Shona picked up her bag. “He enjoyed being Santa. The hugs everyone gave him made the bulky costume worthwhile.”
Adele rushed toward them. The reindeer antlers were gone and her cheeks were flushed with excitement. “What did you think?”
Joseph opened his arms and hugged her. “You were amazing, and so was the rest of the choir.”
“Mrs. Terry thought so, too. Can we stay for ice cream? Mrs. Terry brought my favorite flavor.”
Nate pointed to a table someone had placed in front of the kitchen. “The volunteers are bringing out dessert now. It looks pretty good.”
Shona laughed. “It sounds like Adele isn’t the only one wanting an ice cream. What about you, Joseph? Do you have a sweet tooth?”
“I’d never turn down a bowl of ice cream.”
Adele held onto her dad’s hand and pulled him forward. “I think Mrs. Terry brought strawberry, too.”
He looked over his shoulder at Shona and Nate. “Our fate is sealed. Can I get two extra bowls for you?”
“We’ll follow you,” Shona said with a smile.
By the time they’d collected their ice cream and found a table, Joseph was looking forward to dessert. His heart stilled as he watched Adele compare her strawberry ice cream with Nate’s raspberry ripple flavor.
They could have been a typical family enjoying a night out together. But there was nothing ordinary about his life and, hopefully, Shona never found out.
* * *
The following evening,Shona studied the spreadsheet on her laptop. Paris and Andrea were helping her complete the loan application for the bank. “This looks complicated.”
Andrea picked up a sheet of paper. “Don’t worry about the projected sales. We can work that out separately. Is this quote for the sales counter and the shelving or just the counter?”
Shona looked at the quote. “Only the counter.”
Paris’ eyes widened when Andrea showed her the quote. “We can do better than that. We bought most of our furniture from thrift stores or as kitset DIY projects.”
Shona sighed. “The last time I had to build something, I cross-threaded all the screws.”
“Don’t let that worry you.” Andrea closed a folder and picked up the form Shona had almost finished. “If you find some furniture you like, Paris and I will bring our super-duper electric drills to the store. After learning how to put shelves, desks, and six-foot-tall flower arches together, nothing is impossible.”
Paris sent them a dreamy smile. “The best part of the flower arches was falling in love with the man who helped me make them.”
“Cover your ears, Shona. Paris is going to tell us about her amazing fiancé.Again.”
“I can’t help it,” Paris said with a wide smile. “Richard’s incredible.”
Shona laughed. “I hope so. You’re getting married to him in four weeks, two days, and—”
“Seventeen hours.” Paris rested her elbows on the table. “I didn’t think it was possible to be this happy.”
“That’s what falling in love with the perfect man does to you.” Andrea sent Shona a searching look. “Have you thought about getting married again?”
Shona picked up a copy of her loan application. Her stomach twisted in knots at the thought of giving her heart to another man. “Nothing could ever beat what Chris and I had. Do you want to go over the utility expenses?”
“Nice change of subject.”
Paris tapped her pen against her chin. “It was, but we still have to go through Shona’s expenses. The amount you’ve budgeted seems way too high.”
Andrea was still looking thoughtfully at her. “What if you met someone amazing?”
“Like your fiancé?”
