Chapter 13 #2
“Belief is very powerful,” he said.
“So is delusion, and they seem to me like close cousins,” she said, then glanced over his shoulder and waved to someone. “It’s almost showtime.”
He didn’t want to let the conversation drop because it finally felt like he was getting somewhere, but he had no choice. Fliss arrived, along with a few members of the board that Nick had met when he’d presented the WonderHaus to them.
Cora grabbed her assistant and pulled her to the side, excusing herself from the group. Nick found himself with some board members—Jeremy, Alison, and Darren. They all were on the Nice List, though Darren had moments when he slipped but he always corrected himself quickly.
“The tree looks really great this year. Cora keeps smashing it out of the park,” Alison said. “My niece and nephew are so excited to visit. Of course, your WonderHaus is at the top of their wish lists.”
“What elements of the design are they most excited about?” he asked.
“The integration and making a smart house. My sister won’t let them use their devices for more than an hour a day. I suspect they’re going to use the house as an excuse to try to get more time.”
Nick hadn’t thought of that angle. “There’s a lot that can be done without a device.”
“Which is good because my sister will not be allowing more screen time.”
Nick spotted Cora moving toward the risers to the left of the tree and went to join her. “Everything okay?”
There were tiny wrinkles on her brow.
“The band we booked canceled last minute. There’s not enough time to find a replacement. People are already arriving. They’ll know that things aren’t as advertised.”
Nick put his hand on her shoulder as much for comfort as to assuage that need he had to touch her. “It’ll all be fine. Why don’t you ask if there are any choir members in the audience and invite them up?”
“We still don’t have a band.”
“I’ll lead them. I’ve got a pretty good singing voice.” He’d grown up surrounded by singing—in his family, and among the elves who preferred to create their own music as they worked.
“It’s a good suggestion but…”
“What? Are you afraid it won’t be slick enough? Christmas is part spectacle, but it’s all heart and connection. This will work, trust me.”
Trust wasn’t easy for her and that doubt was written all over her face.
She chewed her lower lip and then shook her head. “Okay. If it’s a flop, I get one day off a week from working with you.”
“You’re renegotiating?”
“Always.”
“Deal,” he said. To him, there was no risk. Christmas and singing went hand in hand. He’d spread some extra cheer and impress Cora.
“Thanks, Nick. You’re always there when I need you,” she said, a somber note in her voice.
“Isn’t that a good thing?”
“I’m not sure.”
The more time he spent with Cora, the less he seemed to understand about her.
As requested, snow was falling around them as she stepped up to greet the townspeople of Pine Falls who’d come out tonight.
“Thank you for joining us for the annual tree-lighting ceremony. Even though we are here at the festival grounds, this tree is for the community of Pine Falls. Thank you to everyone who supports the festival either directly by working here or indirectly by providing essentials to those who do. Without the townspeople of Pine Falls, Winter Wonderland would be just another seasonal event,” Cora said.
Each year she had to come up with new ways to intro the tree and welcome everyone. This year she was focused on the town and residents. The more national attention they received, the more important it was for the town to stay committed to the festival.
“To show how important the community is to us, we decided not to have a band this year. Instead, Nick Bari has volunteered to lead all of us in Christmas carols after the tree lighting. If you have ever sung in a choir or group before, we’d like to invite you up to the risers to join in, but I hope everyone will stick around afterwards when we will all sing together.
“And one last announcement before I hand things over to Mayor Richards for the tree lighting. There is a coffee and hot chocolate booth near the entry gates. For tonight only, the drinks will be half-price and I hope you will all check out this year’s updated version of the marshmallow latte or our new mint hot chocolate. Thank you, everyone.”
There was a round of applause and Cora gave a little curtsy, then handed the mic to the mayor before taking her place next to the other board members.
“Thank you, Cora. Pine Falls is lucky indeed to have the reigning Queen of Christmas at the helm of our Christmas festival. Each year, as December starts and the nights get longer and darker, we look to the light of our community and of course the seasonal trimmings to remind us that we aren’t alone. ”
Mayor Richards held up the remote trigger for the lights.
“I think it’s time to count it down. Ten, nine, eight…”
When he reached one, the lights sprang on. Cora held her breath, waiting to see that all of them worked and when they did, relief coursed through her. The spontaneous applause made her smile.
“Gorgeous as always. Please let the Pine Falls Gazette get an official photo before you come up with your family to snap as many as you like.”
“We have festival photographers on hand as well,” Cora called out.
“Thanks for that,” Mayor Richards added.
“Let’s all go down in front of the tree,” Cora said, directing everyone on the dais to the spot where the newspaper photographer waited as well as one of the festival ones.
“This is nice,” Nick said, taking a spot behind her. He put his hand on her waist and after that she was aware of nothing else.
They were told to look toward the left and everyone did.
“Nice. We’d like one of Cora with Santa under the Winter Wonderland entrance gates. You both look so festive.”
Cora looked around but their Santa wouldn’t be here until tomorrow. Then she realized they were referring to Nick.
He gave her a big grin. “We are a bit matchy-matchy with the Santa hats.”
“And the red coats,” she joked.
They posed next to each other and the photographer looked up. “There’s mistletoe. How about a kiss?”
“What do you say?” she asked Nick.
He leaned his head toward hers. “Yes.”
Their lips met. Damn. This was the kiss she’d been longing for since she’d fallen near the tree and he’d caught her. He tasted minty and manly and it was addictive. She felt a pulse of heat between her legs as his tongue rubbed over hers.
“Got it.”
The photographer.
Double damn.
There was both amusement and heat in Nick’s eyes.
“Time for caroling,” she said, trying to regain control over the moment and leading them back to the risers, which were surprisingly full. She hadn’t ever been in a choir so stood to the side.
“We can’t do this without you, Cora,” Nick said.
Fliss linked her arm with Cora. “Let’s go together.”
They took a position on the bottom riser as Nick cleared his throat. Someone handed him a mic and he spoke to those on the risers. “This is just for fun, so relax and enjoy it. I think we’ll start with ‘Oh, Christmas Tree.’”
He sang out a middle C so that everyone could tune themselves to it.
Cora was impressed with the people around her.
Fliss even tried it, but Cora didn’t. Singing in a group wasn’t her thing.
It made her feel vulnerable. On her own, she could belt it out with the best of them, but in front of an audience…
? It was too cringey. It reminded her of her teenage years when she wanted to be invisible.
And then Nick started singing. His voice was as clear and beautiful as she’d suspected it would be. She mouthed along with the song until Fliss elbowed her in the side.
“What are you doing? You sing in your office all the time.”
“I can’t sing for others to hear.”
“It’s not about being perfect,” Fliss whispered.
“What is it about?”
“Joy.”
Joy. There was that word again.
She sang in her car but it didn’t matter if you were any good when you sang on your own.
She knew she wasn’t anywhere near as good as Nick and hated to be less than perfect at anything she did.
Telling herself that it didn’t matter wasn’t as easy as you might think.
She battled with herself, then finally on the last chorus managed to actually sing one word—tree.
Nick winked at her as he moved into “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town.” It was hard to tear her eyes away from him. He wasn’t like any other CEO she’d ever met. He was enjoying every moment of this singalong—he seemed to enjoy everything he did.
But mostly what she noticed was that Nick always stepped up.
He wasn’t just there for her whenever she needed him. He was there for everyone.
And rather than feeling jealous of his attention being directed elsewhere, she felt warm and fuzzy inside—not at all like the snow globe being shaken in her belly, but like a big, squishy hug.
How was she going to spend the next month with this man and not fall for him?