Page 32 of Christmas with the Elkin Billionaires

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TANA

It was only midweek and if Tana could be granted one wish, anything in the world, she would have wished for a nap. “Lindsey,” she called. “Are you ready? It’s time to go, honey.”

“I’m almost ready,” her daughter called back, voice tremulous with excitement and nerves. Lindsey had been hyped up for days about this moment, and it was finally here—her turn to have her birthday celebrated in school. So many birthday events, but they’d reached the main one—Lindsey’s actual birthday.

Tana shoved her hair into a low ponytail and swiped on some neutral lipstick. It might look weird to be wearing makeup on the slopes, but it would give her the illusion of being more put-together. She hoped. Stepping out of the bathroom, she found Lindsey perched at the kitchen counter, rearranging the tiny party flags on top of her cupcakes.Don’t overreact.You’re tired.“Linds, leave the cupcakes alone. Where’s your coat?”

“I don’t know.” Lindsey’s eyes were locked on the baked goods.

Tana went back into her daughter’s bedroom and got her backpack and coat. They were going to be late if they didn’t hurry, and she had an early private lesson on the hills.

“Hey, you found it,” Lindsey said, looking up from where she hadn’t moved, more concerned about which flag should go on which cupcake.

“Hon, we have to goright now.” Using too urgent a tone with her daughter almost always backfired, so Tana kept her voice as calm as she could. “Come get your coat on.”

Lindsey hopped down and put her arms out for her coat. So far, so good. Tana had been up until the early hours of the morning. She’d started the evening off baking cupcakes for Lindsey’s celebration at school, then settled in to finalize her presentation for today’s final interview.

Why did school parties and job interviews always coincide like this? Okay, maybe not always, but why was it happeningthis time?Tana tried not to dwell on it. The bottom line was that she was prepared for the meeting. More than prepared. She’d do great. If only she could stay awake.

“I’m going to carry the cupcakes,” Lindsay insisted. It wasn’t the best idea, but Tana didn’t have the heart—or the energy—to argue. Plus, they were out of time. She held the door open for Lindsey, and the two of them went out into a crisp, cold morning.

“Oh, crap.” Tana turned back—she’d forgotten her keys. A quick dash through the cottage, and she had them in hand. She burst out the front door just in time to see Lindsay trying to open the back door of the car. “Wait, honey, I’ll—”

It was too late. The cupcakes fell, the pan flashing, and Tana’s heart sank. Thirty-four frosted and sprinkled cupcakes hit the side of her car, dragging smears of frosting over the paint. “Nooo!” Lindsey shrieked, trying to grab for them. But it was too late. Her daughter tipped her head back and burst into tears.

“It’s all right.” Tana sprang into action mode, throwing her purse into the front seat and taking her daughter by the hand. “Let’s get cleaned up, and then—”

And then what? They didn’t havetime.She hustled Lindsey into the bathroom to wash the crushed remnants of cupcakes off her hands, then led her back out to the car to strap her daughter in. Tana then hopped in the driver’s seat and tried not to crumple in the face of Lindsey’s sobs.

“We’ll stop at the store.” Tana locked eyes with Lindsey in the rearview mirror. She couldn’t send her to school in tears for her big day. No way. “We just have to hurry, okay?”

Tana drove at the very outer edge of the speed limit all the way into town. The store was set back a few blocks from the main drag, which took up extra time, but she was on a mission. Tana’s heart was in overdrive. The two of them leaped out and rushed into the store.

“Hurry, hurry, hurry,” chanted Tana under her breath. The bakery was all the way in back—of course it was. They had a big table laden with desserts but there wasn’t much to choose from, considering almost everything was Christmas themed. Tana grabbed three twelve-packs of cupcakes. “Okay. Let’s buy these and go.”

The machine at the self-checkout threw an error for the baked goods. Lindsey rocked up onto the balls of her feet. “Mom, we have to go—I’m going to be late for school.”

“I know that, hun.” Tana jabbed her card back in the reader. It finally took. She abandoned the receipt, and they went back out, Lindsey’s lap now full of cupcakes. Two extras, even. Go nuts, teachers.

Tana made it to the school in record time. Luckily, the buses had already pulled away for the morning and only the stragglers were arriving. Lindsey got out of the car, and—crap. Putting the cupcakes in her lap had been one thing, but now they looked like too much, and they didn’t need a repeat of the disaster at home. Tana pulled out of the drop-off lane and into a parking spot.What else, universe? Please don’t let there be anything else today.Not on the day of her interview. There was nothing else Tana could do except carry the cupcakes in herself.

Lindsey and cupcakes safely ensconced at school, Tana got back in her car and sped toward the lodge. Get through a lesson. Get through the interview. She could do this.

At the lodge she changed into her snow gear at lightning speed and headed for the ski shed, coming out the double doors practically at a run. Only three minutes late and after the morning she had? The world had smiled upon her.

Her client, however, was not smiling. The moment Tana saw his foreboding expression, her triumph faded away.

“Mr. Jenkins,” she called out to him. Best to start apologizing now. If she could head this off, they could go on with the lesson and everything would be all right. “I’m so sorry. There was a delay dropping my daughter off at school, and—”

“Save it,” he hissed.

That brought her up short. “Excuse me?”

“I said, save it. My time is extremely valuable, and you’ve kept me waiting out here long enough. The only reason I’m standing here now is because I demand a refund. Immediately.”

“Sir, I—” He’d come out to the bottom of the hill without his skis. He would have had to take the time to put them on. “I’m so sorry. As I said, there was a special circumstance this morning. I’d be happy to—”

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