Page 106 of Trouble Walked In

She shook her head. “I wanted to make the inn someplace really special. That takes a lot of work. And it’s nowhere near done. There’s this ancient addition that needs to be either renovated or torn down, and I’d really like to put in a permanent gazebo so we can stop using the arch.”

“You don’t have to do it all at once, and it won’t fall apart if you take a break. You have good people. Trust that they have your back.”

“I do. I trust them. It’s just…”

“You’re a control freak.”

She gasped in pretend indignation. “I am not.”

He gave her an are-you-serious stare. “You really are. In the dictionary under control freak there’s a picture of that woman inTheDevil Wears Prada—”

“Anna Wintour or Meryl Streep?”

“The first one. Her, Steve Jobs, Martha Stewart, pre-prison, and you.”

She couldn’t help but laugh. “That’s a little bit extreme, don’t you think?”

“I think extreme only comes into play when the description outstrips reality. In this case I think I’ve nailed reality.”

“Oh, shush, you,” she said. “I’d think you’d be a little more concerned too, because if it’s not done when we get there you’ll be recruited for decorating detail. It could take all night.”

“We have better things to do than decorate.” He moved his hand a little higher on her thigh.

She waved a finger at him. “Oh no, we aren’t doinganythinguntil the inn is ready for the wedding.”

“So we’ll stick some flowers in a vase and call for pizza. Done.”

She laughed. “No way. The bride wants a Christmas wedding and that’s exactly what we’re going to give her, even if it takes the elves all night to make it happen.”

“Should we stop for more twinkle lights?” He glanced sideways at her. His half smile, half smirk suggested all kinds of things that had nothing to do with lights.

“I think we have more than enough.”

“Damn. I was really hoping we could hang out in a dark parking lot.”

She shook her head, laughing. “You’re a shameless troublemaker.”

They walkedthrough the front door of the inn three hours later into a winter holiday wonderland that was so perfect it took her breath away.

Christmas trees were fully decorated for the holidays with warm white twinkle lights, red bows, brilliant white doves filled every corner, and greenery twined around the stair rails to light the way upstairs. Candles adorned the tables in the dining room, wreaths were hung over the fireplace and the doors, and an enormous gingerbread village display that would make a fantastic backdrop for family photos was near the back door. She had no idea where they’d found it or how much it had cost, but she fell instantly in love with it. Whatever it was, she’d pay it, because the entire first floor looked like a fantasy.

“Oh…” She breathed in the atmosphere, overwhelmed.

“See? Nothing to worry about,” Renic said.

The room went a little blurry as happy tears welled up. “Dad would have loved this. He always overdid Christmas. This is perfect.”

The back door opened, and Mark came in pulling a small red wagon filled with brilliant red poinsettias. He caught sight of them and raised his chin in greeting. “Hey, you two. You made good time.”

“We didn’t stop,” Renic said. “Pretty sure the truck needs gas.”

Carter followed Mark through the door pulling anidentical wagon filled with white poinsettias. His face brightened when he saw her. Then he glanced down at their intertwined fingers and scowled.

“You did this?” Lizzie gestured at the entry. “It looks absolutely stunning.”

The scowl on Carter’s face softened. “Some of the girls helped. Debbie has a real eye for this kind of thing. She’s a graphic design major.”

“Debbie, huh?” Lizzie grinned. “Wasn’t she the cute blonde who helped with the flowers last time?”

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