"This place is really nice," I said. "I haven't been here since I was a kid."
"That's what we'd like to change. We want everyone to come here, not just families with small kids. We are a destination for weddings, but what about all the other stages of life? Everyone loves Christmas, and it's such a cute town."
"Do you get a lot of visitors outside of the holiday season?"
"We don't know how it will be. We'll have to wait and see. But you should come back and see Santa."
"I'd want to come back," Sofia said.
"I'm sure we will." Sometimes I said things like that, knowing we'd get busy and run out of time. But I had a feeling we'd be back for real.
"We have a holiday decoration shop, toy store, and puzzle shop. There's something for everyone." Eve pointed out the store fronts.
"Other than the parade, are you planning anything else this year?" I asked to keep her talking.
She smiled. "Don't tell Natasha, but I was thinking about creating a holiday light trail. We own some property over there, and it's covered with nature trails. It would be easy to add a one-mile trail with lights and blowups."
"Why do you have to hide it from your sister?"
"I promised her that the only new thing we'd do is the parade. But I really feel like this is something we should add. I'm not sure if everyone will agree. They don't like activities that interfere with eating and shopping."
"Won't they want to shop before or after they do the trail?"
Eve nodded. "That's what I was thinking. But some of the owners see any outside events as distracting from our purpose, which is to bring in shoppers."
"You seem like you have good instincts. You should follow them."
She laughed. "Even if my sister doesn't agree? We are partners after all."
I nodded. "Make your case. See what she says."
Eve nodded. "Maybe I will."
It felt good to talk to her like this. I didn't hate being in the bakery. I enjoyed watching Sofia have fun.
I shouldn't care about Eve or Christmas Town, but every time I saw her, I was more intrigued by her and her vision for the town.
"I have more planning to do, but it was so helpful that you could come and knock one item off my to-do list."
"Happy to help," I said.
"The dance is this weekend, so have Sofia here by one so she can get the full princess experience."
"I'll do that."
"I can't wait," Sofia said.
"You're going to look amazing," Eve said to her with a smile.
My heart ached because Sofia would have a good time, and I shouldn't be so against us doing things like this. It wasn't bad for us to be happy. Or at least it wasn't bad for Sofia. I didn't feel like I should be. As if it would be a betrayal to Marla.
After the party, there wouldn't be a reason to see Eve anymore, and I needed to stick by that. I didn't need a woman in Sofia's life or mine. It was confusing, and I didn't have anything to offer her.
Eve waved. "See you soon."
We turned and walked toward my truck.
The wind blew Sofia's hair in front of her face. "Miss Eve and Miss Reina are so nice."
