George chuckled. “That sounds about right. I remember their parents talking about them back in high school. Those two werefriends for ages before they went out on a date. Their parents knew something was going on before they did. Took them months to admit they liked each other the first time around.”
“Well, we clearly need to be more direct in our approach,” Mabel said, clearly unwilling to be defeated by two stubborn adults.
“Or at least keep nudging them together,” Vanessa agreed. “Which is why I was thinking—what if we organized some kind of community event? Something casual and friendly where they’d naturally end up spending time together without it seeming forced or obvious.”
“Like what?” George asked, chuckling as he looked at the two women. “You two aren’t going to give up, are you?”
“Absolutely not,” Mabel and Vanessa both said at the same time.
“I was thinking about it on the drive over,” Vanessa added. “A movie night at the community center. Something cozy and Christmas-y—maybeIt’s a Wonderful LifeorWhite Christmas. We’ll put up flyers, make it a community thing, but we’ll arrange the seating so that Lincoln and Imogen end up sitting together.”
Mabel grinned. “Perfect. It’ll be natural for them to show up, and we’ll just give them another little nudge. They’ll have no idea.”
“Exactly,” Vanessa said. “Dim lighting, a cozy Christmas movie, hot chocolate and popcorn for them to share. They’ll get to have a date without even realizing it’s a date.”
“It might actually work,” George said thoughtfully. “Although, if it doesn’t, I’m sure the two of you will have another plan in the works.”
“When should we do it?” Mabel asked. “Actually—why not tonight? We could call around, make it a spontaneous thing. I bet they’d show up if George calls Lincoln and you call Imogen.Ask her to come to hang out with you, and then I’ll find things I need you to do.”
“Why not?” Vanessa said, suddenly giddy with excitement at the idea of something so spontaneous. “I’ll call her now.”
The next hour was a flurry of activity as they planned the movie night, all three of them making calls and getting others to call around as well to get a good group at the community center.
“We have to make sure they show up,” Mabel said. “I know Imogen is busy with her magazine project, and Lincoln is always slammed at the rink this time of year.”
“I’ll convince her,” Vanessa said, hoping that she could.
It worked out better than she’d hoped. Imogen was unsure at first, citing the chocolate project, as Vanessa had expected. But Vanessa managed to convince her at last, and as it turned out, Katie was at a sleepover, so there wouldn’t be any distractions for Imogen and Lincoln.
George got off the phone, a mischievous grin on his face. “Lincoln said he’d be there,” he informed the two women. “And that’s the end of my part in your scheming.”
As they finalized the plans and headed over to the community center to set up, Vanessa felt sure this would work, or at least be the next step in the right direction. The Secret Santa exchange had proved that Lincoln and Imogen still cared about each other’s happiness, still remembered intimate details about each other’s likes and dislikes and the things they wanted. They just needed a little bit more of a push.
By seven that evening, the community center was full of guests. Mabel had hot chocolate and popcorn being passed out, and Lincoln showed up a little early to help set up, as George had requested. That made it easy enough to make sure that Imogen found a seat next to him, once she showed up five minutes late, as Vanessa had engineered. The only seat left was next to Lincoln.
“Mabel needs help with the snacks,” Vanessa whispered as the movie started up. “Just go sit down, and I’ll come find you in a bit. She’s been so overwhelmed lately, I don’t want to leave her to do it all if she needs help.”
“Of course,” Imogen said. “Do you need help? I can?—”
“No, no,” Vanessa said hurriedly. “Go enjoy the movie. Here—” She handed Imogen a cup of hot chocolate. “Relax. You need it, with how hard you’ve been working.”
She watched as Imogen made her way to the empty seat next to Lincoln. As the movie began, Vanessa saw him hold out his bag of popcorn, and Imogen smile as she took a handful.
Perfect,Vanessa thought. Everything was going according to plan.
And before long, Lincoln and Imogen wouldn’t be able to ignore what was right in front of them any longer.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Lincoln was in the middle of explaining the proper way to stop on ice skates to a group of enthusiastic but slightly unsteady eight-year-olds when he spotted Mabel marching through the front door of the rink with a determined expression that immediately put him on alert. He’d seen that look before—it was the same expression she’d worn when she’d successfully convinced half the town to participate in a pie auction fundraiser at a community meeting. It was the look she generally wore when something was happening and she wasn’t going to take no for an answer.
He glanced back at the impatient children. “Tommy, remember to lean forward slightly and bend your knees,” he called out to one of the boys who was attempting to glide backward. “And Sarah, try to keep your ankles straight—that’ll help with your balance.”
Mabel had stopped at the edge of the rink, clearly waiting for him to finish, her hands on her hips impatiently. “All right, kids,” Lincoln said, wrapping up the lesson as quickly as he could. “Practice what we talked about, and remember—if you start to fall, try to fall forward rather than backward. It’s much safer.”
The children scattered across the ice, and Lincoln skated over to the barrier where Mabel was waiting. “Everything okay?” he asked as he slid to a stop. “You look like something is up.”
“I need you to come with me,” she said firmly, her voice letting him know that she wasn’t going to be argued with. “Right now. It’s very important.”
