Harry laughed. “Well, I don’t think you’re going to fit them all here. How many rooms do you have here, Luke? Fifty?”
“Thirty,” Luke answered. “But we were only going to have about a dozen people to keep the experience intimate so Riley here could interact with everyone personally. Everyone else was going to follow along online and send in their questions and ideas that way.”
“Ideas?” Harry asked.
Riley nodded. “Yes, for my first Christmas book. We’re asking my readers what they want to see in the story so they can feel like they’re part of the creative process.”
“Well, I know what I’d want to see in the story,” Harry said.
“What?” Riley and Luke asked him at the same time.
“Santa Claus, of course,” Harry said.
Comet barked and wagged his tail. They all laughed.
“I’m good with that as long as he brings everyone presents,” Riley said.
“What kind of presents would you want?” Harry asked, putting her on the spot.
Luke also gave her his full attention.
She scrambled for an answer because she’d never done the whole Christmas gift-giving thing. She decided to tell them the same thing she always told her friends at Christmas.
“I don’t really believe in giving gifts just because it’s Christmas. I think if there’s something you see that reminds you of someone, or you see something you think someone would want, you get it for them no matter what time of year it is. Plus, who says it has to be a gift? Maybe just doing something together is the best gift of all.”
Luke looked surprised.
“What?” Riley asked him.
“I just . . . Well, I agree,” Luke said.
Riley laughed. “And that surprises you?”
Luke was smiling as he nodded, and she couldn’t help but smile back at him. Maybe she had a shot at winning him over after all.
“You know,” she said, “we could make that a part of Christmas Camp. We could challenge everyone to find a gift that really means something to someone in their life.”
“I like that,” Harry said. “I think this Christmas Camp is a wonderful idea. We could all use a reminder now and then of what Christmas is really about. I know my Annie would have been first in line to sign up for this kind of camp.”
“I agree the idea’s great, but it has to be done right,” Luke said. When he gave Riley a skeptical look, it stung.
Comet made her feel a little better when he came and sat next to her. As she reached down to pet him, Comet wagged his tail.
“It was going to be the last event we did here at the lodge before we sell it,” Luke added.
“You’re selling the lodge?” Harry asked, sounding both surprised and disappointed. “Didn’t I read that it’s been in your family for a hundred years?”
Luke nodded. “This will be our ninety-ninth year to be exact. We’ve had a good run, but now it’s time for another family to take over.”
“You have a buyer?” Harry asked.
“We’ve had some interest,” Luke said. “We just haven’t found the right fit yet.”
Riley listened, taking in all the information in case there was something she could use to try to persuade Luke not to cancel the Christmas Camp.
Luke stood up. “I’m sorry, Harry. I should have asked if you wanted something to eat or drink after your long drive up here. We have a special hot chocolate the lodge is known for.”
Riley felt like waving her hand in the air and saying, Hello, I’m here, too. Remember me?
Harry smiled at Luke. “Thanks, but I was actually thinking I might just go up to my room and relax a little bit, if that’s possible?”
“Of course,” Luke said.
Harry got up and started heading for the door. “I’m just going to grab my bag from the SUV. I always keep one for emergencies like this.”
“No, I’ll get that for you, Harry. Don’t worry about it,” Luke said. “Let me show you your room.”
Harry gave Luke a grateful smile. “Thank you. And thank you for taking me in tonight.”
Luke nodded. “Not a problem at all.”
As they started to walk off, Harry looked back at Riley. “Good night, Miss Reynolds.”
“Please, call me Riley.” She smiled at Harry. “And thank you again for getting me here safely.”
“My pleasure,” Harry said. “I’m glad it worked out. It looks like you’ve picked the perfect place to celebrate Christmas.”
Riley didn’t have a chance to respond before Luke jumped in. “Actually, Miss Reynolds will be going back to Denver with you in the morning, Harry.”
“Oh,” Harry said, sounding surprised.
As Luke and Harry left the lobby, Riley smiled down at Comet and whispered, “We’ll just see about that.”
While Luke couldn’t have made it any clearer that he didn’t want her there, he hadn’t planned on one thing. She didn’t give up easily, especially when her entire publishing career was on the line.
She wasn’t going anywhere.
Chapter Ten
While she waited for Luke to return, Riley walked over to a table full of framed family pictures to take a closer look. She picked up a wooden frame and studied the picture inside. It was of Luke with who she guessed to be his mom and dad, standing down by the lake next to all the lit-up Christmas trees.
She took the picture and walked over to the window to try to find the spot where the pictures had been taken. She could just barely see some of the tree lights twinkling through the falling snow.
“Wow, the snow’s really coming down now,” she said to herself, leaning even closer to the window.
“But it’s supposed to let up by morning,” Luke said from behind her. “So you should have no trouble getting back to Denver with Harry.”
Riley took a breath, then forced a smile before she turned around to face him. “About that. Can we talk?”
Luke crossed his arms as he studied her. “About?”
When he noticed the picture she was holding, he came over and held out his hand. When she placed it in his hand, she looked up into his eyes.
“Are these your parents?” she asked.
“Yes.” He walked back over to the table and carefully put the picture back exactly where she’d found it. “If you’re tired, I can show you your room,” he offered. “You’re just down the hall from Harry.”
Riley smiled at him. “Actually, I’d love to take you up on your offer of a cup of the lodge’s famous hot chocolate.”
For a moment, Luke just stared back at her, then he started walking out of the room. “Follow me,” he said, not sounding very enthusiastic.
Comet ran after him, and Riley, smiling a victorious smile, followed Comet.
There was no way she was turning in early. She had work to do. And she was hoping this special hot chocolate would put him in a better mood.
As she followed Luke and Comet toward the kitchen, her mind was going a million miles an hour. All her original ideas of how to apologize and win him over would never work now. She’d come up to the lodge thinking he’d invited her so they could talk things over. Now that she knew she was basically an uninvited and unwanted guest, she needed a whole new plan—and fast!
When they walked into the kitchen, Riley checked her cell phone. Still no signal.
Luke looked over at her. “If you’re trying to get cell service tonight you can forget it.”
Riley frowned at her phone. “Because of the snowstorm.”
“That’s certainly not helping,” Luke said as he took two reindeer mugs from the cupboard.
Riley laughed when she saw them. “So I’m starting to get the feeling that there’s a real reindeer theme around here? First Comet and now the mugs.”
When Luke nodded, Riley could a
lmost see a smile. “My mom does pride herself on her reindeer collection.”
“Where is your mom? And for that matter, everyone else?” Riley asked. “It’s like we’re the only ones here . . .”
“Because we are,” Luke was quick to answer back.
“What?” Riley asked, amazed. “You’re saying it’s just us in this whole lodge?”
Luke opened the refrigerator and grabbed some milk. “That’s what I’m saying.”
Riley waited for him to explain, but when he didn’t, she tried again. “Where are all the guests?”
“We didn’t book December because we were hoping to have the lodge sold by now. Plus, December always books almost a year in advance. That’s why when Mike had this Christmas Camp idea at the last minute, we were able to do it.”
“And your mom and dad?” Riley asked. “Where are they?”
Luke hesitated a moment before answering. “My dad passed away, and my mom is in Florida with her sister looking for a condo. Trust me, she’d be here if she could, but she just broke her ankle and can’t travel. She was the one who was really excited about having this Christmas Camp.”
Riley watched him put a saucepan of milk on the stove and get out some of the ingredients for the hot chocolate. There was dark cocoa powder, a bar of dark chocolate, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
“So this hot chocolate looks like the real deal,” she said, impressed.” You’re making it old-school, from scratch.”
“That’s right,” Luke said proudly. “My mom wouldn’t have it any other way. Actually, this is my great-grandma’s original recipe with a few tweaks from my mom.”
“Tweaks?” Riley asked, walking over to join him. She picked up a jar of nutmeg. “What kind of tweaks are we talking about exactly?”
Luke smiled when he picked up a shiny vanilla bean. “This vanilla bean, for one. My mom puts some in every batch.”
“Really?” Riley asked, intrigued. She picked up the vanilla bean and studied it, lightly running a fingertip over it. She held it up to her nose and inhaled. “Well it certainly smells good.”
“That’s how you know it is good,” Luke said.
“Wow, pretty fancy,” Riley said.
Luke laughed. “Not really. My mom just likes the idea of every generation adding something new to the recipe, so we’re honoring an old tradition and creating a new one at the same time.”
“That’s pretty cool,” Riley said as she watched him skillfully combine all the ingredients. “So what have you added to the recipe?”
When Luke looked back at her, she was surprised by the childlike look on his face, not to mention how handsome he was when he gave a genuine smile.
“My ingredient . . . is a secret,” Luke said.
Riley laughed. “Seriously? Come on.”
Luke gave her a look that said he was dead serious.
“Really?” Riley asked. “You really have a ‘secret ingredient’?” She made air quotes when she said the words secret ingredient.
“I do,” Luke said proudly. “And no, because I know you’re going to ask, I’m not telling you.”
Riley quickly scanned all the ingredients.
“You’re not going to find it there,” Luke said.
Riley looked around the kitchen.
“Or anywhere in sight,” Luke said, laughing. “It wouldn’t be much of a secret if it was that easy to find.”
When Riley walked over and opened up a Santa cookie jar and peered inside, Luke laughed. “Boy, you really don’t give up, do you?”
Riley smiled back at him sweetly. “Never.”
She took a little brown cookie out of the jar. It had a Hershey’s Kiss on the top. “What are these?” she asked. “Another secret family recipe?”
Luke laughed.
“Well, they are a family recipe, but they aren’t a secret. We call them Christmas Lake’s Gingerbread XOXO’s. It’s another adaption of my great-grandma’s favorite gingerbread recipe. One year my mom said they were too busy to make the traditional gingerbread boys, so they created these and just put the chocolate on top to dress it up a little. The guests have really loved them. Try it.”
Riley didn’t need to be asked twice. She bit into the cookie. It was soft and chewy, and the gingerbread went perfectly with the chocolate. She happily she took another big bite. “This is good.”
“I’ll let her know you approve,” Luke said. “She makes a ton of Christmas cookies. You might be Miss Christmas, but my mom is definitely the Christmas Queen.”
Riley’s smile faltered as she put the cookie down. “About that,” she started but was interrupted when the alarm went off on Luke’s cell phone.
“Okay, just a few more minutes and this will be ready,” he said, taking the saucepan off the stove.
“Do you run the lodge with your mom?” Riley asked, changing the subject.
“No,” Luke answered quickly. “This was always my parents’ passion, not mine. I just came home to help my mom when my dad got sick. Now I’m here to sell the place and make sure we get the best price so I can get my mom settled in Florida and she can retire without worrying about anything.”
“So what do you do when you’re not here playing real-estate agent?” she asked.
“I’ve been working and living in Europe,” he said. “I help different hospitality groups, hotels and resorts, develop eco-friendly business practices and implement new Green programs to protect the environment.”
Luke looked both exited and proud when he talked about his work. It was clear he was very passionate about what he did.
Riley wanted to know more. “What got you into that field?”
“Growing up here in Colorado, in the mountains, at the lodge,” Luke said, “I’ve always been concerned about the environment. I thought this kind of work could combine the two things I really care about the most.”
“What have you done here at the lodge that’s eco-friendly?” Riley asked. “I noticed the Christmas tree in the living room was in a pot, so it’s still living?”
Luke smiled. “It is. We’ve always used live trees inside the lodge. We decorate them for the holidays, but then after Christmas, we have a special area down by the lake where we plant them so they can keep living.”
“Are those the trees lit up with white lights?” Riley asked, intrigued.
He nodded. “They are.”
“That’s a lot of trees,” she said.
Luke nodded and smiled. “They represent a lot of Christmases. You figure one per year for almost a hundred years, and we usually have several around the lodge, so you do the math.”
“That’s pretty awesome.”
“I think so, too,” he said. “It’s like my ancestors were helping to protect the environment even before it was the thing to do.”
“What else have you done with the lodge?” Riley asked.
Luke continued to stir the hot chocolate. “Unfortunately, not much. My parents had a way they liked to run things, and they followed the way my dad’s dad and his dad before him ran things. They were all about honoring old traditions, and that’s something the guests loved. They knew exactly what they were getting when they came back year after year.”
“So you didn’t implement any of your ideas here?” Riley asked, surprised.
“I had some ideas when I was in college, but my dad always resisted any big changes. He would say that someday we’d talk more about it. But then he got sick and that certainly wasn’t the time to be talking about any new business ideas.”
“So someday never came,” Riley said.
Regret swept across his face. “No, it didn’t.”
“I’m sorry,” Riley said in a soft voice.
“Me too,” Luke said. “Thank you.” He held up the saucepan. “Could you grab those two mugs for me, please?”
Riley quick
ly picked up the reindeer mugs he’d gotten out of the cupboard earlier. She studied the reindeers. “I bet Alex would love these.”
“Alex?” Luke asked. “Your boyfriend?”
Riley laughed as she put down the mugs next to him. “No. Oh, no. Alex isn’t my boyfriend. He’s my bartender and a friend. I don’t have a boyfriend.” Riley snapped her mouth shut, wondering why she had offered up that information. She obviously was more tired than she’d realized.
“So that Tom guy who interviewed you yesterday was right?” Luke asked.
Riley’s guard was instantly back up. Just hearing the name Tom made her entire body tense. “What do you mean?” Her voice was sharper than she’d meant it to be.
“Didn’t he say something like you weren’t married and didn’t have anyone in your life so how could you write romance novels?” Luke asked, very nearly quoting Tom.
Hearing Luke say the words again made her cringe.
“That guy was an idiot,” Riley shot back, not able to help herself. “He had no idea what he was talking about.”
“You do have someone in your life, then.” Luke said it as a statement, not a question, as he filled both mugs with the steaming hot chocolate. He handed her one.
Riley decided the less that was said, the better, and she needed to get the conversation back on track to Christmas Camp.
She held up her reindeer mug. “Should we toast?”
“To what,” Luke asked.
“How about to Christmas Camp,” Riley said and clinked her mug to his before he could protest. “And following your family’s tradition by continuing to make new Christmas memories.” She felt like her best hope of winning Luke over was focusing on the lodge’s legacy of celebrating Christmas.
She took a sip of her hot chocolate and closed her eyes in ecstasy. It was smooth and creamy and bursting with a rich chocolate flavor. There was also a hint of peppermint. She let out a content sigh.
When she opened her eyes, she found Luke was watching her and actually smiling.
She smiled back at him, and she knew this was her chance—her likely one and only chance to persuade Luke to hold the Christmas Camp.
Christmas Ever After Page 7
