Page 5 of A Very Titan Christmas
She laughed. “We do.” Blonde. Half-straight. Half-wavy. Sometimes curly. Extra fine and silky. Eloise spent way more time than Rachel could ever imagine doing her hair and makeup, and it had been that way for as long as she could remember. “Sometimes it’s called Irish curls.”
Kimberly laid her phone down and stared at Rachel as if she were a completely new person. “You’ve been holding out on me. Silverberry Ridge could be a cover story.”
Her heartbeat picked up. The idea of spending the entire month at home for the holidays was a lot to take in. Still, the possibility of a cover story was within reach. “I’ve never wanted to mix personal and professional.”
“Rachel, you grew up in a winter wonderland.”
“That’s not entirely true.” Vermont did have seasons. “It’s pretty green part of the year.”
“There’s a maple syrup day.”
“That’s not for a while. More like March.”
Kimberly pressed her fingers to her temples. “Why have you been hiding this gem from me?”
“If you didn’t know, my dad is a politician. I don’t want to mix personal, professional, andpolitical. He’s not involved in the day-to-day operations, but it’s the family business.”
“We can include a disclaimer about your connection to the resort if we include it in lodging options, but your family doesn’t own the town, and the town has stolen my heart with just a quick internet search.”
“Are you sure?”
Kimberly waved her hand. “We won’t talk about politics when we can focus on snow angels and horse-drawn carriage rides in the snow. Oh my God.” She pressed her palm to her heart and closed her eyes.
Rachel’s phone screen lit up, and she slapped her hand over it, muttering, “Silent but not forgotten.”
Kimberly waved away her annoyance. “Let’s plan for a cover story!”
“Really?”
“Really.Silverberry Ridge in the Snow.It will be fantastic.”
Excitement exploded in her chest. A frenzy of energy gushed into her blood, and her mind rushed to make sense of what was happening. Her first cover story. She couldn’t believe it. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!”
Rachel’s phone lit up again.
“Guess you should tell your mom you’re coming home for the holidays.” Kimberly stood and walked toward her door.
Rachel walked out of the office as though she were floating. The only thing she would have to do was survive her mother’s peppy excitement for a month. How hard could that be?
CHAPTER THREE
Colby and Mia Winters’s Home, Virginia
Cinnamon, cloves, allspice,and oranges simmered lazily on the stove. Cranberry muffins were baking in the oven. Mia Winters labeled the gingerbread dough and shoved it into the cold belly of the freezer.
Normally, the weekend after Thanksgiving meant the kickoff to her holiday baking. For Mia, baking was the start of the holiday magic. She liked her first round of gingerbread dough to coincide with her husband, Colby, hanging holiday lights and pulling boxes of decorations out of the attic. He’d start on that as soon as he and his Titan Group teammates were back in town.
The front door opened. Voices rolled in like an avalanche, smothering the silence that had been driving her nuts and breaking the tension that had been knotting her shoulders. Laughter mixed with kid voices, and her blood pressure immediately lowered.
Sugar Westin, Jared’s wife, and Caterina Savage swept into the kitchen in a flurry of scarves and pink-cheeked laughter, their arms filled with dishes for the night’s potluck and, hopefully, their brains brimming with ideas to stave off the impending holiday disaster.
“You don’t look worried.” Cat’s dark eyebrow arched as she set down the glass bowls, the cling wrap crinkling under her touch. She tapped the surface of the dish with her fingernail. “Bean salad with peppers,” she said, then tapped the next bowl.“Tomato and butter bean dip. Crostinis and crackers are in a bag one of the kids was supposed to bring in.”
“You’re still on that bean kick Ella got you on, huh?” Sugar asked. Her large tote bag crinkled as she reached in and produced two warm casserole dishes. A whiff of oregano and melted cheese followed. “Mia never looks worried.”
Mia leaned over to survey the food. “Oh, that looks good. What is it?”
“Baked ziti and turkey-broccoli casserole.” She shrugged. “I had to do something with the leftover turkey.”
