Chapter Twenty-Four
It was time to take Cinderella to the ball.
While Felicity had been getting ready for the party, he’d been reading over her notes on his manuscript. She hadn’t held back with her thoughts. Some of it was tough to read but he could see where she was coming from.
He wasn’t so sure about some of her suggestions, but she was the professional editor so he’d attempt them. He couldn’t wait to get started.
But first, he had to get Felicity to the party. He stood at her door, waiting for her to answer. When she’d called out “coming,” the hint of a smile tugged at the corners of his lips. The real question: was she ready to go?
He didn’t have long to wonder about it, because the door suddenly swung open, and his mouth gaped. She wore her golden-brown hair down. It was in long, elegant curls that draped over her shoulders. She wore just enough makeup to accentuate her natural beauty but not much more.
Her festive dress was red with cap sleeves.
It had a fitted bodice and a flared skirt that ended a couple of inches before her knees.
Wow! He suddenly regretted not agreeing to go to the party.
She was going to have every eligible bachelor in Kringle Falls hitting on her.
Jealousy churned in the pit of his stomach. He only had himself to blame.
“Do I look all right?” Her gaze searched his.
It was only then he realized he hadn’t spoken. “Yes. You look beautiful.”
Color filled her cheeks. “We should get going. I don’t want to be late.”
“Lucky for you it isn’t a long drive.” He was going to say the Kringle house was close enough for them to walk, but then he noticed her delicate red heels. Those were definitely not walking shoes.
After she put on her coat and was ready to go, he presented his arm to her. She smiled and slipped her hand into the crook of his arm. This evening, he did something unusual; he opted for the elevator.
The ride was much too fast, but she never relinquished his arm. She turned a number of heads as they walked through the lobby and out the door. He couldn’t blame people for noticing her. Felicity was the most beautiful woman in the world—even when she was dressed to go tubing in the snow.
Before he was ready, he was dropping her off at the door of the Kringles’ home. “Call me when you’re ready to go home.”
He wasn’t sure if she’d heard him as she closed the door and rushed up the steps toward Connie, who was waiting for her. With a resigned sigh, he pressed on the accelerator. That’s when he heard a chime. It wasn’t his phone, so what was it?
It chimed again. It took him a moment to find a place to pull over. He searched the passenger seat and then ended up fishing a phone out from between the seat and the console. It must be Felicity’s.
It chimed again in his hand. When he glanced down, he saw a message: You can get your job back!
His heart sank. This was it. This was what she’d been waiting for. He wanted to be happy for her. This was what she really wanted.
But all he could think about was that she would be leaving after Christmas. In just a matter of days, she’d be hundreds of miles away. And he’d have no idea when he’d see her again.
Where was it?
A group of festively dressed guests stood around the grand piano in the living room, singing “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” as Kris Kringle, dressed as Santa, played the piano. There were colorful drinks and trays of finger foods.
There was laughter and good cheer all around, but Felicity was frowning. She’d lost her phone—her lifeline. This can’t be happening.
Felicity was focused on checking her coat pockets. Again. It didn’t seem to matter how many times she looked, her phone wasn’t there.
She’d retraced her steps out into the frigid evening, but she hadn’t noticed the phone anywhere. Perhaps she’d forgotten to pick it up when she’d left the apartment. Yes. That must be it. Still, her whole life was on the phone. What was she going to do if she couldn’t find it?
Maybe she should walk back to the apartment. Because there was no way she was going to relax and enjoy the party when she was worried about her phone. If anyone wanted to contact her about a potential job, that was the phone number she’d handed out.
Just then someone literally bumped into her.
“Oops. Sorry,” said a familiar female voice.
Felicity turned her head to find Holly standing there. “Hi.”
Holly smiled. “It’s good to see you again.”
“I forgot what life is like in a small town—always bumping into everyone.”
“Hey, Felicity, here.” Justin appeared out of seemingly nowhere and handed over her phone. “You forgot it in my pickup.”
For just a moment, their fingers touched as their gazes caught and held. It was long enough to cause her heart to race. At the point of his touch, she felt a bolt of electricity start in her fingertips and cause goosebumps to spread up her arm.
Felicity’s cheeks grew warm as she lowered her hand. “Thanks.”
After Justin moved toward the cookie table, Holly said, “You’re here with Justin? Are you two back together?”
Felicity’s eyes widened. “No. Definitely not.”
“But your phone was in his car?” Holly arched a brow.
Felicity sighed. Where did she start? Perhaps at the beginning. “I’m working at the bookshop for the holidays, and Connie and Merry have been pushing us together. The other day, Connie practically forced him to give me a lift to the school. It was no big deal.”
“The school? You were taking a walk down memory lane?”
Felicity shook her head. “Not even close. We were just at the school, working on the Christmas play.”
“Together?”
“No. He’s doing the set, and I’m working on the costumes, but to be honest, most of them are done.”
“But you’re spending time with Justin?”
Felicity shrugged. “I guess so. We went tubing at Hutter’s Farm this afternoon.”
“Oh, wow! Just like old times.”
Heat rushed to Felicity’s cheeks as she nodded. “It was a lot of fun.”
“I bet.” Holly had a knowing look in her eyes and a big smile on her face.
Felicity glanced away. She looked around the crowded room of festively dressed guests for an excuse to end this awkward conversation. And then she spotted the perfect excuse. “I see my mother. I have to go. It was good to see you. Hope we can see each other again before I leave town.”
Holly nodded. “I’d like that.”
They hugged, and then Felicity walked away. She looked for Justin to thank him again for finding her phone, but it appeared he’d exited the party just as quickly as he’d arrived. Instead, she went to say hello to her mother.
Her mother was also wearing a red dress.
The skirt was longer than Felicity’s, and it had long sleeves, while Felicity’s barely had any sleeves.
When Felicity was younger, it would have upset her for them both to be wearing red dresses, but these days it didn’t bother her in the least. There were a lot bigger issues in the world to worry about, like was she ever going to find a new job?
She approached her mother. “You made it.” She gave her a hug. “I was worried you’d get hung up at the hospital.”
“Thankfully, things have slowed down the past couple of days.” Her mother stepped back to take a look at her daughter. “You look stunning.” Then she looked around the room as though searching for someone.
“Who are you looking for?”
“Justin. If he isn’t here with you, he should be.”
“Actually, he gave me a ride here. He said I shouldn’t be walking in these shoes.” She lifted a foot so her mother could check out the heels she’d found on a clearance rack. “Actually, this is the first time I’ve worn them. So, I was happy for the ride.”
“Be careful on the icy sidewalks in those. But they are gorgeous.” Her mother continued looking around. “So, where is he?”
“He left again.” When her mother sent her a puzzled look, Felicity said, “He was here and dropped me off. After he left, he found my phone in his pickup. So, he came back to give it to me, but he left again.”
“That’s too bad.”
“I know.” Her phone chimed, and she couldn’t help but wonder if it was Justin. “I tried to talk him into staying.”
“Oh, there’s Tricia.” Her mother turned back to her. “Would you mind if I went over and said hello.”
“Oh, sure. I just need to check my phone.”
Her mother arched a brow. “Don’t forget to talk to the people around you.”
“I won’t, Mom. Go have a good time.”
And then her mother was off to talk to Justin’s mother. Felicity was certain she knew what the topic of conversation would be about—her and Justin. She resisted rolling her eyes.
Her phone chimed again. Felicity lifted it to see what Justin had to say. If it was anything like when they were sledding, it was probably something silly just to make her laugh.
But it wasn’t from Justin. Instead, it was from Melissa.
Felicity was about to ignore the message until later, but then she noticed there was more than one message.
In fact, there were seven messages—no, make that eight messages.
That was very unlike Melissa. Usually she just sent one message and waited until Felicity got a chance to message her back. Something was definitely up.
Melissa: You can get your job back!
Melissa: Hey! Are U there?
Melissa: Seriously, where are U?
Melissa: I’m at the Frosted Glass and just heard…
Melissa: Tanner was fired!
Melissa: Rumor has it he’d been taking bribes…
Melissa: for putting manuscripts in front of sr editor
Melissa: Where R U? This is big! CALL ME!
Felicity’s mouth sagged. Could this be right? Had they finally figured out that Tanner wasn’t what he seemed?
A smile tugged at the corners of her lips.
She knew she shouldn’t feel glee at someone else’s misery.
The smile faded. But for six months he had taunted her every time he made their boss happy.
And then when he’d officially gotten the promotion, he was so sarcastic when he said he was so sorry, but the best man had won.
But she did wonder why Melissa wanted to speak to her. Maybe it was just to revel in the moment. Curiosity had Felicity making her way outside to place the call.
Melissa picked up on the first ring. There was loud music and voices in the background. “Let me head outside. Hold on.” When it grew quiet, Melissa came back on the line. “It’s about time I heard from you. I’ve been dying to talk to you. Can you believe it?”
“Is this for real?”
“Yeah. They fired him yesterday after they thought everyone had left for the weekend, but Valerie forgot her keys. You know how she can be forgetful. Anyway, she had to go back for them. And you know her desk is situated just perfectly to hear what’s going on in the boss’s office.
She might have taken longer than she needed to find those keys, but you aren’t going to believe what else she learned. ”
Wasn’t that enough? Felicity was still adjusting to the news. She always knew she didn’t care for the guy, but for him to take bribes from people desperate to see their dreams come true was just so wrong on so many levels.
Before Felicity could formulate words, Melissa rambled on. “He also set you up by hacking into your computer. He messed with your reports.”
“He did?”
“Yeah. And he lied about you to the boss. He’s the one who got you fired. You know what this means, right?”
Felicity felt as though her mind had just been blown. She finally had the answers. She finally knew why they let her go. How could he do something so underhanded?
But how did he get her password? She thought about it, and then she remembered how he’d begged her to help him with a report. It had only been once, and she’d logged onto her computer in front of him. He must have memorized her password.
“Felicity, are you still there?”
“Uh, yes. I just… I can’t believe this. I never would have guessed that Tanner is so underhanded.”
“He hides it all behind those tanned muscles and fake smiles. And now that they know the truth about him, they’re going to want you back.” When Felicity didn’t say anything, Melissa asked, “This is what you want, isn’t it?”
“Uh, yeah.” But was it really what she wanted?
After they finished the call, she stood still for a moment. How did she feel? Vindicated? Most definitely. Happy? She wasn’t so sure.
But did she want to go back to a place that was so quick to believe the worst in her after she’d worked there for seven years? Not really. But it was a good paying job? Could she afford to just throw it away?