Page 17 of The Christmas Reunion

When the drinks were done, she found him struggling to pick a muffin up with the tongs.

“Here,” she said, chuckling a bit as she reached forward to take the tongs from him. “Go ahead and give them their drinks, I’ve got this.”

He nodded, clearly a bit perturbed that he hadn’t been able to get everything packed up for her, then did as she had asked. Mindy made quick work of loading up the muffin and the croissant, closing up the bag with a flourish before crossing to where Shelley and Colette stood.

Her friends lingered as Noah helped Mindy take care of the remaining customers who had come in as part of the usual morning rush. Once things slowed down, the two women gave her a look, nodding toward the door in a way that made it clear they wanted a quick word with her.

There weren’t any new customers lining up yet, so Mindy finally had a second to spare away from the counter.

“I’ll be right back,” she said to Noah, giving him a little smile. “If anyone else needs anything, you can just yell for me and I’ll come back to ring them up.”

He nodded, still shifting nervously from foot to foot. There was something about seeing Noah so clearly out of his element that made her heart swell, their previous argument long forgotten as she followed her friends toward the front door.

“So…” Colette prompted as they all stepped outside the door shut behind them.

The cold air nipped at Mindy’s nose, and she stuffed her hands into the pockets of her apron, glad that she’d chosen a thick wool sweater that morning when getting dressed.

“So, what?” she asked, feigning innocence as she widened her eyes at her friends.

“Oh, you know exactly what.” Shelley pursed her lips good-naturedly, her gaze darting back toward the bakery before shifting back to Mindy. “How is showing him the town going? Clearly it’s going well if you already have him basically working for you.”

“He isn’t working for me,” Mindy said with a roll of her eyes. “And honestly, last night was a bit of a disaster. But today seems to be going better. I’m hopeful.”

Once again, Shelley and Colette shared a look, a silent discussion occurring between the two of them. But before Mindy could press them for more details of what they were both thinking, the door behind them was pushed open and she glanced over her shoulder, finding Noah stepping outside.

“I’m so sorry,” he said sheepishly, “but I actually have to get going. I need to log on and get a bit of work done from my hotel room.”

“Absolutely.” Mindy nodded. “Thank you for stopping by this morning, and for helping out. Want to meet up tomorrow, and you can see a bit more of the town?”

“Sure. Just text me the time and place.”

Noah gave her a quick smile before turning and striding down the street. Mindy’s eyes stayed focused on him as he disappeared into the distance, and it was only when she heard Shelley snorting a laugh that her attention landed back on her friends.

“Yeah, you’re definitely hopeful about something,” Shelley joked, bumping her shoulder against Colette’s as the two of them giggled.

“Oh, get out of here, you two,” Mindy huffed, not refuting their claim at all as she waved her hand through the air. “I’ve got work to do.”

Colette and Shelley continued to laugh as they told Mindy goodbye, and she could have sworn that she heard them talking about Noah in low voices as she turned and walked back into the bakery. She shook her head slightly, a smile playing at the corners of her lips as she settled back in behind the counter.

She was feeling way more hopeful than she had earlier in the morning—that much had been true when she’d said it to her friends. And now, as she was getting more comfortable being around Noah again, Mindy was beginning to develop a plan.

She thought of everything he’d revealed about his way of thinking when he’d talked to her about Boston and how she’d be better off opening a bakery there. Maybe, in order to convince him that Snowy Pine Ridge was perfect just the way it was, she needed to change her approach. A small thrill ran through her at the thought, and an idea began to form in her mind as she turned and smiled at a new customer who had just entered the shop.

If Noah Henderson wanted to talk about success, she would show him exactly how successful people in Snowy Pine Ridge could be.

CHAPTERSEVEN

Two days later, Noah stepped back from the mirror in the bathroom of his hotel room, running his fingers through his hair in a final attempt to distribute some of the pomade through it and tame a few errant strands.

He was due to meet Mindy in twenty minutes, and if he didn’t want to be late—something he hated more than anything—he needed to get going. But there was a knot of nerves in his stomach that was refusing to go away, so he was wasting time compulsively fixing his hair until he was satisfied that it was perfect.

Finally deciding that it was good enough, he walked toward the coat hooks on the far end of the bedroom, shrugging on his coat before striding from the room. Evelyn, the owner of the Warm and Bright Hotel, was standing in the entryway talking animatedly with one of her staff as he descended the stairs.

“Well, you look dapper,” she said, taking in his styled hair and stylish wool coat with approval.

He grinned at her, nodding toward the woman’s sleek chignon and cashmere sweater. “Right back at you, Evelyn.”

The old woman beamed at him as he passed before returning to her conversation, and Noah chuckled. He’d liked her from the moment he’d first met her, finding comfort in the way that she was so well put together and business-like, even as she exuded warmth and friendliness. Even if she perpetually had some kind of Christmas themed brooch pinned to her chest, everything else about her reminded him of the type of people he worked with on a daily basis, and he found that it put him at ease in a town that so often made him feel off kilter.

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