Page 27 of A Very Titan Christmas
“No, you don’t.” Dylan elbowed Isaac again. “I made it up.”
“No, you didn’t.” Isaac jabbed Dylan. “I heard it last week at school.”
“But I said it—”
“Dylan, say the joke.” Beth sighed. “Isaac, tell the punch line.”
Dylan bounced on his toes, clearly pleased he got to tell the joke. “What do you call a snowman with a six-pack?”
“A Titan man who lives in the snow?” Sugar muttered under her breath.
“No.” Isaac bounced up and down. “The abdominal snowman.”
Sugar snorted. Mia laughed.
“We have another one,” Isaac announced. “But we have to wait until Ace gets home from basketball practice because he made it up.”
“Let us finish up our meeting.” Nicola grabbed the cookie tray. “Take these. Give some to Clara and Violet.”
Mia settled back in her chair. The room pulsed with laughter and loud voices as the kids ran out of her kitchen. She could imagine the same sounds filling cabins in Vermont and couldn’t wait to pack their bags and head north. “Anything else we need to cover?”
Sugar shook her head. “If the snacks are gone, then business is officially done.” She lifted her coffee mug. “Let the countdown to Vermont begin.”
CHAPTER TEN
Silverberry Ridge, Vermont
Monday mornings werealways quieter in the lobby of the Silverberry Ridge Resort. Fewer families checked in and out, and the coffee bar traffic trickled to a few lone caffeine hounds. The bright sun reflected off the freshly fallen snow through the oversized windows. The twelve-foot Christmas trees flanking the fireplace seemed lonely with so few guests milling about.
Rachel waited for Eloise on the sofa in front of the fireplace and admired the holiday decorations. Rattan reindeer with red buffalo check ribbons tied around their necks were positioned along the entryway and in the indoor gardens of philodendrons, pothos, and palms. Had her mom overseen the Christmas decorations, or had she brought in a decorator? Maybe the resort groundskeepers stored the decorations until Eloise could say where she wanted them. The same reindeer appeared every year, as did the ribbons and lights throughout their property.
Rachel tried to recall if her mom had decorated the lobby before her diagnosis. Their relationship had been like that of so many other teenage girls and their mothers: complicated yet well-meaning and loving. Eloise had been a constant presence in Rachel’s education. Sometimes, she liked having a mom who always organized field days and end-of-year school trips. Other times, Rachel couldn’t stand the way her mother knew how she scored on an exam before she had.
They’d learned about the onset of Eloise’s multiple sclerosis when Rachel was at college. Their family had missed the signsof a medical problem looming in the background. Sporadic, unexplained symptoms had been ignored. The fatigue and changes in Eloise’s vision had been attributed to her getting older. Eloise had always been so busy. Why couldn’t Rachel remember if Mom decorated the check-in lobby? She had a pang of guilt.
Mom arrived with a flourish and pulled Rachel from the memories—or lack thereof.
“Good morning. Thanks.” She took the day’s schedule from Eloise as her mother cruised by with a cheery yet cursory hello. Something was wrong. Rachel scanned the lobby and the coffee bar for potential matchmaking hijinks. Nothing stood out.
Her eyes dropped to the paper in her hand. Candy canes and peppermints decorated the holly border. An oversized, bright cherry-red headline towered across the top of the schedule and read: Get to Know the Boyfriend.
Oh, come on.
“Mom?” Rachel waved the day’s itinerary as Eloise retreated toward the coffee bar.
Her stomach dropped. Eloise veered off course and stopped in front of Rachel’s security detail—Bryce—positioned in the corner of the lobby. As Eloise shoved an itinerary into his hand, time slowed as Rachel watched his surprise turn into confusion. His gaze jumped over Eloise to Rachel.
Eloise repositioned herself and beckoned Rachel to join them. Quickly, she scanned the schedule. It included what the security detail was already privy to: planning meetings, a luncheon, and a fundraiser. Everything except the fundraiser now included Rachel and Bryce. She hurried to her mom’s side. “Bryce is working. You can’t yank him off his job to talk about a teddy bear tea.”
“Sure, I can, sweetheart.” Eloise beamed. “The perks of paying for their services.”
Her eyes skirted to Bryce. “I’m sorry—”
“It’s fine.” He cleared his throat. “Actually, headquarters will have additional staff here by the end of the week. I’m with you, more or less, whenever you’re off the grounds.”
Her little fake-boyfriend lie was spiraling out of control. Her parents had to hire more people from Titan Group because she’d claimed Bryce as her pretend boyfriend. She and Bryce really should have talked last night, but she had retreated to her cabin to write when dinner with her parents was canceled.
The marketplace had been precisely what Rachel needed to jump-start her creative writing juices. She studied the vendors and craftspeople through the eyes of someone new to Silverberry Ridge. When she returned to her cabin, ideas flowed. She drafted a summary of the marketplace that Kimberly would adore and had emailed it to her editor.
