. So much for him being willing to see things her way.