Page 70 of The Christmas Blueprint

Sophia palmed thelatte Killian had brought her and listened to her mom and friends gently tease her about Killian’s attentiveness. His height, hair, chiseled cheekbones, and jaw also came up for dissection. Her mom frowned, looked at Killian talking quietly to Zhang before the two of them disappeared into the building, Killian’s blueprints in hand.

She tried to pull her attention away from the two of them and back to her mom’s friends, who seemed to be in a competition for who could use the most greenery on the wreath frame. Her mom was winning.

“Professional interest,” she clapped back without a blush. “He has his blueprints, so naturally as a member of the planning commission, I’m interested.”

“Blueprints.” Nan, one of her mom’s closest friends since elementary school snorted. “Is that what you call what that man has going on? Girl, I despair of you. Your mom and I need to stage a—”

“Don’t say it.” Sophia held up a finger in mock warning, but she still wagged it and tossed one of her braided pigtails over her shoulder. “I have several brothers you can douse with your matchmaking juju.”

“Your brothers are still so wild.” Nan smiled, clearly proud of them.

“I see how it is, double standard. Well…” She placed her hands on her hips. “This woman wants a little wild too.”

She spun around and put a little saucy swish to her hips, reveling in her attitude and how successful the class was. She’d done this—encouraged at every step by Killian. He’d listened to her, challenged her a little, which made her up her game with ideas, shared, trusted. They’d had a dynamic working relationship full of respect and trust and that extra sizzle that she didn’t think was only on her side.

Killian didn’t throw up roadblocks or caution her or tell her what couldn’t be done. He didn’t doubt her, which was so refreshing. He listened. He questioned and problem-solved. He was also a doer, not just theoretical, just sitting around caressing his dreams and ideas.

She wanted more. More time. More challenges.

More Killian.

Harlow had finished singing a second song and had joined Thomas and his family. Sophia complimented their wreaths and Harlow’s singing.

“That was smart to think of the candy canes.” She touched the iconic Christmas candies.

“I thought of it yesterday at dinner. Killian took me to the store. We bought a hundred so other kids could put them on their wreaths if they wanted.”

Sophia’s heart went gooey. Killian struck again. He might not have felt prepared to step in for Hunter so early or ever, but he’d made a promise and had delivered.

“I wonder how many will last until Christmas,” Sophia mused.

“Mine will,” Harlow said staunchly. “Killian bought extra,” she whispered, “and said me and my friends could each have an extra one for our wreaths or to eat after if there were enough and our parents said yes. I talked to my dad last night and he said yes too so I got double permission. I can get one for you if there are any left.”

Harlow jumped up and dashed off. She did everything fast.

Sophia didn’t want to start cleaning up even though most of the participants were tying bows around their finished wreaths. She’d made a photo booth of sorts by freestyle painting several massive evergreens on a screen and tying it to one of the mobile fencing dividers Killian had purchased. Then she’d wrapped small, white twinkle lights around the wooden frame to add a glow. Riley had brought over two of her six-foot birch tree lights—branches and sticks and wire that she’d collected and modeled to look like different-size trees, wrapped in white tape along with led lights, and then Sophia would add the finishing touches of painting in dimension and texture to the lights.

It looked very festive, and she loved seeing the families use the backdrop for selfies—their faces smiling and shining as they poked through the wreaths.

“The idea to turn this building into a sort of movable feast and local entrepreneur lab is quite unexpected and brilliant,” Zhang said softly.

Sophia turned. She hadn’t even heard him approach. Where was Killian?

That should not be her first thought.

But it was, and she was tired of fighting it. Pretending. She had a year to persuade him that he could make a life he loved here, make a difference, build something with her.

A year. That was a long time. Enrique hadn’t taken that long to fall in love with her or she with him. A year. She still had fifty weeks.

Confidence burbled. “Thank you. It was really a team effort with Killian. We sparked ideas off each other. I hope the rest of the planning commission is as enthusiastic, and of course we will need motivated entrepreneurs to apply for space. Your offer to the city is so very generous,” she said politely. “And it will take a lot of grit to grow the Mill Market into a destination spot for locals and tourists and also then to connect it with it with the historic downtown.”

“Killian and I were discussing that.”

She bristled. “This is a project I am deeply invested in too.”

Zhang’s eyes warmed, and his lip quirked into a smile, and for a moment he didn’t look so formal and unapproachable, and Sophia saw the charm and humor and tenderness that Riley fiercely argued was there.

“So diplomatic. I am meeting with Killian next week—not specifically about the market, but the larger project, but I think we could all meet after the holidays. Bounce ideas. Discuss the Applegate Mill project as a whole rather than the one piece you’ve been calling the Mill Market. Build from there.”

---