“What is going on inside of your mind, Tilly?”
He was studying her intently.Curiosity lit up his brown eyes, but there was no judgment in them at all—something she liked seeing an awful lot.
“A lot of things,” she admitted, and finished the last mouthful of her dinner.She pushed the plate to the side and grabbed the papers again.“But the most important thing is making sure that my idea is so spectacular that everyone in Marietta gets on board and makes it a huge success.”
“You don’t think they will?”
Tilly shook her head.“Oh no, that’s one thing I can count on.The people of Marietta love to support everyone.I just have to convince them that I can pull this off.That I can do it.”
“Why do they think you can’t?”
Did she want to tell an outsider how the town looked at her?Zach was new and didn’t know that the good citizens of Maritta were aware of Tilly’s reputation of never following through on her plans or ideas.Over the years she’d tried to figure out the reason why she tended to flit from one idea to another.The only one she could come up with was that when things got too hard, it was easier to give up than to go on.Her dad was a gentle soul and had always told her, as he tended the flowers he’d loved so much, that she should try as many things as she wanted, because how else would she know what she liked and didn’t like doing.Maybe his strategy hadn’t been a good one, considering how that philosophy turned out for her.
Not this time, though.No way in hell was she going to embarrass the town by only having an event that was half put together.Not to mention, showing the committee that they were right in giving Marietta a chance after another town had to pull out of the statewide event.
“There are many reasons for them to worry about me, but this time is going to be different.”
“Why don’t you tell me about what you have planned?”
Was he really interested?
Zach was focused on her.He hadn’t asked his question and then looked around the room so he wouldn’t have to listen to her talk about her plans.She’d had that happen to her a few times in the past.Her date would appear to be interested in her but wasn’t really.
Excitement swelled up as she thought about her idea again, one that she’d come up with on the fly during her meeting with the mayor.Not the most ideal thing to happen, but this was how she rolled.
“I want to do a live-action Nativity play and get the whole town involved so every place of business is spotlighted and gets a boost in publicity.Mary and Joseph will knock on the door of the Bramble House B&B.The Graff Hotel.Grey’s Saloon.And whatever other businesses want to be a part of it.I’m pretty sure there won’t be too many who will say no.The judges will also see how much the town gets involved and how community spirit-minded we are, which will work in our favor.”She paused to catch her breath.She was excited, which always made her talk faster than usual.“The fairgrounds will be where the ‘manger’ will be set up, and then once the play is over, we will do a Carols by Candlelight event.”
“That sounds ambitious.And you’re only just starting to plan it now?”
There wasn’t any censure in Zach’s voice, but she couldn’t help but feel judged.“My initial application was knocked back.”She wasn’t going to say it was probably because the idea she’d pitched in the application form wasn’t original or that exciting.
“Did they reconsider?”
“No, a town pulled out, and so they called and offered me another opportunity.I told them that we’d love to do it and would have the new application to them by the end of the week.”
Zach nodded.“I see.It does sound like a fun event.What was your initial idea?”
Nope, she wasn’t going to tell him about her Ugly Christmas Sweater Idol contest idea.What had she been thinking?“It doesn’t matter.It wasn’t very good.But this one is much better.To really make it special, though, to elevate it from okay to fantastic, I need a big name to narrate and emcee the carols event.Someone who everyone knows and loves.”She tapped her pen on the table, getting excited about her project.
“I was researching celebrities before I started filling out the form.Getting someone big on the rodeo scene would be too easy.This town is full of rodeo stars, my sister being one of them.Obviously, movie and television stars are out of the question, as they’d likely want to be compensated for their time, and we don’t have the funds to cover that.I could go for an unknown, someone waiting for their big breakout role, but that’s not going to make our event stand out.”She paused and finished off her drink.“Which led me to look at talk show hosts.You know the ones that have the popular daily afternoon talk shows with live audiences?They give away big prizes, and people are always clamoring to get tickets to their shows?And I believe I’ve found the perfect person.”
Chapter Three
Please don’t sayKathryn Lancaster.Please don’t say Kathryn Lancaster.
“She’s a former soap star.”Tilly paused as the server came up with a drink refill for her and cleared away their plates.
The food Zach had eaten churned in his stomach.There were a few successful soap stars turned talk show hosts, but the star was continuing to rise every day for one in particular.One he knew well, but wasn’t speaking to at the moment.
“Kathryn Lancaster!”Tilly squealed, and he gulped down the rest of his drink, hoping that would stave off his meal making a return appearance.Of course the person Tilly wanted was his mother.“She’s just so amazing.I’d seen a few old clips of her show on social media, so today I made sure to set time aside to watch her live.She’s so engaging.She was able to get so much from her guests.And she seems to genuinely care about them.I’m hoping she’d love to be a part of this venture to help Marietta achieve the win.”
Had Tilly seen me in one of those clips?Or had it only been recent clips she’d seen?He’d been on her show months ago.Was this whole meal a setup?
Zach discounted the thought that she’d seen him.There hadn’t been a hint of recognition on Tilly’s face when he sat down, apart from recognizing him from their little dance on the steps.There was no calculating look of how she could use someone famous to help her.Even the best actors in the world couldn’t hide that first moment of surprise in seeing someone they knew and then pretending that they didn’t.He’d been around them a lot in his life, and he’d picked up their tiny tells.Tilly hadn’t shown any of them.
He couldn’t continue to sit at the table, though, not while Tilly waxed lyrical about all the amazing things his mom did.“She sounds great.Look, I’m sorry...I have to go.Good luck.”
Zach slid out of the booth and headed to the exit.He made a quick stop at the counter to leave a few bills that would cover his meal, along with taxes and a tip.He didn’t care that he’d probably put down too much money.He needed to get away.
