Chapter Sixteen
Emma spent the afternoon in a paint-and-sip class run by Sabrina. She’d hoped to see Caleb, but he was still dealing with resetting the front of the resort after the sledding competition.
Emma, Sabrina and a group of older ladies had set up by the large fireplace in the lodge. The fireplace, decked out with Christmas decorations, was the inspiration.
Aside from her easel, Emma had a hot toddy and her art supplies. She’d chosen the gouache paints because she loved the watercolor look.
She took a sip and appraised her work. She wouldn’t call herself an artist by any means, but she’d always liked to scribble and doodle. Recently, she had turned to sketching, but she didn’t take it too seriously.
As she mixed up paints, Sabrina rolled her chair in place next to her. “Well, damn. You’ve got a lot of hidden talents, Emma. That’s beautiful.”
Emma blushed. “I guess I’m kind of an arts and crafts gal. Well, I used to be.”
“Why are you using past tense?”
Davis was not the type who would’ve allowed paintbrushes to be washed out in his kitchen sink. So, she’d stuck to watercolors at first, then worked on lettering, before the inspiration had eventually left.
“Eh, my ex keeps his condo like a luxury car showroom. No personality or warmth allowed.” She brought her paintbrush to add golden flourishes to the decorations around the fireplace.
“He did give me my own office that I could do whatever I wanted with.” She dabbed her paintbrush in the palette once more.
“It was in the hall closet, but it was better than nothing.” She turned to find Sabrina wearing a disgusted expression.
“I know how that sounds. But I do have a space of my own. Well, I did.”
Sabrina rolled her chair back slightly. “I heard you were looking at the empty spot next to the Ellis & Daughter office.”
Emma set down her brush and gave her painting the critical eye. “Word flies fast, huh?”
Sabrina chuckled. “Small towns. No, but Caleb told me how you’d always wanted to open a stationery store.
I can see now that you’ve got an artistic flair.
Did you know there’s an unused second floor in the space?
It’d be perfect for something like this.
There are a lot of talented people in Falling Leaves.
Lots of clubs that aren’t excuses to get together and gossip.
” She nodded toward her mother and Inez, bickering over their joint canvas.
Emma could see it. She’d always wanted to teach hand-lettering. Or art journaling. She could bring in artists to teach townsfolk and tourists alike.
Then, the reality of starting a business when she had no source of income would set in. It was a pipe dream, nothing more.
“I love that idea. But I’m not sure if it’s a realistic dream.”
A waiter stopped by to drop off another hot toddy.
“Why do you say that?” Sabrina passed their empty cups onto the waiter’s tray.
“Well, I currently have no job, no place to live… I think I have other priorities to sort out first, you know?”
“You do,” Sabrina said softly. “It’s just a thought. That space has been vacant for months now. And there hasn’t been much interest, given that it’s such a narrow space downstairs. So, there’s no rush.”
Emma took a sip of her drink. With just a few words, Sabrina had helped solidify this dream of hers into something tangible.
Sabrina chuckled. “You’re thinking about what I said, aren’t you?”
Emma was, but she was also thinking about Caleb, which felt a bit weird to discuss with his younger sister.
“You do have a persuasive way about you.”
She rose to her feet. “That’s a nice way of saying I’m pushy, but I’ll take it.” She squeezed Emma’s shoulder before moving on to the next guest.
Emma returned to her cabin before dinner. She and Caleb had tentative plans to attend the Sunday night movie in the lodge’s small theater. Even with the hustle and bustle of the holidays, Sundays were a slower night.
Weekend guests checked out that morning, and there was a lull before mid-week guests arrived. Few were like Emma, who stayed the entire holiday season.
She set her canvas in the corner of the room and regarded it in the soft glow of the Christmas lights.
She’d always been harsh on herself, but she had to admit that she was talented at pretty much any art project she tried.
She just wasn’t sure that translated into running a crafty business.
What did people say? Don’t monetize your hobbies, or you’ll end up hating them.
She rifled through her wardrobe to find the perfect casual yet pretty outfit. She pulled out a cozy sweater and leggings and tossed them on the bed.
Her phone chimed with a text. She reached for it and groaned. The message was from Davis.
Hey, do you have a minute to talk?
No, she most certainly did not. After all, what did they have to talk about? He’d given her the deadline to get her things out of his condo. She’d replied to that with a thumbs-up reaction. An acknowledgment without further comment.
They didn’t have anything left to talk about. As she was debating a reply, another text came in.
I’ll give you a call tomorrow. Have a good night.
She groaned and tossed her phone onto the bed. She immediately began to dread the conversation.
Then she remembered they were no longer together. She didn’t owe him anything other than moving her things out of his place. She’d even pay to have it cleaned as a thank-you. After all, she could never have afforded to live in his swanky building on her own.
But that was it. She’d broken things off, and he’d taken the ring and left her here. There was no coming back from that.
* * * *
“Looks like movie night might be a bust.” Caleb closed the door to the popcorn machine.
“Most of our guests are older,” Sabrina said. “We always like to have activities available if anyone is bored in their room. But it’s not uncommon to have events with zero turnout.”
“I know you keep track of these things. How long should I stay to see if a guest turns up?”
“Well, one guest is for sure coming,” she said.
Caleb rifled in a box for more popcorn buckets. “Emma.”
“Yes. She and I had a nice chat this afternoon at the paint-and-sip class.”
He groaned. “Don’t go scaring her off. It’s only been a few days.”
“It sure feels like a lot longer, doesn’t it?”
He set the popcorn buckets down harder than he had to. “You need to butt out, biddie-in-training.”
Sabrina put her hands in the air. “We didn’t talk about you at all. We were talking about the space next to Ellis & Daughter. Wouldn’t it be a perfect stationery store and artist space? I don’t think we’ve ever had a stationery store in town, have we?”
“We haven’t, far as I can recall. I think it would fit in well, if that’s something Emma wanted to do.”
Sabrina turned to look at her watch. “I need to get out of here. We have an end-of-the-year meeting with the Westmores tomorrow at the Pumpkin to go over Sky House’s P&L statement.”
He knew that, like many small businesses, Sky House had a rocky first year. More loss than profit. But they were hoping to enter year two stronger than ever.
“I can take it from here. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Don’t forget we’ve got the Ellis & Daughter company Christmas party Tuesday night in the private dining room. You can bring Emma, if you want.”
He rolled his eyes. “Goodnight, Sabrina. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
She snickered and walked away. He turned back to the popcorn machine, inhaling the aroma of buttery goodness.
Soft footfalls at the door had him on alert. “I thought I told you to go home?”
“Did you?” Emma’s voice was quiet.
He turned to find her in the doorway, a somewhat bemused look on her face.
He cursed under his breath. “Sorry, I thought you were Sabrina. She’s been acting like a biddie-in-training lately.”
Emma’s cheeks were still red from the cold. “Hmm, does that mean I should ignore her invitation to the Ellis & Daughter company Christmas party?”
He slapped his hand against his forehead. “I swear to god, she’s getting coal in her stocking. Sometimes I have to remind her that it wasn’t so long ago that it was her and Brandon’s romance the biddies were intruding on. Funny how quickly she’s forgotten.”
Emma grinned. “So, you’re saying the Coffee & Knitting Society moonlights as a matchmaking agency?”
“Among other things. Ready to watch the movie? There’s a few to choose from.” He pointed toward a large binder of DVDs balanced on the back of one of the seats.
“I’m feeling adventurous. You choose.”
He gently nudged her in the side. “Are you sure? My favorite Christmas movie of all time is Ernest Saves Christmas.”
Emma’s laugh echoed in the small, cozy space. “Okay, maybe I’ll choose then.”
“I can’t say that I have the most highbrow taste in films. I’m sorry.”
She clicked her tongue against her teeth. “I guess that’s fair. You must have at least one flaw.”
Before he could reply to that, she whipped out a DVD and handed it to him. “White Christmas. Appropriate, since it’s Christmas and we’re at an inn…well, a lodge, I guess.”
He blinked at Emma before taking the DVD from him. “To be fair, I have several. Flaws, that is.”
“Leave the toilet seat up? Forget to take the trash out?”
The DVD loading screen appeared. Caleb reached for the remote to lower the volume.
“The toilet seat is almost always in its upright position unless the girls are staying with me. I can be a little forgetful. My ex-wife would sometimes call me the doddering professor. I’d leave little piles in my wake. But I’d clean them up eventually.”
“I’m kind of messy, too. Or, at least I used to be, before I moved in with Davis. He had a cleaning woman come twice a week.”
“I like a little bit of chaos and clutter in my house. A good thing, since I have kids.”
Emma reached for a popcorn bucket. “Is it weird dating when you have kids?”
“Is it weird dating someone who has kids?”
Emma shook her head. “I mean, I guess it is? If dating is what we’re doing? Davis never wanted children, so I knew that was never going to happen for me.”
He took a step toward her. “I’d call this dating. But what about you, Em? Do you want kids?”
She played with the bucket. “This is kind of a heavy conversation to have right before a Christmas movie.”
He took a step back. “I’m sorry. I guess it’s just a natural conversation around here. Most of the women I’ve seen since the divorce either have kids or want them.”
She turned away from him to scoop popcorn into her bucket. “I guess you could say my upbringing soured me on the idea of having children. I’ve seen what can happen when kids are unwanted.”
He couldn’t imagine how Emma must have felt as a child, being abandoned by her mother, losing her grandmother, and being shuffled through many foster families.
“That said, I’m not a child hater or anything. I know that’s a common stereotype that comes alongside being child-free. I’m not even sure that’s exactly what I am, anyhow.”
“It’s understandable if you were,” Caleb said.
“I’ve always liked kids. My foster sister Aniyah has kids. I’m their godmother. So that’s not an issue.”
Caleb cleared his throat. “Thank you for being honest with me. I’m sorry if I ambushed you.”
She dipped her hand into the popcorn bucket. “You didn’t. You’re right—this is a natural conversation. Even if this is a fun holiday fling, we can still know who each other is outside of this place, right?”
She wouldn’t quite meet his eyes. He had to wonder if she was feeling the same thing—that they were fooling themselves if they thought this could ever be just a holiday fling.
“How about we turn on the movie?” She shoved a handful of popcorn into her mouth.
Conversation over. Hopefully, he could recover the night before it took another awkward left turn.
A small bit of popcorn found itself on her cheek. He reached over to brush it away.
“I’m glad to get to spend another night with you, Emma. I can’t tell you how happy these last few days have made me.”
Then, taking a page out of her book, he shoved a handful of popcorn into his mouth, preventing further conversation.
Emma chuckled. “I see how it is. Come on, let’s get the singing and dancing shenanigans started.”