Page 86 of The Merry Matchmaker

“Yes, it was my mom’s. She gave it to me when I moved out here.”

“You’re a long way from home, aren’t you?” said Frankie. “I think you said your family is back in Michigan?”

Elinor nodded, biting down on her lower lip. “I’d hoped to get home for Christmas this year, but that didn’t work out. Hopefully, next year.”

Elinor would be getting a raise in the new year. That should help. If not, Santa would bring her a plane ticket. Meanwhile, “Well, you’re welcome to come to my Christmas Eve open house,” Frankie offered.

“Thank you. In fact, thank you for everything you’ve been doing for me. At first, I thought I’d made a big mistake moving so far from home, but working with you and your family at the shop and meeting so many nice people has convinced me I made the right decision.”

“Why did you move so far away?” Frankie asked. “That was pretty adventurous of you.” And a little out of character.

“My life was...stalled out. I had a friend who’d moved to Marysville. She kept telling me how nice it is out here.” Elinor sighed. “I barely got here when she met someone and moved to Canada. I was ready to go back home and admit I’d made a mistake when I happened to see your ad. Working in a Christmas shop sounded so charming. I thought I may as well give it a try before giving up.”

“I’m glad you did. You’re a wonderful addition to our staff,” Frankie told her, and Elinor smiled. “Now, how about something to eat before we start getting you all gorgeous? I picked up salad on the way here.”

“I couldn’t eat. I’m too nervous.”

“No need to be nervous. All you have to do is be yourself and you’ll have this in the Santa bag,” Frankie said, and set to work.

A hot iron, a makeup session and Frankie’s cute red dress was all it took to transform Elinor into the adorable candidate for the position of Mrs. Claus that Frankie had known she would be. That and the red heels Frankie insisted she buy for the event. If seeing her like this didn’t motivate William to ask her out, nothing would.

“There, look at yourself,” Frankie said as they stood in Elinor’s bedroom, taking in the sight of the finished product in the dresser mirror.

“I hardly recognize myself,” Elinor said.

“You’re still you.”

“I’ve never done anything like this before,” Elinor said. “I’m not used to being in front of people. I even got nervous in high school when I had to give book reports in front of my English class.”

“This is different,” Frankie assured her. “This is for fun, and you’ll be the cutest future Mrs. Claus there. Plus, you’ll have the cutest house.”

Elinor was still too nervous to eat, but Frankie gobbled a few bites of salad and drank some of the peppermint tea Elinor had brewed to settle her tummy. Then they were out the door, in the car and on the way to the VFW hall.

The parking lot was already nearly full. “What a great turnout,” Frankie said.

“Oh,” said Elinor weakly.

Frankie recognized Stef’s baby blue Toyota Corolla, and the van for KZAM was also there. The press was out in full force.

She decided it would be best not to point that out to Elinor. Instead, she said, “You’ll be fine. Everyone loves you. Remember that.”

“I wish we’d had some sort of rehearsal,” Elinor fretted.

They should have. Frankie should have thought of that. Or Barbara. Someone. But it was too late now. It wouldn’t be much of a show anyway. Simply introducing the candidates after allowing everyone to chat and vote for their favorite gingerbread house.

They had just parked when Natalie and her family pulled into the parking lot, Adele riding shotgun.

“All right, Team Elinor is here,” Frankie said, hoping to drive away some of Elinor’s nerves. “Let’s get our creation and get you in.”

Elinor nodded, looking like a prisoner about to stand in front of the firing squad.

“Come on now, how about a smile?” coaxed Frankie. “Ho, ho, ho.”

Elinor repeated a sickly, “Ho, ho, ho,” as they got out of the car.

“You’re going to be fine. Remember, everyone loves you,” Frankie told her.

Elinor nodded and managed a weak smile.

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