Page 2 of Wrapped in You

However, the photograph of Derek Brownlee showed him as a dark and brooding man of a little more than forty. His eyes were terrifyingly alert, and his jawline could have sliced meat.

"He doesn't exactly look overwhelmed with the Christmas spirit," Sophie quipped.

"Don't judge a book by its cover," Cindy said with a laugh. "But I have a hunch someone in marketing wrote that quote for Derek Brownlee."

"Right? There's no way that guy called Willow Creek 'kind and compassionate film lovers.'"

Cindy giggled.

Sophie shut down her computer and wrung her hands. She could hear her caterers in the kitchen closing boxes and working together as they hurried to prepare for her father's retirement party.

"I doubt they'll ask us to cater the film," Sophie said. "I don't even know if I could manage it. The Christmas Festival is coming up. Can we really do both?"

Cindy fixed Sophie with a knowing look, one she'd seen countless times before. It was her sister's "stop fooling yourself" expression, and the message was clear. Sophie needed this opportunity, whether she wanted to admit it or not.

It was true that Sophie's catering company had struggled most of the year. Nobody in Willow Creek had hired her for so much as a birthday party or graduation celebration throughout spring, and a wedding she'd catered in July had ended in disaster. The bride had left the wedding immediately after her vows, calling the entire thing "a big mistake." The two families had been so distraught that nobody had eaten the food or even touched the wedding cake. Sophie had fought to make that her very best catering event. She'd banked on the online reviews the wedding would garner her.

There had been no online reviews. There had been no immediate hires after that wedding.

She'd begun to worry her catering company was cursed.

Or worse, she'd begun to worry she was the one who was cursed.

Just because Mayor Acker wanted Culinary Tastings for the film set didn't mean it would happen. Sophie had begun to lose hope for her future.

She just had to get through her father's retirement party and the Christmas Festival. After that, maybe she'd have to cut her losses, let her caterers go, and start anew.

Maybe she'd have to leave Willow Creek and get a job elsewhere. After all, her ex-boyfriend was here. Her dying company was here. Maybe nothing was really left for her to build a future with.

But leaving Willow Creek would break her heart.

Cindy left Sophie's catering office with the parting words, "I really think you'll get the gig. Keep your chin up. See you later."

Sophie hurried out to the catering van to find Randy and Tommy slamming the back door, and Piper and Fiona already buckled in. Sophie asked Randy to drive and got into her car to guide them to the little convention center in downtown Willow Creek, where her father's retirement party would be held. All major Willow Creek events took place there, including Sophie's high school graduation and Sophie's engagement party. But she didn't like to think about that. Sophie parked out back and helped her team carry everything inside, a process that took a little more than a half hour. After that, she changed into a burgundy dress, fixed her dark blond hair, and walked into the party space itself, where she, her mother, and Cindy had already set up tables, chairs, tablecloths, and photographs from Joe Masters's many walks of life—his high school and college graduation and various family vacations to places like the Grand Canyon, Hilton Head Island, and New Orleans. In the photographs, Sophie and Cindy displayed every era of their awkward youths.

In one of the photographs, taken just a few years ago, Sophie's ex-fiancé, Jeremy, could be seen from the side. When she'd seen her mother hang it on the wall, Sophie hadn't wanted to make a big fuss about it. Jeremy was basically a part of the family, Sophie reminded herself now. Everyone thought we were going to get married. Everyone thought we'd have three kids by now!

She wondered if Jeremy was going to come tonight.

Her heart thudded with dread.

Not long after that, Cindy arrived with her husband and young children in tow. Cindy had put on a shade of very bright lipstick and dressed her children—Annie and Peter—in holiday sweaters. Annie was three, Peter was two, and they held hands almost everywhere they went, which broke Sophie's heart. Cindy's husband, Vic, was a mechanic with broad shoulders and a unibrow that Cindy had once called "attractive." It was true that he might be the only man on earth for whom the unibrow worked aesthetically.

Sophie hugged all of them. Cindy cupped Sophie's shoulders and said, "Vic heard the same thing! The film company is going to reach out to you any minute!"

Vic smiled warmly. "It's true. They called me this morning. They have an issue with a few cars for the film. I'm going to check on them tomorrow."

"They're going to hire you?" Sophie asked with surprise.

"He's a Hollywood mechanic!" Cindy cried.

"I'm going to talk up your catering company as much as I can tomorrow," Vic announced. "I'll tell them that every bit of this ten-pound weight gain is all thanks to you." He gestured toward his stomach and winked.

"I appreciate it," Sophie said with a laugh.

By five thirty that evening, all two hundred and twenty guests had arrived at the convention center. Upon Sophie's cue, they ducked under tables and behind chairs when Joe and MaryMasters approached. Sophie and Cindy held hands, listening quietly as their father said, "What did you forget at the convention center? When were you last here?"

Obviously, their mother had cooked up a scheme to get him here.

---