Page 19 of Baking it Merry

That wasn’t even remotely what he meant.

“No, I was thinking of taking you out someplace to eat.Or maybe you can come to my place, this way you can check it out for the sake of the parties.You know, two birds, one stone and all that.”

“You know, as much as I appreciate the offer, I think by the time that all happened, I would be way too exhausted to be good company.And I’d probably be too tired to drive myself home.Thank you, though.”

“Then maybe I can pick up some takeout and bring it to you so we can discuss all the plans.What do you say?”

“Tristan…”

“I promise to be gone by nine so you can go to sleep at ten.I’ll even find some pictures of my house so you can start figuring things out,” he went on.“We’re short on time, and this could be great to have some uninterrupted time to finalize everything.”

“I don’t know…”

“How do you feel about Chinese food?Thai?Greek?Pizza?”

“Ooh…I do love pizza…”

“Then I’ll bring the pizza.Text me your address and your favorite toppings and I’ll be there in less than an hour.Will that work?”

“I really should say no…”

“But you’re tired, hungry, don’t want to shop, and really want to talk about finalizing the party plans,” he finished for her with a small laugh.“Am I right?”

“Impressive, but…yes.And I love pepperoni, peppers, and mushrooms on my pizza, I’ll text you my address, and I need to get these muffins put away.I’ll see you soon!”

Less than a minute after she hung up, Tristan was staring down at her address.She lived about fifteen minutes from his office, but he had no idea where the kitchen space she rented was.So, he did some work for twenty minutes before calling in their pizza order.Grabbing his things—including his laptop because he had a file with a video tour of his house that he could show her—he made his way out to the elevator.

And when he walked across the lobby, he stopped in front of Daphne’s gingerbread house.It was still done up in fall colors, but upon closer inspection, he realized everything on it was handmade.Putting his hand on one corner, he gave it a little shake and found it to be extremely sturdy.He knew all the fall decorations would soon be replaced with Christmas ones—primarily oversized candy—and while it was a little more rustic than he would have used, it was kind of creative.

Then he slowly walked around it and thought more about the extra space she said she’d like and saw exactly where it could go and how it could easily be constructed and added.Maybe he’d talk to her about it tonight.With another glance around the lobby, he wondered why the landlord hadn’t put a coffee shop in.Clearly the people who worked here would support one, so it seemed like a missed opportunity.

Something else he’d do some research into.

One thing was becoming painfully obvious to him, however.He had let his snobbery and foul mood get the better of him to the point he was bullying hard-working people who were just trying to make a living.

The only thing that had been missing was him shouting,“Bah humbug!”

Four

With a loud yawn and her hair up in a messy knot, Daphne studied her reflection and was quietly thankful that she had time to put on clean clothes and take a quick shower before Tristan showed up.For a moment, she reconsidered what she was wearing.Maybe black leggings and the sweatshirt with a picture of Humpty Dumpty wearing a scarf and carrying a coffee wasn’t the right tone for the evening.Although, it was cute and definitely funny.The caption of “Humpty Dumpty had a great fall” was hysterical!The leaves and the play on words always made her smile.

Somehow, she doubted Tristan would find it amusing.

Why she had agreed to this dinner, she had no idea.She still didn’t like him and had her doubts about trusting him, but…

“A girl’s got to eat, right?”she murmured before walking out to answer the door.

When she opened it, Tristan stood there looking mildly uncomfortable and she fought the urge to giggle.The front porch of her little home was fully decorated for fall—the Halloween decorations came down last week—but now there were tons of pumpkins and bales of hay and orange twinkly lights adorning the space.If her gingerbread house made him grumpy, she knew he was positively twitching right now.

“Hey, Tristan,” she said with a smile.“Come on in.”

“Thanks,” he murmured, stepping inside.He stopped a few feet in and waited for her.Her house was small, and the living room and eat-in kitchen were all one big open space, so she wasn’t sure why he wasn’t going over to the kitchen table, but…whatever.

“I have the table all set for us.”Motioning toward the table, she took the lead and walked over.“I wasn’t sure what you liked to drink, but I’ve got some sweet tea, water, and root beer.Looking at him, she shrugged.“Sorry.I haven’t had time to shop for groceries this week, so it’s not the greatest selection.”

“It’s fine,” he assured her, placing the pizza down.“And root beer actually sounds great.I haven’t had one in years.”

Within minutes, they were both seated and she was so hungry that she had to remind herself not to eat like a beast.Still, she took two bites before even attempting conversation.“Thank you so much for this.I really wasn’t looking forward to cooking tonight.”

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