Page 72 of Wrapped in You

It meant loosening her tether on her baby, Culinary Tastings.

It meant looking beyond what she'd always said she wanted—and figuring out another plan.

Derek raised his hands. "I'm headed back to LA to direct another film after this," he said. "You're always welcome to fly out and join me."

"Your life is just one film after another, right?" Sophie asked, her voice breaking.

Derek's eyes were soft and kind. "The one after that isn't till next autumn," he explained. "It films in Bali."

Sophie perked up. "Bali?!"

"Have you been there?"

Sophie shook her head. Her pulse quickened. Suddenly, she imagined herself and this handsome director, hand in hand ona bright beach with turquoise waters lapping at their feet. She imagined pink cocktails and exotic music. She imagined falling asleep to the sounds of the ocean.

"I'd have to be back for the Christmas Festival," she said softly. "I have to help them plan everything."

Derek pulled her against him. "You'll be here," he promised. "We both will be. I feel it."

Sophie kissed him again as her heart pattered.

Was it really possible? Would they really weave their way through Hollywood scheduling and Culinary Tastings' new trajectory and Sophie's love for her town and her family?

Would they really manage to come together in love—despite the obstacles?

Sophie wasn't sure. But they had to try.

Chapter Twenty-Five

One Year Later

It was no surprise that posters forSilver Bellslined downtown Willow Creek. Walking through that magical winter wonderland with a big cup of tea and her best friend and sister beside her, Sophie felt her heart balloon at the sight of Natalie and Brent holding hands and looking at one another out of the corner of their eyes.Silver Bellshad already broken ticket sale records in its first few weeks, and Natalie and Brent's careers were off to the races. They were still together; there was a rumor they were engaged. Some gossip channels said they'd gotten married in Vegas.

Sophie had lost touch with Natalie, unfortunately. But she'd seen her at the premiere, where Natalie had yelped and thrown her arms around her. "That film changed our lives!" she'd cried.

It was hard to believe it was a year ago.

"It's been so fun working onMagical Christmas Land," Cindy was saying now, glancing at Sophie from beneath her big puffy hat. "The director is so good, and Randy and I have a great system in place. We've missed you, though."

Sophie stopped at the corner and peered down at the current setup for the film Cindy was talking about. Like always, Willow Creek welcomed Christmas film sets all winter long, and, like last year, Mayor Bob Ackey had demanded that Willow Creek residents were hired for on-set jobs. Now that Culinary Tastings had ballooned in operations the past year, Randy and Sophie had worked tirelessly on a manageable schedule for their staff—one that allowed them to cater for the multiple weddings, baby showers, retirement parties, birthday parties, and so on they'd been hired for, plus the film.

"You look tan, Sis," Cindy said, nudging her. "Bali did wonders for you!"

Sophie laughed. "It was wonderful. It really was. And surprisingly, it was relatively easy to work with Randy on Culinary Tastings' stuff from there. I even tried out a few recipes with Bali ingredients. Randy's on board to incorporate them into our menus."

Randy was the perfect business partner. To every idea I had, he said, "Let's try it!"

I tried to do the same.

"He said you guys had crazy video chats about the business while you were out there. You were, what? Twelve hours ahead?" Cindy asked.

"Something like that. But you know how it was this year. The business was growing like crazy, and we wanted to be really strategic." Sophie smiled. "Gosh, it's good to be back."

"We need you! It's time for the Christmas Festival again!" Cindy smiled. "Oh, and I forgot to mention! Culinary Tastings was named 'Best New Business' of the year! That's cause for celebration!"

"I'm ready to party," Sophie said. "It's been a heck of a year."

It had been two months since Sophie was in Willow Creek. Only two months. But everyone at the Christmas Festival planning meeting welcomed her back as though she'd been away for years.

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