Chapter 3
Natasha
Irritation bubbled in my chest. I couldn't believe he came over to apologize for not breaking up with me sooner.
I wouldn't let him see how he affected me. We were over a long time ago, and I wasn't going to let his presence in my life throw me off.
I was surprised when he'd requested an in-person meeting. I thought he was going to say that he didn't want to work with me or that the project was too big. I hadn't considered that this was about our previous relationship.
He looked at me, his gaze uncertain. "I wanted to clear the air before we discussed business. Cooper thought it was a good idea."
"You discussed our relationship with Cooper?" I asked, my voice rising slightly.
Ford nodded. "This is my first job since I left the military. I don't want to mess it up."
"Our relationship won't be an issue." Because I wouldn't let it be.
He let out a breath. "I don't want to let Cooper or my brothers down."
"I'm sure you won't." He took his obligations seriously. At least the ones that were related to work and family. Other relationships fell to the wayside. "You wanted to talk business?"
He handed me the estimate. "I broke it down into different projects. That way, you could choose to go with one or even two at first, then add on more later. I added the projected timelines for any possible scenario you wanted to go with."
I looked over the estimate, impressed with the level of detail. "This is very thorough."
"I wanted to give you a good idea of what to expect." He stood. "You should review it and contact me with any questions."
I rose with him. "I'll do that."
When we reached the door, he turned and said, "I won't let our past relationship be an issue."
"I don't see how it could be," I said stiffly, wishing he'd stop talking about it. "I think we're at the point where we can safely bury it."
He frowned. "I don't know if I like that characterization."
I waved a hand, needing him to leave so I could be alone with my thoughts. "However you want to say it."
"I'm glad we can put this behind us."
Everything he said was twisting the knife more. He obviously didn't think much of our time together. He was glad it was over.
His brow creased. "Are you sure you don't want us to update your apartment at the same time?"
I tensed. "The inn is the first priority. It doesn't matter what my space looks like."
"You live here though," he said as if he was trying to figure me out.
"I need to get the inn renovated first. Then I'll consider it."
He nodded. "Fair enough. Take a look at the estimate and let me know if you have any questions."
"How soon can you start?" I asked as he stepped through the doorway and into the hallway.
He smiled. "Anytime. You're my first project."
"That's good." My heart rate picked up because I was hoping for a little bit of a reprieve.
I'd seen him twice this week, and it made me feel raw.
It brought up everything I'd tried to leave in the past. I pretended that the breakup hadn't upended my life and hadn't affected any of my relationships, but that wasn't true.
"Thanks for stopping by." It was nice that he'd come to clear the air, but it had only served to make me feel worse.
"Have a good night."
I waited for him to turn and walk down the hallway before I closed the door. I leaned against the door, relieved I was alone again. I didn't need to hear about how he didn't think about our relationship, other than to wish he'd broken things off sooner.
It hurt to know that I was so easy to walk away from. That I hadn't meant anything. I was harboring these silly feelings about him over the years, but he clearly didn't feel the same.
I poured myself a glass of water, needing to cool my dry throat.
Ford had this way of knocking me off my axis. I needed to calm down before Eve stopped by.
When she knocked, I felt like I was myself again.
I opened the door, and she walked in, her hands full. Her superpower was organization, and she did it with her phone and a tablet she took everywhere with her.
She dropped everything on the counter. "I wanted to talk to you about our winter activities."
"Did you want something to drink before we get started?" I asked, hoping my voice sounded even. Did she know that Ford had stopped by? Did Aspen tell her?
"Water's fine," Eve said absentmindedly. "Are you set up on the balcony?"
"The one facing the square." In the evenings, we liked to meet there to remind us what we were doing and to hopefully spark ideas for new programming. This was our first year doing this, and we didn't know what worked and what didn't.
The shop owners were more focused on their stores and weren't involved in the town events.
We used them to draw people to the square, and hopefully they'd stay and shop or eat at a restaurant.
It was trial and error, determining what would bring in more visitors but wouldn't deter shoppers from the stores themselves.
"I researched what was done last year and made a list."
I filled her glass, then followed her onto the balcony, closing the door to the apartment to keep the cold outside. "You have one for me to look at?"
"I printed it for you." She handed me a spreadsheet.
There was a column for events, dates, and contacts for the town police and fire department. I didn't know what I'd do without her.
"We have the weekly holiday ball, which is nice for locals going on dates or the guests of the hotel. But I want to focus on the events that take place on Candy Cane Lane." She gestured at the town square.
I scanned the list. "They did an official tree-lighting ceremony, even though it's lit year-round?"
"That tells you how popular it was, and don't forget not everyone knows it's a year-round kind of thing."
"It still feels weird to me."
"We'll schedule it for the first week of December. That's when the surrounding towns do the same."
"Do we want to compete with them, or should we do our own thing?"
"I don't think we should reinvent the wheel our first year. We can analyze the data in the new year, and see what we want to continue and what we want to change."
I nodded because that sounded reasonable.
Eve's phone buzzed. "Clara's here. I asked her to stop by when she closed her shop. I was hoping she'd have some insight."
Clara owned the Christmas Shop, the one that was covered in ornaments for any theme you could imagine.
It was the most popular store in town. Every visitor made a point to stop in for at least the obligatory souvenir to take home.
The hope was that they'd love it so much; they'd order more online when they arrived home.
Eve returned with Clara.
"Thanks for coming," I said to her, grateful for any insight we could get into how the town ran before we arrived. Not everyone was happy that we were the new owners. They were worried we'd run the place into the ground, but at the same time, they wouldn't help us.
Clara was the one who was more open to working with us, probably because we were about the same age. She sat in a cushioned chair. "I'm happy to help in any way I can, but I wasn't directly involved in programming."
Eve focused on her, her tablet ready to take notes. "Do you have a sense of what worked and what didn't?"
Clara thought for a second and then said, "Santa visits are the biggest draw. The children stand in line to talk to him, and then the families will stop at one of the restaurants or shops afterward, bringing in business."
"Did you ever offer coupons or food in the shops to get people to come in?" Eve asked.
Clara frowned. "What do you mean?"
"I read that one town hosts a hot-cocoa crawl, where customers could get hot chocolate and cookies at each shop."
Clara snapped her fingers. "We could do a bingo card. They go into each store, ask questions about an item, and get the owner or worker to sign their card, and once it's filled, they win a prize which could be an ornament from my shop."
"I wonder if they'd just pop in to get their card signed, or would they linger and check out the shop," I said.
"I think that's one of those things you might have to try and see how it goes," Clara added. "But some owners won't want to serve drinks or food. They won't want anyone to spill on their products."
Eve's shoulders lowered. "That's a good point. We could set up outside the store, but the point is to get people into the shop."
"Each store could offer whatever they wanted, food or drink or even a small item from their store, a coupon," Clara said, thinking out loud.
Eve nodded, taking notes. "That's not a bad idea."
"Would we still call it the cocoa crawl?" I asked.
"I think so. We'll make sure there's cookies and cocoa, even if the stores don't want to serve it," Clara said.
Eve's eyes brightened. "We'll see if we can sell cups from one of the stores that could be refilled."
"I like the idea of involving the shop owners. Do you think we could hold a meeting and talk to them about what they're interested in doing?" I asked Clara.
"I'm not sure if everyone will want to participate," Clara said.
"We want to make this town a success. I wish they were on board with helping us," Eve grumbled, her voice lower.
I patted her hand. "We knew it would take time to win everyone over."
Eve set her tablet down and focused on Clara. "Do all the owners get along?"
Clara shook her head and laughed. "Well, Bill at the Puzzle Piece isn't a fan of the new lingerie shop. He thinks the street should be family friendly."
Eve winced. "That's a tough one, because we have a lot of couples who come here on their honeymoon or to get married.
It goes nicely with our princess-for-a-day package where we offer spa services, makeup, and hair styling for the night of the ball.
Men like to purchase their significant others something nice. But I can see Bill's point too."
Clara leaned forward. "For the most part, everyone wants to see the town thrive.
When the previous owners put the inn up for sale, we were worried that the new owner would kick us out and raze the place in favor of a modern resort.
I think most are grateful that you want to revitalize the town and make it a success. The question is, can you do that?"
Eve and I exchanged a look.
"We want it to be a success. Natasha's always wanted to run a bed-and-breakfast, and I wanted to be a town event coordinator.
I want to see this town come to life. We know we can draw people in during the holiday season, but what about the rest of the year?
" Eve said, her voice picking up speed as she talked.
Clara nodded. "We get some traffic from visitors to the inn. Local traffic dies down during the summer though."
"We're starting with fall, so we're hitting the ground running in the busy season. Then we'll have time to figure out the offseason," I said to soothe Eve. She had a tendency to look too far into the future.
"What else do you have on your list?" Clara reached out to take my spreadsheet.
"One thing I've been thinking about is how we could involve the community.
What if we hosted a parade around Thanksgiving?
We could invite the local school bands, scout troops, dance studios, and the local police and firefighters. "
"I love that idea," Eve said.
"I hadn't even considered something like that," I said, turning the idea over in my head.
Clara shrugged. " Parades draw people, their families and friends, and others who want to support them. They're fun for everyone, and they'll want hot chocolate, coffee, and something to eat. Then they'll do some holiday shopping before they leave."
Eve brushed her hair out of her face. "Would the shop owners want to have it on the holiday though? That would mean they'd need to open their stores on a day most people are off."
"I'd think we'd want everyone to participate," I said.
Clara shrugged. "You won't know until you ask."
"We should talk to the owners. Do you think it would be best to do it one-on-one, or host a town-hall meeting?" Eve asked.
"I think we should do a meeting, so everyone is on the same page," Clara said.
"You think everyone will come?" I asked her.
Her nose pinched. "The previous owners didn't involve the shop owners when they were planning things. It caused a lot of hard feelings."
"That's how we win them over. We include them in the planning process," I said to Eve.
Eve sighed. "I'm a little worried that too many people involved in planning means infighting. We won't agree on anything, and then where will we be?"
"We have to try to get them on board." I wasn't willing to give up. "Are we ready for this? I know it wasn't what you'd planned, but if it would help, then I think we should try," I said.
Eve nodded. "I'll schedule a town hall for the shop and restaurant owners. Then we'll meet to discuss our plans and see what everyone thinks."
When I decided to buy the inn, Eve was the natural choice to run the town itself. She'd worked for an event-planning business prior to moving home. I was so glad that I asked her to join me. I couldn't imagine doing this with anyone else.