Page 39 of The Inn at Evergreen Hollow

“I don’t see it,” Aiden said apologetically, and Nora glanced back at the screen.

“She must have seen my icon in the document and logged off, knowing I’d notice.” Nora’s jaw tightened. “I don’t understand why on earth she’s so set on changing my plans for the festival. She’s not eventalkingto me about it, she’s just bulldozing in anddoing things her own way.” She let out a sharp breath. “I don’t get it. I’m just trying to help.”

Aiden ran a hand through his hair. “I wish I had an answer for you,” he said quietly. He really did. He could tell the situation was frustrating her, and he wanted to do something to help. He just wasn’t sure what that might be.

He couldn’t solve the problem that was bothering her right then, that much he knew. But he wanted to do something to try and cheer her up. He ran a hand through his hair, offering her a smile.

“I’m going to be working late tonight. But maybe we could go for a walk tomorrow evening? Take your mind off things a little. And now you can’t get lost.” He gestured at the dainty compass resting against the neckline of her blue sweater, winking at her teasingly.

Nora brightened instantly, and he felt a warm glow in his chest. “I like the sound of that,” she said, agreeing instantly. “I think you’re turning me into an outdoorsy girl after all, despite all that time in the city.”

He grinned, cheered with the idea of how much the plan seemed to please her. She seemed genuinely enthusiastic, and Leon’s words came back to him once more, generating a warm spark of hope in his chest.

Maybe she wasn’t as eager to go back to Boston as he’d thought.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Saturday morning, Nora arrived at the event center with the planner and lists in hand, eager to get back to planning with the event committee. She’d made a backup document with her planned orders and inventory, locked so that Sabrina couldn’t sneak into it, and she’d spent the night before telling herself that it didn’t matter if one person was determined to get under her skin. Everyone else was on her side, and happy to have her helping out, and that was what mattered. At the end of the day, the festival would come together and be a success, and Sabrina would see that Nora’s help had been worthwhile.

She set out the boxes of decorations that she’d already bought, a stack of custom signs sitting next to them, feeling her spirits rising again. She had a date tonight with Aiden to look forward to, and while her optimism had taken a bit of a blow, she’d always been good at bouncing back. That was part of what made her such an invaluable event planner in Boston—no matter who else was melting down about plans not going the way they should or something turning up missing, she was always able to keep a cool head.

The festival was getting closer, and she needed to focus on that, and whatwascoming together. She looked up fromorganizing the table, seeing Melanie, Bethany, and some of the other women starting to filter in, and she felt the spark of excitement return.

They all started unpacking what she’d brought, setting out garlands, velvet bows, and strings of light, laying out the custom signs.

“So what do you have planned for all of this?” Melanie asked, and Nora flashed her an excited smile.

“The decorations are going to have a theme for every area of the festival. Colors, lights, ribbons, everything with a theme and a color as you move from place to place. I had all of these ordered for the booths and each station.” She gestured to the signs. “And then I have new tablecloths coming that match the themed tree for the main room for the buffet. There will be food stations throughout the festival too, with their own themes for each area, and I have a list of outside caterers I want to use. They’re all highly rated. A few of the items that need to be fresh the day of I’ll have Marie’s handle, but the other caterers will bring in the menu items the day before.”

“You’ve really planned out every inch of this.” Bethany sounded faintly impressed, and Nora’s excitement turned into a warm glow at the praise.

“I wanted to really make it something grand,” she enthused. “It’s had a little bit of a makeshift vibe in the past, and I wanted to make it more elegant, really showcase what it could be.”

“That’s exactly the problem.” Sabrina’s sharp voice cut through the air, and Nora and everyone else turned to see her striding in, her cat-eye glasses perched on her nose as she walked quickly to where the others were standing. “‘Grand’ is exactly what we don’t want here. All of your ‘grand’ plans are going to ruin a festival that means so much to this town. Look at all of this.” She swept her hand out, indicating the shipped items laid across the table. “There’s no heart to any of this. None of itsupports the locals in Evergreen Hollow. None of it is handmade by us, or cherished, or passed down, or hasanythingto do with who we are and what we want guests at the festival to see.”

She crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at Nora. “The festival is supposed to be aboutcommunity.And you’ve just turned it into some cold corporate affair.”

Nora felt her stomach sink to her toes, Sabrina’s words crashing into her like an icy wave. She looked at Bethany and Melanie for help, but Melanie was biting her lip, and Bethany seemed to be considering what Sabrina was saying. Some of the other women were nodding and murmuring, as if swayed by Sabrina’s argument. Or maybe they’d just been thinking that all along, and had needed someone to say it out loud so they could agree.

Tears burned at the back of her eyes, an echo of a few nights ago when she’d broached her ideas for the inn. She felt crushed, defeated. She’d put so much work into the planning, creating an elaborate vision that she’d been so excited to see come to life.

But now, it felt as if no one had really wanted her to work on the event at all. That maybe they’d just felt sorry for her—running back home with her tail tucked between her legs after a breakup—and had thought they’d give her some busy work to take her mind off of it. Maybe they’d wanted her to fail, so that she could see once and for all that this wasn’t the place for her.

So that she’d go back to where she belonged.

She bit her lip to hold back the tears, not wanting to cry in front of Sabrina. “I’m—I’m just going to go,” she managed, hurrying toward the door. She wanted out of the event center before she fell apart.

Nora thought she heard Melanie call after her, but she ignored it. She needed to be alone.

They could figure it out. After all, it felt very clear that they didn’t need her, after all.

Aiden pulled into the driveway of The Mistletoe Inn, pleased to see that Nora was already hurrying out of the front door, clearly eager for their walk. He opened the car door for her so that she could hop into the passenger seat, then backed out of the driveway and headed toward a quieter part of town past Main Street.

Many things were closed down for the day—including the antiques store, the post office, and a few other small shops—but the trees along the sidewalk were strung with fairy lights, and the snow had a warm and cozy glow as they parked and got out of the car.

Nora had bundled up in a soft, plush-looking black jacket over leggings and boots, the navy scarf wound around her neck and tucked up under her chin, a thick black beanie pulled down over her dark hair. He thought she looked adorable all bundled up against the chill, but she had a slightly sad look on her face—not at all what he’d expected, considering how excited she’d been for their casual date.

“Is something going on?” he asked as they walked, not wanting to pry but worried about her. He linked his gloved fingers with hers, and Nora looked up at him, biting her lip.

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