He’d once enjoyed the fast-paced life. The thrill, the rush, the constant demand. Even hiding out in Sunset Ridge, he had to admit there were days he missed it. Working on Ava’s flyers late last night reminded him as much. But Brayden had changed a lot over the last several months. He wasn’t the same person anymore. It wasn’t only the accident that changed him, but Sunset Ridge.
“Sorry about that,” Ava apologized. “I’m Kinley’s maid of honor. Her wedding isn’t until June, but she’s turned into quite the planner.”
“This town has a lot of weddings,” he said with a chuckle.
“Weddings!” Ava’s eyes doubled in size—they did that a lot lately, but he found it adorable. “You’ll have to be my plus-one.”
“For a wedding in June?”Might not even be here.“Are we expecting another ambush this summer?” He meant it as a joke, but Ava’s anxious expression didn’t morph into amused.
“Cadence and Ford. Their wedding is two days before Christmas. I don’t know about your mom, but mine won’t leave until after the holidays are over. I’m just hoping she doesn’t stay until New Year’s. Do you have a suit?”
“Yes.”
“Really?”
“Really.” He had a closet full of them but no excuse to wear one. He didn’t expect to need one in Alaska, but Mom taught him to always be prepared. He hadn’t been able to breakallof his old habits. “I’ll be your plus-one, don’t worry.”
“How are you so calm about everything?” A smile finally graced her lips. “It’s completely unfair.”
“A little yin and yang is probably why we make such a perfect couple,” he added in jest. “Makes everything more convincing.”
“Keep reminding yourself you said that when my mom tries to name our future children,” Ava mumbled. “Look, I have to meet Kinley for lunch to talk bridesmaid dresses. Kind of the last thing I care about right now, but I promised her days ago. We need to get these baskets together stat.”
“You sound thrilled,” Brayden teased.
“Picking out fancy dresses isn’t really my cup of tea.” Ava dug her clipboard out from beneath a pile of stuffed snowmen on the table. “That was always more Laurel’s thing.” She said the last in a mutter.
“Who’s Laurel?”
All hints of a smile vanished. “Someone who used to be a friend. Not important. Anyway, I have to break at noon. If you’re planning to stick around and help, we’re going into overachiever mode.”
“Sign me up.”
He helped Ava clear out the empty holiday boxes, then bring up dozens of baskets and cut off the clearance tags. He had to give her credit. She was frugal in her big plan without sacrificing quality. Smart in more ways than one. And since no two baskets were identical, each one would feel unique. Maybe Mom would see that she was special after all. She always did appreciate a smart businesswoman. “What next?”
“Here.” She slid him a printed spreadsheet, stapled five pages deep. He flipped through the packet, impressed by her level of detail for such a spontaneous design. Every item on her labeled shelves was entered into a category. Each basket had a set number of each category. Her random baskets had quite the system. “This is insanely organized. You weren’t kidding.”
“You sound surprised.”
“I shouldn’t be,” he answered honestly. “But I’ve seen your office.”
Ava tossed a puffy snowman at him from across the room. “I’ll have you know I cleaned that up yesterday.”
“By shoving everything you didn’t need in a box and sticking it under your desk?” he speculated.
“Have you been spying on me?”
Brayden laughed. “Lucky guess.”
With Christmas music playing in the background and the coffee pot brewing, they set to work assembling the first three dozen baskets for Ava’s store display. He’d offered to lend her wooden boxes to help set it all up, and spent an hour last night constructing a few with scrap lumber.
“Wow,” Ava said when they finished the last one. “I haven’t climbed that many steps in ages. I’m going to be sore tomorrow.” She laughed.
“It’s almost noon. You should go.”
Ava scanned the room, appearing overwhelmed for the first time since that morning in the kitchen. They hadn’t spoken again about the letter, and he wasn’t going to push it now. He admitted the truth. The rest, well, it would wait. Elsie yawned near the window, poking her head up behind a round basket wrapped in gold cellophane. “I need to get these to the store.” She let out a defeated sigh. “I’m the worst maid of honor in history.”
“Go,” Brayden said, taking the phone from Ava’s hands before she could successfully text her friend and cancel. “I’ll load it all up in my truck and take it to the store for you.”
