The Mills & Boon Christmas Wishes Collection

Once Imelda’s color returned to normal they peeked into the ballroom with cries of delight. “I’m so glad you’re not fussing with it,” she said. “It’s like something out of an F. Scott Fitzgerald novel.”

“Isn’t it?” I said, her description apt. “Have you thought about themes, colors? Cuisines? I can show you—”

She cut me off. “You’re the expert. All I ask is that the room is bright and cheerful; think colorful bunting, and streamers cascading down. I know it doesn’t sound like much, but I’d love for it to look just like we had it all those years ago.”

An hour later, after firming up more details, we said our goodbyes and I told them to visit any time so they could see the lodge being shaped back into the beauty of its halcyon days.

Hopefully it would return them to their wedding night and their hearts and souls would be young again, with their whole lives together ahead of them.

I couldn’t wait to call my best friend, Amory, and tell her every little thing. And to see if my name was still making the gossip page…

Chapter Three

“Clio, they sound amazing! So they’ve booked the party?” Amory shrieked as I sat down with a laugh at my desk, ignoring piles of invoices that needed to be paid and filed away.

“They did! And get this: they didn’t want to see color swatches and menus, or a song list. They said I was the expert and just to make it bright and colorful. Only kicker is I have to get everything finished and organized in six weeks.”

“You can do it, that’s what you’re good at. Deadlines.” She let out a laugh. “You lucky thing not having to consult with them every five minutes – why can’t they all be like that?”

Our clients in New York were pernickety to say the least. Bridezillas were plentiful, and the women weren’t opposed to throwing tantrums a five-year-old would be proud of, but I always rolled with it. It came with the territory to receive phone calls at two a.m. from a blushing bride-to-be, sobbing about centerpieces or tiaras. That’s what separated the good party planners from the bad. My job was to say yes, always.

I could fix anything, especially under pressure.

But then I had opened my big mouth.

Shaking myself out of reverie I said, “I’m sure the next clients won’t be so easy.” In the background phones buzzed and drawers banged. Office life. I felt a pang for it. We lapsed into silence as I debated whether to ask.

“Darling, about…” She hesitated and I steeled myself. Amory always knew what I was thinking without me having to say a word.

“Don’t tell me. They’re still talking about it? Still?” It had been months. Months since I’d packed up my desk and hidden in my shoebox-sized apartment until the sale of Cedarwood had settled. Surely they’d moved on to newer scandals by now? I’d been avoiding the online gossip sites for months in case I saw my own name trapped in a headline once more.

The previous headlines were still burned into my retinas: Party planner to the A-listers tells reality-star bride to run from celebrity groom!

Amory let out a nervous laugh. “Well…”

I groaned and cupped my face. “Tell me. I can handle it.”

She took an audible intake of breath before launching into the whole sorry story. “It seems it’s ramping up. She’s saying you had a thing for the groom, and that’s why you did what you did. Because you were after him and his… money.”

I let out a squeal of protest. “She didn’t!”

“She did.”

“But that’s not true!” I wailed. Outside the sun sank low, coloring the sky saffron.

Her voice came back a hissed whisper. “I know it’s not true. But you’ve really underestimated her. She’s set on ruining your reputation to save hers.”

“But my reputation is already ruined! Why does she have to continue with it?” The whole sordid thing was so unfair, and I kicked myself for believing in the blushing bride-to-be when she’d poured her heart out to me minutes before she was supposed to walk down the aisle. I’d been appalled by her confession – how could she marry someone she didn’t love when her heart belonged to another? With the clock ticking, I’d advised her to run, get out of that church before she made a huge mistake, because I believed her tale of woe and didn’t want to see her waste her life with the wrong man! And it had turned out to be the stupidest thing I’d ever done.

Really, I should have known. It was Dealing with Brides 101. Never, ever advise them. Wedding-day jitters and cold feet can make a person say the craziest things. It was my job to reassure them, not tell them to run! And these were not your average Manhattanites. He was a millionaire movie star, for God’s sake.

“She’s vindictive.”

“I can understand why she’d try and save face. What she told me was pretty damning, but to turn it around like that…” I was bewildered by it. I had only met the groom twice and one of those times was on the aborted wedding day when I had to tell him she’d taken flight. Because of my advice… stupid, stupid, stupid.

Amory clucked her tongue. “It’s a simple case of you know too much. She’s got to make you the villain, so nothing rubs off on her. It wouldn’t take a genius to unearth her real story… but it’s juicier with you cast as the crazed, infatuated wedding planner.”

It was so damn ridiculous I could only sigh. Something like this would only happen in New York. “She’s so bloody cunning. I wish I’d shared my side of the story earlier. But it’s too late, no one would believe me now.”

“She’s called Flirty McFlirtison for a reason,” Amory said sadly.

I couldn’t help but giggle. Amory had disliked the reality-star bride Monica intensely and given her the nickname. It had been tricky to mask our true feelings around her because she’d been the client from hell, unless a man happened to walk by, and then she’d bat her lashes, leaving us shaking our heads.

I should have known never to trust her. The day after the wedding, Flirty started doing some major damage control and piling the blame on me. Once the news broke, no bride would go near me with a ten-foot pole.

“Jesus, Amory, I thought it would’ve all blown over now,” I said, slumping in my chair and gazing out at the beautiful explosion of color as the sun sank below the mountains.

“Here’s an interesting twist… it’s come out that he had her sign a watertight pre-nup the night before the wedding, so that’s why she did a runner. You were just the perfect scapegoat. She’s denying that, of course.”

I groaned. “Celebrities. I will never understand them.”

Still, even after all the A-list weddings I’d planned, I believed true love conquered all. Nothing would take away the pleasure I got out of organizing nuptials between two people who were truly smitten, even if they were on the never-heard-of-you list. Monica was driven by greed – she was just a reality-TV starlet whose show was cancelled after one season, but she still craved the limelight and would do anything she could to get tabloid attention. I’d been unlucky to get caught up in her schemes.

“Celebrities,” she agreed. “You don’t know how lucky you are, Clio. Granted, it wasn’t an ideal exit from the agency, but look where it’s taken you! I’m wildly envious. In time you’ll see it was the best decision you’ve ever made, and you’ll think of us scrabbling after every high-profile party with pity.”

This was Amory’s way, to line every cloud in silver. “I hope you’re right. Otherwise I’ve bought a lodge on a whim because of what happened. In Evergreen. A town with a population of five hundred and three people!”

“That’s the spirit!” she shouted, and I could just see her swinging in her office chair, tapping her pen, as if I was sitting across from her. “Now turn off Bonnie Tyler, please – I can almost hear your sobs from here. Leave Bonnie for the broken-hearted. And get back to work. You’re the boss now, darling, so square those shoulders and own it.”

She knew me so well, even what my choice of music meant.

Once I hung up, I turned the volume up and listened to Bonnie’s gravelly voice, not sobbing… not quite.

After all, what did I have to cry about? My reputation in New York was ruined. I’d invested every last dollar into a rundown lodge in a small town. There was nothing to worry about!

When I did something, like mess up my life, I did it right. And that included listening to music and crying like it was an Olympic sport. Who cared if everyone was saying I loved some random celebrity and had ruined his marriage? It would be yesterday’s news eventually, right? And being blacklisted by every New York event-planning agency? Pffft. Big deal. I’d make my own success. In a town with five-oh-three people. Easy.

Oh, God, what had I done?

Chapter Four

“Is that Kai?” Micah asked, as we watched the new arrival jump down as deftly as a dancer from the cab of his truck. Even in the shadows, Kai stood out – with his wavy, sun-bleached hair and surfer’s body. I hadn’t expected… that. Builders were weathered, ruddy men who wore expressions of weariness from overwork, didn’t they? Kai looked more like a pro surfer than someone who did manual labor. Golly, if Amory was here she’d be elbowing me forward by now.

“Yes, Kai, the project manager,” I stage-whispered. “He had to finish up his last contract but he’s here for good now… well, at least until the lodge is done.” I adopted a disinterested expression and hoped Micah hadn’t caught my moment of surprise when I clapped eyes on Kai.

Micah smiled, and waggled his brows, insinuating something untoward.

“And what does that eyebrow jiggle mean?” I asked, crossing my arms and staring him down. Even after all these years I could still interpret Micah’s body language, though it wasn’t hard when he was being so obvious about it.

“It means you hired some surfer god and…”

I poked him in the ribs to be quiet and hissed, “Oh, jeez, Micah, I didn’t know he was…” What was he? “…He was… a surfer,” I finished lamely, watching Kai, who was rummaging in his truck for something.

He did resemble the perfect leading man in a romantic comedy, a polar opposite to the heroine… wait, what was I even thinking? Did I picture myself as the leading lady? Ridiculous! My heart was a no-go zone for the foreseeable future. My one true love at this point had to be Cedarwood Lodge.

“We’ve only spoken on the phone. And, for the record, I wouldn’t date anyone who worked here out of principle.” There, that sounded believable.

Micah went to retort but was called over by one of the painters. “Saved by the bell,” he joked before jogging off.

“Morning,” I said to Kai, hoping I wasn’t blushing after Micah practically accused me of hiring someone for their looks! It was absurd. But those eyes… mesmerizing.

“Hey,” he responded with a bright smile. His blond hair was mussed, windblown.

I shaded my face as the fall sun climbed higher and warmth seeped into my bones. Kai’s arrival meant I could knuckle down and focus on building marketing campaigns and our social media pages, spreading the word about the lodge while he instructed the team.

“You look familiar,” he said, narrowing his eyes. “I know we’ve had a hundred conversations on the phone, but…” He surveyed me, and I blushed under his scrutiny. Damn it to hell and back. Had he read about me in the paper or on one of those dodgy online gossip sites?

I gritted my teeth so tight I almost gave myself lockjaw. Managing to prise my mouth open a notch I said, as casually as I could, “Where did you say your last job was?”

Please, do not say New York or any of its boroughs!

He cocked his head, scrutinizing me as if we were long-lost cousins or something. “Georgia.”

I almost collapsed in relief. “Georgia. I hear it’s pretty this time of year.”

“It’s pretty,” he agreed. “But not as pretty as here.” He stretched and his shirt rode up, exposing toned, tanned skin. I tried so hard not to eye the ripple of his muscles, or imagine how they’d feel under my hand. I wasn’t used to seeing men sans suits, and it gave me a jolt. Surely, as a boss, I shouldn’t even be thinking in such a way? But I was merely admiring the newcomer for his sporting prowess. Over the phone I’d got to know him – he was one of those keen athletic types. Surfing and hiking and all the exercise he did sculpted him, and we all knew a healthy body led to a healthy mind. I made a promise to myself to run some laps of the lodge later. It wouldn’t hurt to get in shape, would it?

“So,” I said, businesslike, casting my gaze away from his exposed skin and back to his face. “I’ll show you where you can stash your things.”

“Perfect.” He bent to the cab and picked up a leather tool belt and satchel full of paperwork. The nuts and bolts of code and health and safety missives hurt my brain and I was glad I had someone professional to oversee it all. While Kai had been finishing up on another building site, he’d also been choreographing behind the scenes with the tradespeople at Cedarwood via phone and email and checking in with me at the end of each day. Having him here in the flesh would be even better.

Micah wandered outside with one of the painters, pointing and gesticulating to the eaves above the lodge, which had been painted the wrong color. I waved him over, and he excused himself and jogged the short distance so I could make the introductions.

They shook hands the way men do, hard fast pumps. “We’ve got Isla arriving today,” I said. “And she’ll…”

Before I could finish, a motorbike came careening around the corner and into the driveway. Isla? On the phone she’d sounded chirpy and enthusiastic. I’d hired her instantly because of her knowledge about garden design and her clear vision for Cedarwood, which matched my own. Her resume was impressive for her age, mid-twenties, and I liked the fact she had a flair for topiary.

A cloud of dust rose up as Isla stepped off the bike and handled her helmet. Strawberry-blonde hair fell around her shoulders in waves, and her light-blue eyes shone with eagerness. Freckles spotted the bridge of her nose like constellations. Holding out a hand, she said, “You must be Clio.”

“Yes. Nice bike,” I said, grinning. “Great timing, Isla. This is Micah and Kai. We’re going to go for a tour. Join us?”

Isla gave me a wide smile, shook hands with Kai and Micah, and turned in an arc to survey the grounds. There was an energy radiating off her that was impossible to miss, as though she couldn’t wait to grab her secateurs and start pruning.

I went to ask Micah about the painters and their roof folly only to see him staring at Isla slack-jawed. Lifting a finger to his chin, I shut his mouth so it wasn’t as obvious to Isla as it was to me.

He gazed at Isla, goggle-eyed, lost in a daydream before eventually coming back to reality.

Isla swiveled back to us. “This is like something out of a Grimms’ fairy tale,” she exclaimed, motioning to the overgrown gardens. “I can’t wait to get started!”

Shading my eyes once more, I flashed her a smile. I had this sudden sense that the trio in front of me would shape Cedarwood into something great again. Between us, we’d give it the kiss of life, and resurrect it from its somnambulant state. Along the way, maybe a love affair would blossom… On this estate where vibrant mountains watched over us, where the lake glistened in the distance, maybe Cupid sat on a branch, hidden by a leafy canopy, his bow stretched taut, before shooting his arrow, straight into the heart of the next perfect couple.

I grinned at Micah, who was fidgeting with his folder, his cheeks ablaze. Isla was watching him with a frown, trying to gauge his inability to make eye contact with her.

“Well,” I said, clapping my hands for their attention. “Let’s give you guys the tour, and then we can get to work!”

Ringing Amory later that night with my daily update, I pulled a blanket over my knees and munched on buttery microwave popcorn. I’d have to shop properly and stop eating like a college student, but time had a habit of running away from me, and at night, with the draught leeching in, all I wanted to do was rug up, eat junk food and drink cocoa.

“Hello, sunshine!” Amory’s tinny voice echoed around my bedroom, making it feel homelier – as if she was here with me.

I pushed the popcorn to one side. “So, today’s news… Kai the builder arrived and also the landscaper Isla, so it feels like we’re making real progress!” I stopped to wipe crumbs from the bed. “But no matter how much work we put in, I just can’t shake the feeling that it won’t be enough… What if no one comes?”

“OK, look, the lodge will happen because you’re a gun at what you do. I have absolute faith people will flock in droves to Cedarwood. You know that! No one can win against you when you wow them with your vision and paint the pictures you do just with words – I mean, that’s a gift that can’t be taught. What you need is romance to distract you.”

I groaned. “Romance? That’s the last thing I want. And which bit of me moving to a town of five hundred and three people did you not remember? There’s no one suitable. Besides, I wouldn’t have time. I have this overwhelming fear that if I take my eyes off of the project it’ll tumble down like a house of cards. I don’t have a plan B any more, this is plan B. I can’t afford to get starry-eyed and lose focus. There’s the—”

She interjected. “And that’s exactly why you need the distraction of a man! That worry will eat you up, just like it did here. You were on the path to burnout, and without me there to fishhook you out at night, what will you do? Worry, that’s what. Life is all about light and shade, work and play. You just have to find the right balance. Think of snuggling up at night with some bronzed, buff guy who will take your mind off your woes.”

I choked on a popcorn kernel, thinking of Kai. “Bronzed, buff guy in Evergreen?” I managed. “You’re dreaming. Men here don’t take weekends in Cabo to work on their tan, I’m sure of it.”

“OK, maybe they don’t go to Cabo, but you can renegotiate with yourself about what exactly you want in a man. Surely there’s someone there who’ll do for now. What about old flames? A boy-next-door type? Someone who’ll happily sweep you off your feet.”

Old flames… There was Timothy. I’d only thought about him in passing since I’d returned.

“What?” Amory said, breaking my reverie. “I’m right, aren’t I? There’s some unfinished business with a guy there? Tell me I’m right!”

Was there? I really didn’t think so. And what was I even having this conversation for? Amory was trying to distract me from the real issues in my life by wooing me with the idea of romance. “No, no… there isn’t unfinished business. Nothing of the sort. I see what you’re doing, you know.”

“But…?” she said, ignoring the fact I’d caught her out.

There was no hiding from Amory once she clued on to something. She was FBI grade when it came to interrogating someone and sensed any weakness. “But nothing.”

“Don’t tell me… He was your first love. Right? That guy who broke it off with you when you left Evergreen?”

“So? It’s not like I’ve been pining for him or anything. Timothy was a million years ago. I bet he’s married and has five kids and a house with a picket fence and a dog called Buster. A nice handicap at golf, and a wife with a blonde bob and bright-blue eyes who bakes cookies. From scratch.” I could see him having that kind of perfect American life, with his perfectly white teeth and perfect children with their perfect manners. Perfect, perfect, perfect.

Amory gave me one of her overly dramatic world-weary sighs. “Not that you’re into stereotyping or anything! Darling, I’m not asking you to marry him, I’m only saying that I think you need some balance. If I don’t lecture you, you’ll spend every waking hour crunching numbers and making those ridiculous pie charts before ending the night planning your dream wedding on Pinterest. And soon enough you’ll be a shriveled-up old maid in some windy, creaky lodge with a menagerie of animals who share your bed.”

I guffawed. “As if! I don’t even use Pinterest any more!”

“Liar. You forgot to make your dream-wedding board secret. I like the pearl wedding dress the best, the backless gown… stunning.”

I wanted to dissolve into the floorboards. How could I have forgotten to make it secret! I’d been planning my own wedding since I could talk, but what was wrong with that? I just really liked weddings. Was that a crime?

“Your romantic side is what makes you shine so brightly. Promise me you’ll find Timothy and go for coffee. And if he’s married, then don’t kiss him. Simple. But on the other hand, if he’s single… well, first love rekindled. God, I’d pay to see that.”

She was incorrigible. And if I didn’t nip this in the bud she’d get carried away, and start pinning her own suggestions to my dream-wedding board. “Amory, my life isn’t a romantic comedy. First love rekindled? That only happens in movies. Fiction!”

“And where do they get their inspiration from, huh? Real life, that’s where! Non-fiction!”

Amory was a bulldozer when it came to pushing me out of my comfort zone. But she really didn’t understand the complexities of finding love in a small town. Again, I realized she’d jabbed me into a corner with all this nonsense about love.

“I actually phoned you to talk about the new members of staff who arrived…”

“Don’t try and change the subject. Your mission is to have coffee with the Matt Damon lookalike, and report back.”

“Oh my God, Amory. Wait. How do you know what he looks like?” Timothy did bear an uncanny resemblance to the actor Matt Damon, and I knew he still looked just the same because I’d stalked his Facebook profile once. OK, maybe twice, but I’d had a few cocktails and didn’t everyone do that anyway? There wasn’t much to see because it was locked up tight, which left me with just his profile picture.

“I found your yearbook and saw all the scribbled love hearts around the photo of him. Seriously, you were the sweetest thing, weren’t you?”

I blushed, grateful she couldn’t see me. “Before you corrupted me.”

“Which was so much fun! I have to go into a dinner meeting, which fills me with joy, so call me and tell me everything, just as soon as you’ve done it, deal?”

I avoided the demand and said, “Don’t let them cold-shoulder you because of me.”

She let out an evil chuckle. “Don’t you worry, darling. They’ve tried that but, then I got the go-ahead from you-know-who’s squad, to organize her surprise birthday party – so I’m quite the flavor of the month. You know what these agency backstabbers are like. Fickle.”

Sadly I did know, all too well, how the tide could turn in an instant at the agency. “You’re a superstar. I wish I was there to see it.”

“One celeb party is the same as the next, no matter how we dress it up. You’re not missing out.”

“I guess. Wait, before you go, how are things with Cruz?” While Amory made a show of behaving like some kind of man-eater, I knew she had deep feelings for the mysterious Cruz, who hailed from Ecuador and was all intense with deep, smoldering eyes.

“The same,” she sighed. “You know men in Manhattan. Can’t really commit to anything except their gym routines. And I’m crazy busy myself, so we’ll have to wait and see. We’re meeting for cocktails tonight, and then a show on Friday, so two dates in one week… a miracle in these parts.”

Amory would never fully admit how she felt about a guy; it was like some protective instinct in her. And she’d been equally blasé about most guys up until now. Cruz was different, and I hoped she’d open up to him. “He really likes you, Amory, you can tell, so I hope you don’t act indifferent with him.”

“Darling, I don’t act indifferent, I am indifferent. Because most of the guys I’ve dated have been total bores. There’s no point hiding the fact they sent me into a slumber. Cruz is the first guy I haven’t had to fake it with… and I’m not talking only sex,” she laughed. “But I won’t pin my hopes on him, not just yet. There’s a definite sizzle of attraction, but what if it fades?”

“That first overwhelming can’t eat, can’t sleep, can’t stop thinking of you stage of love might fade away but it’ll be replaced with more enduring emotions like comfort and stability.” What the hell did I know? I couldn’t even remember the last time I’d been on a date… still, it seemed like sound advice.

“Boring! I want the sparks.”

I laughed, knowing Amory wouldn’t settle for mundane, ever.

“Oh, God, please tell me that’s not Bonnie Tyler warbling in the background again?”

I froze.

“Darling, when you play ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’ I know things are grim. Please, turn it off and listen to something more upbeat?”

“It’s… the radio!” I lied.

After ending the call, I leaned back and smiled. Amory always knew just what to say to perk me up, even if it was to rekindle a pretty dull flame from my past… Turning up ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’ I thought about my best friend’s advice. Believing that true love was out there was easy; I just couldn’t quite believe it was going to be found in the tiny town of Evergreen.