Page 68 of The Christmas Blueprint

Sophia felt something shift inside of her. Fear faded. Anxiety about the class, the pressure because she had so much to do before the open house and the class, it all simmered on the back burner practically forgotten.

Sophia definitely felt shaken, although this time it felt like a good shake.

*

“Sophia makes everythinglook so effortless,” Killian marveled to Riley.

“So you’ve said,” Riley said, twisting floral wire around another grouping of skinny, bent twigs combined with sprigs of juniper and pine. “Several times.”

Had he?

“She didn’t even need our help. Effortless. She’s so prepared and calm and explains things so well, and her demonstration wreath is flawless. She’s so kind including Harlow as one of her assistants still. She’s got Maeve working the room like a pro, and she was even cool about me talking Elaine out of twelve of her rooster paintings in one go when I guess Sophia’s been trying all year.”

Killian took a few more pictures of Sophia teaching. The Mill Market—now Sophia had him calling it that—should have a website. He also took pictures of Harlow to send to Hunter. “I wonder if Soph will let me buy her sample.”

Riley made a weird noise in the back of her throat like she was gargling nails.

“Yours doesn’t look like hers,” he noted.

“Because it’s mine. Hers is a sample. She encourages her students to run free, chase their own visions.” Riley stuck her tongue out at him. “Are you going to ask her out?”

He paused before uttering the instinctive no. He wasn’t, was he?

“Don’t,” Riley said.

“Why not?”

“Because you’re leaving.”

“I’m here for a year.”

“I went by my house yesterday to grab some tools. You haven’t even unpacked your suitcase. That is not the signal of a man putting down roots. So don’t. Unless…” Riley paused dramatically and stared him down.

He wasn’t going to ask. He wasn’t going to give her that satisfaction.

But he couldn’t help it. “Unless what?” he demanded.

“You decide like Dorothy that there’s no place like home.”

“I don’t think my work boots will be as visually spectacular as ruby slippers,” he said lightly. He wouldn’t let Riley know that she’d landed a direct hit.

“You could stay, Kills. You could.”

“I’m going to check to see if anyone needs anything.”

He walked the perimeter of the room. The morning of the open house had been a success. Riley and Zhang had arrived early with trays and trays of mini muffins, both savory and sweet, and two huge carafes of black coffee. The barista had arrived with the coffee cart and had started making lattes and other hot holiday drinks at a pretty fast clip. Maeve and Sophia had organized all the greens, and Harlow had put the wreath frames and small clippers at all of the workstations for the afternoon class.

The class had more than forty participants, but more people wandered in, looked around at the temporary art gallery, Sophia’s watercolors of the building, and then of course gravitated to the coffee and snack area.

Lakshmi played her bass and sang Christmas carols in a jazzy style. And after the class, several school and church choirs would perform. Killian had arranged several carts of fold-up chairs to be delivered along with bistro-style tables, and Zhang and Riley had set them up. Many were in use. The taco truck had arrived and the air was fragrant with roasted carne asada. He couldn’t have dreamed it any better.

But would it be enough?

Would the community’s imagination catch fire enough today and over next weekend during the Christmas Market to create public pressure so that tearing down the building to build a high-end apartment complex along the creek wasn’t going to be a popular or viable option for the mayor? Or would Zhang Shi rescind his offer if the mayor went with his own plan for the building? And would Killian be shut out of the process and out of a job if he didn’t toe the line Jeffrey Bane had painted? So many questions but no answers.

He knew he had to share with Sophia what Jeffrey Bane had threatened, but he’d been putting it off so she didn’t worry. Could it wait until after the Christmas season? Guilt felt like a brick in his gut.

Killian had invited the other planning commissioners to the open house but hadn’t received a reply. He did know that the warm friendship he was developing with Sophia would be instantly cut if she learned that he’d been aware of Jeffrey Bane’s plan all along and hadn’t warned her, but he was entranced seeing her so excited about the Mill Market. She shined. He couldn’t stand to see her hurt ever again, and deep inside, he still believed in enough Christmas magic that he felt there was a chance Jeffrey Bane could be persuaded to give up his idea if he saw it, if enough people put pressure on him.

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