The Inn at Evergreen Hollow (Evergreen Hollow Christmas #1)

Chapter 16

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Nora sank down into the chair by the small kitchen nook table as Rhonda opened the oven, taking a tray of snickerdoodles out. She would have known which cookie it was even if she couldn’t see them—the sudden burst of warm air was filled with the scents of sugar and cinnamon, and she could practically taste the soft, pillowy cookie melting in her mouth already.

She’d come down to the kitchen because that seemed like exactly what she needed—a cookie and maybe some of her mother’s hot cocoa. She hadn’t gotten much more planning done at The Mellow Mug earlier—she’d been too distracted after her run-in with Aiden.

They were going on a date. Not a date. A dinner to catch up. But no matter how she tried to turn it around in her head or look at it differently, it felt like a date.

She’d said that back in high school, she’d thought that he might ask her out. He’d reassured her that he had actually liked her back then. And then she’d asked him to dinner.

It definitely felt like it fit the requirements of a date.

The thought made nerves swirl around in her stomach like snowflakes in a globe. It had been years since she’d been out on a first date. She’d been with Rob for so long that she’d forgotten what it felt like to go out with someone for the first time, even someone who she already knew. She’d even forgotten what it really felt like to go on a date—her and Rob’s nights out, which had been few and far between, had lost the spark of romance over the last few months. They had started to feel more like debriefings, catching each other up on all of the things they hadn’t had time to talk about because they’d both been so overwhelmed with work.

She’d told herself, all the times she was disappointed, that things would calm down. That it was a rough patch, and once the wedding was over and they lived together, date nights would feel special again. Romantic. Less like a conference.

Now, she wasn’t so sure that would have turned out to be the case. And clearly Rob hadn’t been sure either, since he’d broken things off.

She wasn’t sure if it was just the excitement of dinner with Aiden, but she didn’t feel the same pang that she had before when she thought about Rob. It hadn’t hurt so much either, telling Aiden about the broken engagement today. She’d felt more frustration than anything else—frustration that she’d been so busy and preoccupied that she’d missed all the signals that her relationship wasn’t working… and there must have been signals. There always were. She just hadn’t had time to pay attention. Her life had been a whirlwind, a rush of work and efficiency and focusing on her career, and she had thought Rob had liked that about her. That they were both so driven.

But maybe it would have been good for them to both slow down a little.

She didn’t mourn the end of the relationship as much as she’d thought, she realized, as she watched her mother scoop cookies onto a plate and pour hot cocoa. If they’d really been right for each other, Rob would have talked to her about his misgivings, instead of letting them build until he unilaterally decided to dump her. Maybe she’d missed the signs, but he should have told her how he felt.

“How’s the event planning going?” Rhonda carried the plate of cookies and the cocoa to the table, and Nora frowned, remembering her reason for coming down here in the first place. She’d been upstairs trying to work on what she hadn’t managed to get done this morning, but her thoughts had drifted to Aiden, and then to how frustrated she was with Sabrina, and then to wondering if she should be doing this at all. Around and around, until she’d decided that coming downstairs and seeing what was being baked was probably her best choice.

A good choice, Nora decided, when she took a bite of cookie. It was exactly as good as she remembered, soft and buttery, sweet and spiced in exactly the right measure. Paired with the thick, rich cocoa, it was even better. She would miss this when she went home.

But maybe she didn’t have to stay away for quite so long this time.

“Sabrina clearly doesn’t want my help.” Nora took another bite of cookie, letting the cinnamon sugar soothe away the sting of remembering Sabrina’s reaction. “I went to show her some of what I picked out, and she said she didn’t see the point in bothering to share it with her, since I was going to do it all anyway.” Another bite of cookie. The hostility still felt bad, even with the time that had passed since then. She’d done all of this as a gesture of goodwill—peace on earth, and all of that—and Sabrina seemed intent on interpreting it in the worst way possible.

“Just keep doing what you’re doing.” Rhonda sat back, taking a bite of her own cookie as she looked at her daughter. “We’re lucky to have your expertise. If Sabrina doesn’t realize that, it’s on her. And she’ll come around, I’m sure.”

Like Caroline? Nora bit the words back. Her mother didn’t want friction between her daughters, of course—so of course she’d tried to reassure Nora that her sister would come around. But Caroline hadn’t, so far, and Nora didn’t feel confident that Sabrina would either.

So long as everyone else remained happy with what she was doing, she reassured herself, it would be fine. Sabrina was one cranky voice. She shouldn’t let it get to her.

Speaking of voices —Nora craned her neck, looking out toward the living room. She could hear the crackle of the fireplace from there, but not much else. “It’s so quiet,” she observed, reaching for a second cookie. “ Really quiet.”

Rhonda sighed. For a moment, Nora got the distinct impression that she’d touched on something that her mother really didn’t want to talk about—had been avoiding talking about, maybe. “There’s only one guest,” she said finally, and Nora’s brows rose.

Concern pricked at her instantly. She thought of the tense look on Caroline’s face, and her mother’s attempts to do more holiday events, and the pieces started to come together. “How long have things been this slow?”

That hesitant look passed over Rhonda’s face again. “A while,” she admitted. “But I’m sure it’s really nothing to worry over. Caroline gets stressed about it, but I’m hopeful that things will pick back up if we just give it a little time. There’s always ups and downs, rough patches.”

It wasn’t dissimilar to what Aiden had said that morning. Nora’s mind was already ticking away, thinking of what could be done to give the business a boost. She didn’t say anything—she knew her mother had already been reticent to talk about it. She didn’t want to make her feel worse.

But she could think of some things to do. Packages—maybe ones appealing to couples away on a romantic Vermont holiday or friends having a girls’ weekend. Add-ons—a guided fishing trip, or a maple syrup tour. The inn offered rustic, charming rooms and delicious breakfasts and a cozy place to relax, with a few small in-house events here and there like the mulled wine tasting—but Nora saw places to expand.

She was sure that Caroline would have an aneurysm if she heard Nora thinking about changing anything around the inn.

“How was the dance class?” Rhonda asked, abruptly changing the subject. “Did you enjoy it?”

Nora gave her a pointed look. “I know what you and Melanie did. You could have warned me, at least, that Aiden would be teaching the class.”

“Would you have gone?” her mother countered, and Nora sighed.

“Probably not.”

“So? How was it?” Rhonda’s eyes twinkled, and she reached for her cocoa. Nora knew her mother had been waiting for the moment to get her to spill the details. She wondered how long Rhonda and Melanie had conspired over this. She doubted it had been a spur of the moment thought.

“I was caught completely off guard. I stepped on his toes and elbowed him in the face when we ended up dancing together.” Nora let out a dramatic sigh. “But we ended up talking today at the Mug, actually. He was there while I was working. Obviously, I had to apologize again for almost taking him out.”

“Obviously,” Rhonda murmured.

“And then offer to actually take him out to dinner.” Nora bit her lips nervously. “Sort of… kind of a date. Tomorrow night.”

“Oh?” Her mother’s eyebrows rose. “A date? With Aiden? Your vacation home is getting interesting. Maybe I should send some mistletoe with you.”

“Easy there.” Nora laughed. “I can’t exactly classify it as a date. We didn’t say it was that.” She felt the flutter of nerves again, wondering if she was being ridiculous by even thinking of it in the same terms as a date. He’d said he liked her—but he could have meant that he just liked talking to her. Chatting companionably. He hadn’t said he wanted to date her, and she hadn’t been specific about it. In fact, even when referencing the old days of high school, she’d said she had thought he might have wanted to hang out again or ask her out.

He could have been referencing either, really.

“Do you want it to be a date?” Her mother looked thoroughly intrigued. It made Nora wonder what she’d thought of Rob. Clearly, Rhonda had no compunctions about Nora getting over him. But then again, for all the years that she’d been with him, he’d barely met her family. She was sure her mother had thoughts about that, that she’d kept to herself.

“Maybe.” Nora reached for her cocoa, taking solace in the rich chocolate. “He really did grow up to be impressively good-looking. And he’s charming, and funny when he wants to be. He’s hard to ignore. Even if I wanted to.” And I’m not sure I want to.

“He had a thing for you back in high school,” Rhonda observed, and Nora laughed softly.

“I thought the opposite. I thought he wasn’t interested. But maybe I was wrong about that. And… I don’t know. I don’t know what to think. It’s not going to go anywhere, but I get a little bit of butterflies thinking about it being a date.”

Nora was surprised to hear herself admit it out loud, and to her mother. They’d never really talked about boys. Nora had been too focused in high school to date much, not seeing the purpose when she intended to flee Evergreen Hollow as soon as possible, and they’d never talked about who she was seeing in college.

She’d told her mother about Rob, and they’d met briefly, and of course she would have sent an invite to the wedding. But it had never been like this , mother and daughter sitting in the kitchen with cookies and cocoa, talking about Nora’s love life.

It felt nice. Like home, if she was being honest. And she didn’t really know what to do with that feeling either.

Rhonda gave her a gentle look, reaching over to pat her daughter’s hand. “Have fun, Nora. You deserve it.”

It still felt like an alien concept to her, just having fun . Not worrying about where it might go, or if it was silly to go on a date with a man who was never leaving Evergreen Hollow when she had every intention of leaving again. Normally, she would have said it was pointless. That all of these thoughts and feelings were foolish, when they couldn’t become something.

But maybe her mother had a point, just like Aiden had a point earlier when he talked about just having a hobby.

Maybe a date could just be that. A date because it gave her butterflies and sounded fun, and she wanted to go. Maybe some things could just be because she wanted to, and not because they had a purpose, or would help her career, or would lead to an eventual marriage.

Maybe not everything had to check off a box on a list.

“Thanks.” Nora stood up, bending to give her mother a kiss on the cheek. “For everything,” she added, as she took her mug to the sink.

She wasn’t sure what the dinner out with Aiden would be like.

But she was excited to find out.