Page 14 of Baking it Merry

Forcing herself to smile, she turned around and admired the rest of the room.“This is a fantastic office,” she gushed, noticing the small kitchenette too.“You basically have everything you could possibly need right here.”That’s when she noticed a door tucked away in the corner.“Don’t tell me; let me guess.A closet with extra clothes in case you need to go to a meeting or a job site?”

He grinned.“That and a luxury restroom with a shower and sauna.”

“Naturally.Because everyone needs to sit in the sauna to get through their day.”It might have come out a little sarcastic, so she opted to make a joke out of it.“My sauna comes in the form of many ovens baking at once, but I wouldn’t want to sit in one.”

“Well, I don’t think anyone would want to sit in an oven, but the sauna is one of my go-to places when I need to relax.And believe me, some days I need it more than others.”

Poor baby…

Again, instead of saying something she’d regret, Daphne walked over and sat down on the sofa.“So, you need some catering?”

With a small shrug, he walked over and joined her, sitting in the chair facing her.“Knight Architects is a family business,” he began.“Every year, my parents host many holiday parties that my mother always organizes.”

She nodded.

Then he explained to her how he and his siblings were essentially in charge this year because of his grandmother’s declining health.“We all thought we were volunteering to help with our grandmother, but it was all about these holiday parties.”

That…wasn’t what she was expecting at all.

“Okay, so…I mean…I only do desserts, Mr.Knight.”She wasn’t sure if it was proper to call him Tristan, so she went for formality.“I can certainly help you with that portion of the events, but beyond that, I don’t have any connections.Or skills.Cooking for one or two people is fine, but a large group is definitely not my thing.”

“Oh, no…that wasn’t where I was going with that,” he quickly clarified.“The parties that I’m hosting are going to be just desserts.I think the bigger parties—the ones my brother and his wife are doing at the country club and one at my parents’ home—are going to be fully catered events.Obviously, my mother took pity on me and figured I could handle putting out some cookies and champagne.”

Frowning, she responded with, “Hmm…”

“Hmm?What does hmm mean?”

“Is that what you’re thinking?Cookies and champagne?For four different parties?”

“What?Is that not good?”

“Would you be impressed at a holiday party that only served cookies and champagne?”

He shifted slightly in his seat.“I was going to offer other beverages too.”

The weary sigh was out before she could stop it.“Mr.Knight…”

“Tristan.”

“Tristan,” she corrected.“You can’t just serve cookies and drinks.This isn’t a PTA meeting.I’m guessing these are for clients and your staff, right?”

He nodded.“The first is a family thing.Then the office party here, one at the office of one of our biggest local clients, and then the last one is for my father’s office, so…”

“So you need to show that you put some thought and planning into it.”Tapping her phone, Daphne did a quick scroll through her pictures before looking up at him.“Come and see these.This is a holiday party I did last year that was a big hit.”

Standing, Tristan came and sat beside her on the sofa.He smelled really good as he leaned in and glanced at her phone.

Gently clearing her throat, she explained what he was looking at.“This was a big tree decorating party, so we had all the desserts look like they could be put on the tree.Obviously there were cookies shaped like all kinds of things, stained glass cookies, and mini mirror glaze Christmas ornament cakes.Then we did rum balls, peppermint balls, and fudgy pecan bourbon balls.It was all very cute.”

“Impressive.”

She scrolled some more and showed him the cupcake towers she’d been working on.“I think for the family party, the tree decorating theme could be a lot of fun.You can get a tree and let them all add decorations to it while enjoying desserts that look like ornaments.It would be a great sentimental thing—maybe something that reminds you of holidays you spent when you were growing up.”

“That…that could work.”

“And maybe a hot cocoa bar!Ooh…I’ve done them for my last two personal holiday parties and they’re always a big hit.”

“Um…okay…”

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