Page 70 of All I Want For Christmas Is You

“I know. I just want to show her around.”

The man looked confused but flicked on his indicator. When he parked, they released their seat belts and got out of the car. The chill seeped right underneath her parka.

“Come here.” Beau snugged her up against him as he led her toward the one-story building tucked within a copse of trees.

Built of dark gray concrete and plate glass windows, the mall was part of a larger complex that included the lodge and the gold panning facility. Its setting in the woods made it peaceful and still. “Where are we exactly?”

He pointed up the highway. “The south entrance to Yellowstone is fifty miles up the road.” And then, he gestured across the street. “That’s Grand Teton National Park. Calamity’s fifteen miles that way.” He pulled a ring of keys out of his pocket. “I hope the isolation isn’t going to bother you.” Pulling the door open, he ushered them inside.

“It’s not much warmer in here.”

“We’ve only got the heat on high enough so the pipes don’t freeze. And as for the cold, I don’t really notice it anymore. People who live here love the outdoors. We keep warm with skiing and snowshoeing.”

She looked around. “I don’t do much of either.”

“There’s a lot to do here. I don’t think you’ll ever get bored. Wild Wolff Village’s got an ice skating rink, and they go all out for the holidays. And I’ll take you into town for a Calamity Joe’s vanilla chai latte any time you want.”

“You’re really selling this place. Think I might get bored and move on?” She sounded like she was teasing, but really, it occurred to her that he was just as worried about them working out. She’d have to be mindful of that.

As they moved deeper into the space, her creative wheels started rolling. It didn’t look like any mall she’d ever seen. The smooth, dark concrete gave it a modern feel while the trees with benches circling them reminded her of a park. She could see so much potential but maybe not what he had in mind. “You know you’re not going to sell shoes here, right?”

“I didn’t picture stores like that, no.”

“What did you picture?”

“It’ll have to be something that grabs the attention of tourists passing through.”

She’d been to enough national parks to know how many opportunities tourists had to buy souvenirs. She doubted they’d stop at a random mall for that. But then, something occurred to her. “We should probably make the mall itself a draw.”

“Meaning?”

“I’m not sure.” She looked up at the long row of skylights overhead, and an image popped into her mind. “I can just imagine millions of blown glass spheres hanging down. Maybe in a deep, rich blue? The light would travel through them, infusing all this dark concrete with color. That’d be really pretty.”

“It would. But how would that be a draw?”

“What if the entire mall was an art installation? You’ve got trees—which is so cool, by the way—so we could have little landscaped areas—like actual parks where people could sit and eat lunch? And if we go with the art theme, we could even put sculptures in them.”

He broke into the most gorgeous smile she’d ever seen. “I like that.”

“Commissioning an artist to make the spheres would cost too much, so we don’t have to do that idea exactly, but we can come up with something.”

“Look, I have no artistic vision at all. You have free rein to do whatever you want with this place.”

“Okay, well, give me a budget, and we’ll go from there. This will be fun.”

“If nobody comes here, then I’ve lost a lot of money. So, spend what you need to make it an attraction. What kind of shops would work with that concept?”

“I don’t know. What about artists?” The idea gained momentum, and she grew excited. “Each store could be a gallery. You could have a nature and wildlife photographer. Someone who makes Western-style rugs and pottery. You know? It would be like an indoor art festival except everyone would lease their space. I mean, if we did this right, people would come from all over the world.”

“I like that idea. It seems pretty perfect to me. You’d be surrounded by artists and have your own studio. Isn’t that what you’ve always wanted?”

“Yes.” The thrill of it traveled through her. She hadn’t dreamed of her own space since college. But even more astonishing was that this man she’d known a matter of days was thinking of her. He hadn’t even considered the mall. “Do you know how incredibly special you make me feel? We’re talking about a business investment, and you’re thinking about me, about making my dreams come true. I swear, Beau, you make me feel like the most important thing in the world.”

He reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze. “Good.”

The warmth in his eyes seeped straight through to her heart. Because he meant it. This man would give her all the freedom in the world to become her true self. And it was mind-boggling. “But is it the best idea for the mall?”

“It’s a great idea to make it a destination. That’s brilliant. You’re hired.”

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