Page 19 of Snowflakes and Sparks

“We’ve got another meeting tonight,” he said, cutting a pancake. “I hope we can finally settle on an idea for the Winter Walk. Diane told me she was planning on doing the same thing as last year, seeing as it was a success, but I think we could use some variety.”

I smiled. “I might have the answer to all of your prayers.”

“All of them?” he asked, wiggling his brow.

“All of your Winter Walk prayers,” I said.

He put down his fork. “Less exciting, but still, I’m intrigued.”

I put my fork down as well and explained my entire idea to him. I talked about the power of stories and how they could bring people closer together. I also mentioned that bestselling author Becca Loveheart might be doing a reading in Got It Covered the same day and explained how she could draw a lot of people to the town.

“And we could have mulled wine and hot chocolate at every stop. We could even offer everyone a slice of homemade cake or a bowl of soup,” I concluded.

“Will you be reading one of those stories?” he asked with a twinkle in his eyes, making me almost choke on my coffee.

“I don’t know if I’ll have time for that.”

“Too bad. At least tell me you’re joining the Snow Ball planning committee?”

I shook my head. “I think I’m going to pass on that one. I don’t feel comfortable there, being an outsider and all. Feel free to take credit for my ideas though. Which reminds me, I did have an idea to promote the Winter Walk and reach more people than usual.”

“Do tell. We need as many visitors as we can get. The more people participate and donate, the more money we’ll have for the charity. These kids can use all the help they can get.”

“I was thinking of doing a book- and Christmas-themed photo shoot. We could select the best pictures, turn them into a calendar and donate part of the proceedings to the charity. I also want to spice it up a little. You know, have a cute guy on the cover instead of cute dogs wearing Christmas sweaters.”

“What’s wrong with dogs wearing Christmas sweaters?” Alex asked.

I pointed my fork at him. “Dogs do not belong in sweaters, no matter the occasion. Besides, dogs can’t read and we need to include books if we have any hopes of getting the bookstore to fund the entire idea. We need a man. A man who… appeals to lots of women.”

“And where are you going to find this hot man who loves to read? This town isn’t exactly the breeding ground for America’s Next Male Top Model.”

I fiddled with my napkin. “Actually, I was thinking you could do it.”

“You want me to be a calendar model?” he said, his mouth twitching into a smile.

“Yeah, but only to raise money for the kids. Like you said before, they need the money. And it’s not as if you’ll have to be completely naked of course,” I added.

He broke out in laughter. “Not completely naked? Just how naked are we talking here?”

“The details are not set in stone yet, but I can assure you that there will be clothes present.”

The outfits I would use for the shoot hadn’t crossed my mind yet, but I needed to act as if I knew what I was doing. I’d come up with the idea right after my phone call with Kate. Thoughts of muscled, bare-chested men posing with a book seemed like something that could garner a lot of attention, especially in a town where nothing exciting ever happened. Plus, Becca Loveheart might be doing a signing, which meant the store was going to be packed for sure and there was no doubt in my mind that every attendee would want to snatch a copy of our calendar.

“You know what, let me think about it,” Alex said, pouring himself a glass of fruit juice. “Going half-naked for everyone to see isn’t something I usually do. Just know that if I agree, it’s going to cost you.”

“It will?”

“If I do the calendar, you’re going on the Ferris wheel with me. No backing out at the last minute. You know, like you did last time.”

I swallowed. Ten years ago, Alex had bought us tickets for the Ferris wheel at the ski resort. I was sure he’d kiss me up there, so I agreed to join him, but at the last minute I couldn’t go through with it and we never made it into one of the cabins. My fear of heights turned out to be stronger than my desire to share my first kiss with him. The fact that he remembered had to mean something. Unless he had an exceptionally good memory and it didn’t mean anything.

“Those are some high stakes, mister. Never mind the pun,” I said.

“That just makes it all the more fun, right?” Alex extended his hand. “What do you say, neighbor, do we have a deal?”

I bit my lip, thinking things over. Then I shook his hand. “Let’s call it a deal.”

Chapter Eight

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