Bayside's Most Unexpected Bride. Kerri Carpenter

He swiped a hand over his face. Employee layoffs at Christmastime. Could there be anything worse?

      “Sawyer, are you okay? What’s going on?”

      Riley’s voice pulled him out of his funk even though he knew he was going to have to deal with it soon. In the meantime, he’d explore all options and do everything in his power to not have to fire anyone. At Christmas or any other time. And he’d definitely work hard to keep this from his team. Even if it meant not drawing his own salary.

      “Nothing is going on and I’m fine. Stop worrying. On to other business. The upcoming Christmas Kickoff Festival.”

      Riley eyed him skeptically for another moment before flipping open her reporter’s notebook. “Day after Thanksgiving, just like always.”

      “With a twist,” Sawyer interjected. “Usually, this is a townie thing. But I was at the council meeting the other night. They want to go big, attract people from other towns and areas of Virginia.”

      “Impressive.”

      “They want it to be a smaller version of New York’s lighting of the Rockefeller Center tree.”

      He noticed her pen skip at the mention of New York. “I want you to cover the event. This is right up your alley. Plus, you lived there, so you’d have the experience of knowing what their ceremony is like.”

      “I never went to the tree lighting when I lived there,” she said in a soft voice.

      Sawyer knew that wasn’t true. Riley had lived in New York for four years. During that time, she’d always been active on social media, and he remembered seeing her Facebook pictures of tree lightings over the years. But, once again, she didn’t want to talk about New York. So, once again, he would let it go. For now.

      “Still, I’d like you to head up the festival for the Bugle. Let’s start getting some pre-event coverage in both the print and online editions.”

      Now she was scribbling in her notebook. Concentrating. Looking sexy as hell.

      Get a grip, Wallace.

      “Oh, I wanted to ask you about that recent social media promotion you and Claudia ran. Why were the numbers so low?”

      Her gaze flicked up quickly to his. Her eyes narrowed. “The numbers were fine. Normal.”

      “Not from the report you sent me. The reach was lower than the last contest.”

      She gifted him with an overdramatic sigh. “How many times do I have to explain social media to you?”

      The side of his mouth twitched but he held in the smile. One of his favorite things about Riley was how bright she was. Most people didn’t realize that under her coordinated outfits and talk of the latest docudrama airing on Bravo, Riley had a shrewd eye for social media, pop culture and how to use those things in business.

      “Humor me,” he told her.

      “You were looking at the total reach of the posts on all the platforms. Did you check the organic reach? The numbers were fabulous, especially considering how you cut our social media advertising budget to shreds.”

      “I don’t see how that—”

      She continued on her rant and Sawyer couldn’t follow it, although, he was impressed as hell. He might not understand a lick of what she was saying, but he really loved watching how passionate she became as she explained it.

      “Are you listening to me?”

      Her question jerked him away from his thoughts. He decided that talking to Riley about social media wasn’t going to help anything. Especially because he didn’t want to reveal that she was going to have even less money in the budget next year.

      “What are you up to this weekend?” he asked.

      If his change in topic came as a surprise to her, she didn’t show it. “Same as you,” she said with a bemused smile. He racked his brain and couldn’t think of any shared family gatherings until Thanksgiving. Riley rolled her eyes. “Tomorrow is Elle and Cam’s engagement party at the Dumont estate. There’s no way you could have forgotten that.”

      His turn to roll his eyes. “Blocked, perhaps.”

      “Sawyer, it’s not that bad. Most people love when the Dumonts throw parties.”

      “Which is practically every week.”

      The Dumont family had also been in Bayside for generations. They owned Dumont Incorporated, headed up by Jasper Dumont now. Jasper was Cam’s brother and Sawyer was close with both of them. He was happy his friend had popped the question to Elle. Thrilled to celebrate with them. What he didn’t particularly look forward to was dressing in a monkey suit and mingling with most of the town at yet another black-tie party.

      He saw the excitement on Riley’s face, though. This kind of event was much more her thing. She was so good at socializing and enjoying large crowds. Not to mention, she looked damn fine in a gown.

      “Come on,” she cooed. “There has to be something about tomorrow’s party you can look forward to.”

      An image of her in a tight black dress from the last Dumont soiree flitted into his mind. All of that amazing red hair had been piled in curls atop her head. Her shoulders had been bare and she’d worn the sexiest pair of stilettos... His mouth went dry thinking about it.

      He almost jerked backward. What in the heck was he doing? He couldn’t think about Riley like that. He could still remember the doll she used to carry around when they were kids.

      “Earth to Sawyer,” she said impatiently.

      “There’s always the free alcohol,” he covered.

      Oblivious to his thoughts, she nodded. “There you go. Now, you just have to get your date Holly on board.”

      He gritted his teeth. “I am not dating Holly.”

      “I wouldn’t care if you were.” Her eyes narrowed as she considered. “Are you bringing anyone else tomorrow? Like, as a date?”

      He shook his head. “Nope. You?” He held his breath.

      “No. It’s hard to be Riley Hudson, the Bayside Blogger, and enjoy being on a date. You know that.”

      He did. She committed her life to the Bugle, sacrificing much of her social life to write the column that was keeping the paper in the black—barely. He opened his mouth to thank her, but the words caught in his throat. The sun was slanting through the blinds, highlighting her coppery hair, the freckles on her ivory nose, that amazing body.

      Had she always been this beautiful? Why was he only noticing her now, when he couldn’t possibly make a move?

      Ah, heck. He was feeling something for his lifelong friend that he had no business feeling.

      She stood to leave but hesitated next to her chair. “Sawyer, are you sure you’re okay?”

      “Uh, yeah, I’m fine.”

      She reached for the door but turned back again. “And the Bugle is fine, too? It’s not in any trouble?”

      Her hand was on her hip, accentuating the fact that even for a petite woman she had curves. He swallowed hard. “Don’t worry, Riley. Everything will be fine.”

      Sawyer wasn’t entirely sure if she believed him. She lingered a moment more before departing.

      He felt bad about lying to his oldest friend, saying the Bugle wasn’t in trouble. But it sure was—and so was he.

       Chapter Two

      Who’s excited for tonight’s party at the Dumonts’? I can’t think of a better way to ring in the holiday season than champagne and dancing with a view of the bay! And you just never know who might show