Page 74 of Clued in to Love
Was she wishing Samesh were here?
“You are teacher of the year for the entire state of Oregon, Mrs. Reynolds,” Olivia repeated. The whole class erupted in applause and cheers.
Darby placed her hand over her heart and blinked, overcome with a warmth that spread from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. What a sweet gesture by her students. She gathered her thoughts as the reporter asked her for a comment.
Darby was truly touched. But Olivia’s heartfelt tribute left a more profound mark and shifted something in Darby. She just wasn’t sure if she was ready to act on it yet.
FORTY-TWO
MARISSA
Marissa was still bitter that she and William had been required to redo the Christmas lights challenge. The worst part was that once they had unwound another oversized ball of tangled lights, the clue revealed that the next challenge wasn’t until the night of the Starlight Parade. That gave the other teams plenty of time to catch up.
She spent the next two days apartment searching and prepping for her weekend clients. On the night of the parade, she tugged on a pair of tights, fleece leggings, a cozy cream cable-knit sweater, and her faux-fur-lined snow boots. The clue had been intentionally vague. Teams were supposed to watch the parade in its entirety. According to the clue, the next task would reveal itself somewhere on the route.
Hopefully, that was true, because Marissa was out of ideas.
William had offered to get there early and save a seat for her. He had texted her a selfie with him in front of the Bank of Bend, waiting for her in a camp chair.
The Bank of Bend was the ideal spot to watch the parade. It was adjacent to the grandstands, where bands and dance teams would stop to perform for VIP guests and local television cameras. The clue had clearly stipulated that contestants werenot allowed to purchase VIP tickets, leading Marissa and William to assume that whatever they were supposed to be on the lookout for during the parade must be taking place near the grandstands.
She hadn’t seen him since their marathon Christmas lights challenge. Not seeing him for a few days didn’t mean that she hadn’t been thinking about him. In fact, quite the opposite. William Graff had been on her mind every waking moment, no matter how hard she tried to push any thoughts of him away. Yesterday, she’d been sketching out final designs for brunch platters and realized that she had written his name a dozen times on the margins of her sketchbook. She had slammed it shut. No one had ever taken up this much headspace before.
On the drive downtown, she made a promise to herself to keep her muddled feelings in check and stay focused on finding the next clue.
Yeah, how many times have you said that?
The parade route was lined with spectators bundled up in winter attire, their breath visible in the cold. Excited chatter filled the air as children and adults eagerly awaited the procession. Marissa could hear the faint sound of jingle bells in the distance as she searched the crowd for William.
The minute William caught her eye and stood to wave, her stomach did that familiar flop, and she could feel herself getting sucked in. He wore a navy-and-orange-striped puffy coat that brought out the deep dark tones in his eyes.
“Long time no see, Snow Princess.” He leaned in to hug her.
Marissa extended her hand.
“Ah, got it. We’re back to formalities.” William gave her an exaggerated handshake. “How’s things in the cheese biz?”
She unfolded her chair and removed a blanket to tuck over her legs. “Cheesy.”
“Clever.” William sat down and scooted his chair closer. “Just to be clear, I’m not trying to make a move. I’m making space, okay?”
Marissa wrapped her blanket tighter over her legs. “Okay.” She wasn’t sure why he was telling her this, but then she followed his gaze across the street to a roped-off area with red-and-green ribbon.
Ah, as in literally making space.
Parker and her entourage were headed straight for them.
Great.
“You all remember my teammate, Marissa?” William made introductions again as Parker and her friends squeezed into their space.
Parker cooed at William and shot Marissa a dismissive glance. “Of course, we’re old friends now.”
She and Parker were anything but friends. Marissa shrank into her chair as Parker gave her a condescending smile and immediately shifted her attention to William. Marissa couldn’t help but notice that Parker set up her chair so close to William that she was practically sitting on his lap.
Marissa pulled out her phone, pretending to be busy responding to messages while William and his friends swapped stories about parties and ski trips to Aspen. It was fine that Parker had shown up. Actually, if she thought about it, it was better. Parker was a glaring reminder that she didn’t have a chance with William, and why would she want one?
This was good. She could laser her focus on the floats and bands, find the clue, and solve it. That’s why she was here tonight. That was her only job.
