Page 51 of Baking it Merry

But were they dating?In a committed relationship?Or were they just friends or colleagues with benefits?

Just thinking about it hurt her head.

His father’s Christmas party was in two days—luckily on a Saturday, so she’d have plenty of time on the day of the party to prep.It had seemed odd for him to make everyone come back on their day off, but supposedly that was how it was done every year because of all the decorating that went into turning the office into the North Pole.She’d been in contact with the office manager along with Tristan’s mother, and everything was good to go.Cynthia begged Daphne to wear the Mrs.Claus dress again and she’d agreed.

“I can only imagine what Tristan’s reaction is going to be…” she murmured.

Marcus and Jackie were working the party along with two servers Jackie recommended.They were all heading to Chapel Hill together—in separate vehicles—but it would make it easier for them to get everything unloaded and set up together.Tristan had casually asked her about arriving together, but she had explained why she was going with her staff instead.

That was two days ago, and she hadn’t seen or spoken to him since.

They were halfway through December, and she only had two more weeks here with her booth.It was going to be sad to have to pack everything up and go back to her quiet work-from-home life, but she seriously needed about two weeks’ worth of sleep.

Not that it was going to happen, but that was her dream.

“Daphne!”Marcie called out as she rushed over.“Did you hear the news?”

“What news?”

“There’s talk that the landlord wants to make this whole craft vendor thing a seasonal, quarterly thing!How exciting is that?”

Not very, she thought to herself.She doubted there would be the same excitement or traffic flow for baked goods, jewelry, handmade soaps, or pet portraits at other times of the year.It wasn’t practical—no one was shopping for gifts the rest of the year the way they did in November and December.So, she wasn’t exactly sure why anyone would see this as a good thing.

Still, it was something she should reach out to her friend Sara about and see if maybe she could find out more information.It was disappointing that the two of them had rarely seen each other since Daphne started here, but apparently her boss was working a major court case and Sara was spending most of her days at the courthouse.

“It feels like maybe they want to have some mini retail space down here and they’re going to offer it to us first!”Marcie went on.

“What do Ann and Kaitlyn think?”

“I don’t know if Kaitlyn’s too excited about it, but Ann was definitely interested.Didn’t you get the notice?We each had one in our booths this morning.”

“Um…no.”But she still turned around and began looking in case it fell to the floor.After several minutes, she realized it hadn’t.“I guess having a food vendor isn’t something they’re looking for.”And dammit, she wasn’t going to cry.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Daph.I just thought we all got them…”

“It’s not a big deal,” she lied.“I have my website business to get back to.I’ve neglected it more than I should have lately.But it’s great news for you guys!”Forcing herself to smile, she added, “It’s such a wonderful opportunity and I wish you all nothing but luck!”

She was saved from having to say anything else when Faye walked over.“Hey, Daphne!Hey, Marcie!This entire day has been exhausting,” she said with a small groan.“Tristan’s in a mood because the city is now putting off approving any projects until February.Honestly, I’ve never seen him so upset.Please tell me you have a blueberry muffin left.”

She did and she instantly put it in a bag.“I’m not sure how much it will help.It’s already pretty late in the day.”

“At this point, it can’t hurt either.I know he’s going to be working late obsessing about things that he can’t do anything about.I just need his foul mood to lighten up a bit.”She looked at Daphne’s display case.“I’ll take the last brownie for me for right now, and two of the chocolate peppermint cupcakes for later.”

“That’s a lot of chocolate,” Daphne teased.

“I deserve it after dealing with him all day.”She paid for her order and gave Daphne a half-hearted smile.“Wish me luck.”

Once she was alone, an idea hit.Tristan had brought her lunch when she was working too hard, so maybe tonight she could bring him dinner.It was almost time for her to close and if she got out of here on time, she could get over to the kitchen and put in two hours of prep time and maybe find a few minutes to freshen up before coming back here to surprise him.

“It can happen,” she murmured, but she wasn’t sure if she could pull it all off.

But she was determined to try.

So she sold a few more items and then began closing up.It took thirty minutes before she carried the last bin out to her car and headed for her kitchen space.Her mother was there working on some of the orders she needed for tomorrow, and she spent the first fifteen minutes gushing with gratitude.

“Daphne, stop!”her mother said with a laugh.“You know I love doing this, and I’m glad I can help.You must be looking forward to having your life back in a few weeks, huh?”

Shrugging, she blurted out the news Marcie had shared with her.“Don’t you think it’s weird that they didn’t ask me too?”

---