Page 13 of Meet Me on Christmas Eve

I dealt in numbers and plans.

That was me.

Not people stuff.

Of course, I managed well enough with the people skills when needed, but with a woman like Jane? I was about as likely to succeed with that as I was to win the lottery. Less, probably.

“Oh, Mari, all is not lost.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Really? It sounds like our chances are slim.”

“No, we just need to wow her.”

“Yeah, like I said, chances are slim,” I said glumly. “I know myself, Haz, including my own weaknesses. I don’t wow people.”

She smiled at me. “Oh, but Mari, you do. In a way that is justyou.” I felt a pang of something in my chest area. It felt suspiciously like a sentimental feeling, and I didn’t know what to do with that.So I ignored it, as I do with most feelings.

“Thank you,” I mumbled, feeling awkward. “But you know what I mean.”

“Well, you have me.” She grinned. “And a lot of people who are paid to help us look good. We can do this, Mari.”

“How?”

“I have no idea,” she said with a twinkle in her eye and a flip of her long hair. “Let’s have some wine tonight and make a plan.”

I had to laugh. There’s nothing I love better than a good plan. “That’s a terrible idea, but OK.”

Chapter 5

After stepping out of our cars, Hazel linked arms with me, and I gave her a grateful smile. “Thanks for arranging this. I know the Tuesday before Thanksgiving isn’t ideal, but the sooner we talk to Jane, the better. I need to know what we’re up against.”

“And you think I’m your best bet for charming her,” my friend said with a laugh. “But she liked you at that dinner. We can work with that.”

I nodded, looking at the scene around us. It was snowing lightly and really quite beautiful. We were walking to a cafe near the Christmas shop, per Jane’s request. She claimed to be happy to meet with us, but she’d stated in no uncertain terms that Jane wasn’t likely to be swayed by a meal.

Well, we could still try.

I had to try.

This place, it just felt … right.

I didn’t like to base business decisions—or any kind of decision, really—on feelings. But this one felt like a feeling worth listening to. I couldn’t explain why.

I just needed to make this happen.

Hazel somehow knew all this about me. I turned to smile at my best friend, who I really needed to appreciate more. “What time are you arriving in Tokyo?”

She yawned. “With the layover, it’s around 7 tomorrow night. I think that’s super early in the morning for you—remember the huge time difference.”

“Any big plans yet?”

“The usual, Dad and I are going to eat turkey and rice and watch movies with fuzzy socks and booze. Hoping Halley comes, but who knows with her. She said she’d at least do the Christmas thing on Friday. I’m planning to hold her feet to the fire.”

I gave her a dubious look. She missed her younger sister, but she never really followed through on any of these threats.

“Hey, I know what you’re thinking, Mari, but you’re not the only one who loves Christmas. I may have been raised some weird hybrid Jewish Buddhist, but I’m as much of a closet Christmas lover as you are, I think. Or maybe not so closet … you just haven’t noticed all these years.” She smirked. “I decorated my apartment last year, don’t you remember?”

Now that she reminded me, I do recall the decorations, and I’d felt a twinge of … something. Envy, maybe. I had shoved it down. Deep down. Where the other useless feelings went.

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