Page 23 of Sweet Christmas Wish
Carefully, Sarah stood and skated to the edge, wary of helping him up again. Last time it had ended with her falling down. Will grabbed the edge of the rink and pulled himself up, almost falling down again, but he managed to pull himself off the ice. They collapsed on the ground with their backs against the low wall that surrounded the rink.
“If you can’t skate, why in the world did you come to a skating rink?”
“I actually came to find you,” he admitted. “I remembered that you used to come here every weekend growing up.”
Sarah’s heart fluttered at his words. She hadn’t realized he had ever noticed, and her cheeks warmed at the thought of it. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, but he didn’t seem to think anything of what he’d said.
“Anyway,” he continued, oblivious to her ruffled internal state, “I wanted to see if you’d decided what to do about your business predicament?”
Sarah’s spirits, which had lifted when seeing Will so endearingly unable to skate, now came plummeting back down. “No,” she said quietly. “But it’s certainly not for lack of trying.”
“Well… I don’t want to pry, but I had an idea.”
Sarah raised her eyebrows, surprised at the turn of the conversation. “What is it?”
“How would you like the chance to double your financial intake?”
“You realize you sound like a sleazy salesman right now, right?”
Will ignored that. “I’m serious. What would you think about that?”
Sarah sighed. “I’d love to double my intake. Who wouldn’t?”
“Well, if everyone bought a drink to go with their pastries, that would do the trick.”
It was so simple, yet so genius, that it took Sarah’s breath away. Her pulse began racing, but this time with something that felt an awful lot like hope. Hope for the first time in days.
“That’s an incredible idea! What were you thinking?”
“Well—”
Before Will could dive into his plans, Rudolph Hutchins ambled over to them, yelling. “If you’re not going to skate, then get out of here! I don’t hold with loitering!”
“Yes, sir,” they called back.
“We’d better get out of here,” Sarah said, already unlacing her skates.
“Can we talk somewhere more private?”
Sarah suddenly realized how windblown and disheveled she must look. If she was going to be alone with Will, she wanted to look presentable—especially after their last run-in. She would need a couple of hours at least, plus some time to think.
“How about my bakery? Tonight?”
“Done.” Will pulled off his skates. “I’ll bring by the plans I’ve been writing out.”
CHAPTERTWELVE
Sarah gave herself one last once-over in her bedroom mirror. She had chosen her camel-colored cashmere sweater to wear that night, as she’d always loved the way it flattered her figure and the elegant simplicity that it lent to any outfit.
Paired with dressy black palazzo pants and making her signature ponytail extra sleek that evening, she thought she passed muster. For her makeup, she’d chosen to go with a subtle yet elegant look, and even she could see that it enhanced her features, making her brown eyes look larger and highlighting her cheekbones.
Oh, stop preening,she scolded herself, suddenly angry with herself for her efforts.It’s not like he’s even interested in you! He’s only here for Michelle. Chagrined, yet defiant, she raised her chin as she looked in the mirror.But there’s also no reason not to look my best,she argued back with the little voice in her head.
Satisfied that she looked her best, she hurried down to the bakery to finish her preparations. She had taken longer than she meant to primping upstairs, which meant that she was behind schedule.
Calm, cool, collected,she reminded herself, even as she whirled around the shop, wiping down tables and poured out two glasses of eggnog to go with the homemade snickerdoodles she’d baked.You are a calm, cool, collected businesswoman.
With that mantra in mind, Sarah took a step back, eying the table she’d chosen for their meeting critically. It needed something to make it feel more special, and she landed on placing a gorgeous red poinsettia in the middle. A centerpiece might be a little much, she knew that, but she also felt like she’d been at a disadvantage every time she’d seen Will, and she desperately wanted him to know that she could be more than a stressed, disorganized mess.
