Chapter 49
FORTY-NINE
MARISSA
Marissa sobbed all the way home. She had honestly thought that they had a chance of winning the cash. This was it—the end of a dream.
Yes, Cheese was toast.
She was going to have to break down and beg for her old job back.
Without the influx of money from winning Passport to the Holidays, the harsh reality was that growing Yes, Cheese into anything other than a hobby was dead.
Marissa wasn’t even angry at William.
Why bother?
He wasn’t worth the energy. She still didn’t understand what his end game had been.
He must have decided to go to Parker’s on purpose.
He had to have known that they would be disqualified.
Had she offended him so badly at his parents’ gala that he and Parker had conspired to make her look like an idiot?
Scratch that.
She was angry.
She was furious.
And mainly with herself.
She should have trusted her instincts.
How could she have let him in?
She had honestly thought that maybe there was something between them. How could she have been so wrong?
A text came in as she pulled into her parents’ driveway.
She stopped the car and opened the message. It was from Hilary, the scavenger hunt director. For a moment, Marissa felt a surge of hope that there had been a mistake and they hadn’t been kicked out of the hunt. When she read the text, she realized that wasn’t true.
Hilary was interested in hiring her, however.
That was something. She wanted a full dinner for two, complete with appetizers and dessert boards, and she needed it tomorrow night.
Her text said she would pay extra for any rush fees and asked if Marissa could also create a romantic holiday tablescape to accompany the dinner.
Marissa hurried inside to do some math to send Hilary a quote. It wouldn’t be cheap, and she did tack on an extra fifty dollars for the last-minute booking.
She paced her parents’ kitchen while she waited for Hilary to respond.
Was the rush fee too much?
Any cash right now was a good thing.
Maybe she’d been too greedy. Maybe she should send another text saying she would waive the rush fee.
While her anxiety swirled out of control, Hilary responded with a thumbs-up and her home address.
Marissa went straight to work sketching out a romantic holiday meal. She ignored a lengthy, rambling, yet undeniably sweet apology message from William. Charm or no charm, she was done with the guy for good.
As she threw herself into her work, putting together a menu for individual Yorkshire puddings and a chocolate fondue board, she couldn’t believe that just earlier in the day, she might have imagined dipping strawberries into creamy dark chocolate with William sitting across a candlelit table.
Her lips recalled the feeling of his—soft, warm, searching.
God, stop it.
She never wanted to see his face again.
As in ever.
This was good. She had something to focus on and a new client. Hilary was well-connected in Bend and throughout Central Oregon. If Marissa could impress her with a personalized catered dinner, Hilary might recommend her for future events with the Chamber of Commerce.
Her dream of winning Passport to the Holidays was dead, but maybe—just maybe—there was the slightest chance that Yes, Cheese still had a fighting shot to get off the ground.