The Mills & Boon Christmas Wishes Collection. Maisey Yates

– or more likely the bourbon was taking effect!

      I debated whether to push Amory for a deeper truth. I didn’t want her to think I wasn’t supportive, but I also thought she might need a shove to be honest, even with herself. “Is it really that, though, Amory, or is it that you don’t want to admit how you feel?”

      “Don’t Doctor Phil me, please, oh psychobabbler. I realize I’ve acted a little rashly, but imagine if he did propose? It would have been all sorts of awkward.”

      “Why? Would you have said no?”

      “I wouldn’t have said yes.”

      Micah piped up. “Hang on, hang on, so explain what happened.” Amory nodded so I gave Micah a rundown of events. He murmured to himself before saying, “There’s got to be a way you can meet in the middle. And what if he wasn’t about to propose? He might have been about to tell you he’s sorry but he’s decided to become vegetarian.”

      Amory laughed. “But the ceviche, Micah. Ceviche is fish.”

      Micah steepled his fingers. “Maybe a pescatarian then?” he laughed. “But you see my point, right? It could have been a marriage proposal, but it also could have been, ‘Hey, girl, you want to fly first class and meet my parents? Then I’ll wine and dine you in Paris, how ‘bout it?’”

      I let out a peal of laughter at Micah’s attempted accent. It sounded more hillbilly than South American.

      “Maybe,” she said, giggling. “But on one knee? Don’t men reserve that position for the proposal? Like, isn’t it hallowed?”

      Micah nodded. “Well, yeah, you’d hate to get a girl’s hopes up if it wasn’t the case. I think you should at least talk to Cruz, let him explain. He’s probably out of his mind worrying about you.” Thank you, Micah! She was more likely to listen to a third party than me, knowing I had a soft spot for Cruz.

      “Yeah, I guess. I will, eventually. Let’s get back to decorating. All this love talk gets too soppy after a while. Plus, we’ve got wreaths to hang on the doors, and stockings for the fireplaces in the suites upstairs. Fairy lights, and these things…” She lifted a row of jingly Christmas bells. “Micah, what about the trees? Did you tell Isla which ones we wanted?” Amory subject-changed like a pro.

      At the mention of Isla’s name Micah’s face changed – it softened and his eyes glazed. Amory noticed it too and we exchanged a proud parent kind of smile.

      “Yep, Isla’s on to it. I’ll help her bring them in tomorrow. Speaking of which, what would you buy a girl like Isla for Christmas? She’s not into fashion, or jewelry… but I want to get her something special, that shows her how much I love her. Amazing and unique, like Isla.”

      Isla, with her long strawberry-blonde hair, athletic physique and penchant for fast motorbikes, certainly wasn’t your run-of-the-mill girl. She was fast becoming the sister I’d never had and deserved to be spoiled this Christmas.

      “What about a book of poetry?” I said. Love poems, was there anything sweeter? “No,” I said, changing my mind. “It’s not quite right, is it?”

      Amory wrinkled her nose in contemplation and then lifted her index finger. “Oh, I know the perfect gift! A star!”

      Micah cocked his head. “A star?”

      “You can buy a real-life star, and even name it if you want to. That way, when you’re canoodling under the moonlight, you can point it out. Tell me that’s not the most romantic thing ever?”

      His face crinkled into a smile, and he said, almost to himself, “I’ll buy her a whole constellation.” He got that same dreamy, faraway look in his eyes again and I knew we’d lost him.

      Amory sank back into the chaise, but I pulled her back up and said, “We’ve got decorating to do, Miss Jones.”

       Chapter Seventeen

      With a few days to go until Cedarwood was overrun with blushing brides-to-be, I was overcome with the usual pre-event nerves. We had so many loose ends to tie up, including confirming all our vendors were on track and ready to wow our brides with their wares. Usually I thrived on the lead-up to any event, but because the bulk of my funds was invested in the expo it upped the ante, and made it all the more crucial that it go off without a hitch. It would be quite some time before I had enough of a financial buffer that I wouldn’t have to worry about every last penny. Still, it would keep me sharp, and invested in Cedarwood, knowing I couldn’t rest on my laurels.

      Kai’s postcard stared at me from its perch on the mantelpiece, and I smiled, remembering him. I could hear him in my mind, Clio, take five deep breaths for me… and before long I’d tumbled into a Kai daydream. The what if always lurked in my subconscious, floating to the fore every now and then. When I tried to think of the chapel, and what needed to be done for the expo, all I could think of was Kai as he’d been in there – leaning against the damp wall, his blond hair mussed and windblown…

      Half dreamy, I still had this niggling feeling that I was forgetting something to do with the chapel but I just couldn’t put my finger on it. I’d have to find my to-do list and check it over.

      “Earth to Clio, earth to Clio!” Amory waved a hand in front of me and laughed.

      “What?” I said. “The gift bags and…”

      She rolled her eyes. “You didn’t hear a word I said, did you?’ She searched her own list and said, “We have to make up the suites with the new linen, and yes, you’re right, fill up the gift bags, choose napkin colors…”

      “Knock, knock,” Isla’s voice rang out, only slightly muffled by the branches of a fir tree she was carting. “Where do you want it? Please don’t say upstairs.”

      “Isla, God, why are you lugging that yourself! Micah said he’d help!” She was almost bent over backwards with the weight of the tree in her arms.

      “He’s lugging an even bigger one behind me somewhere. But it’d be good to put it down. Any time soon.”

      I rushed forward to take some of the weight, fir needles poking me in the eye. “Argh!”

      “Golly, and you call me a city girl!” Amory laughed. “Let’s put the smaller one in the lobby and Micah can take the other to the ballroom, yeah, Clio?”

      Blinking away the sting I said, “Yes, perfect!” Decorating the tree was the cherry on top when it came to Christmas, the scent of earth and pine heavy in the air, the unmistakable perfume of the festive season! Waking up on Christmas morning with the snow-covered mountains in the distance, and trudging downstairs to warm myself by an open fire, peeking in stockings, drinking a gingerbread coffee – it was all to come and I could hardly wait. In the coming years I imagined some grand festive seasons if only I could make it through these first frugal times…

      For a moment all the stress about the bridal expo vanished, and the thought of spending Christmas with my friends and family in the place I’d always dreamed of living thrilled me. I was exactly where I was meant to be.

      The only thing casting a pall over my new life was Mom. She had refused to come back to Cedarwood and wouldn’t explain why. I knew she was somehow connected to the old owners who’d abandoned the lodge, and that she refused to talk about the overgrown maze hiding in the gardens, but she wouldn’t say anything more, and her silence made it so much worse. As though she couldn’t trust her own daughter with a secret. Those past hurts all resurfaced, as they tended to do at Christmastime.

      Still, I was working hard on rebuilding our relationship, even though she made it difficult – I was seeing her once a week, having dinner, attempting to have that mother-daughter relationship I’d always dreamed of. I hoped to slip out the next day and visit her before we really knuckled down to the expo preparation. I also planned