On Monday morning, Tasha drank coffee to make up for her lack of sleep.
The worst part?
She wasn’t sure how to answer Elias’s question. After a full night of contemplation, all she had were tight muscles, a sore neck from listening to the angel and the devil on her shoulders, and a list of the pros and cons. One con–costumes—jumped out at her. And then she remembered. That might be an easy fix.
Time to find out. She hit a number on her phone.
“Good morning, Tasha.” Phoebe McAllister’s voice was like a breath of fresh air, whether in the same room or four and a half hours away. “Are you enjoying Berry Lake?”
Of course, Phoebe would know where she was. Besides her magic wand, she must have a crystal ball, or Kristen had told her.
Outside the front window, snow flurries danced as if in a real-life snow globe. “I love Wishing Bay, but Berry Lake is Christmas-card perfect. I feel like I’m staying in the middle of a Hallmark movie.”
“Who’s the hunky hero of your movie?” Phoebe sounded like she was smiling. “A firefighter? Newspaper editor?”
Tasha pictured Elias on his knee, removing the skate from her aching foot. “Um, lawyer?”
Phoebe laughed. “Are you asking or telling me, sweetie?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Then, you’ll have to find out.” The line went silent. “If you’re not calling for love advice, it must be something else.”
Love and Elias didn’t belong in the same sentence. Love at first sight didn’t exist. If it did, Alek would be married to Kristen with a couple of kids by now, and Tasha would still be with Drew.
Forget about insta-love. That was only a sweeter way to describe lust.
Focus.
“Someone asked me to help with a holiday ice show for Berry Lake’s Winter Extravaganza. It’s a fundraiser for local nonprofits.”
“Sounds like a noble cause.”
“Yes, but…”
“This trip was for you to figure out your future.”
“Yes.” Tasha’s shoulders drooped. She hadn’t mentioned that to anyone, but Phoebe knew her better than most. “I’d like to help, though.”
Tasha wanted to help Elias. No, the fundraiser.
“But I’m not sure if I should,” she added, positive not much she said was making sense.
“You want to help because that’s a part of who you are. Your love language is service, which is why you’re always doing things for people you care about, even if it’s not in your best interest, but theirs.”
Yep. And how many times had helping blown up in her face and ended up hurting her? She didn’t want to remember. But… “This is different. I don’t know anyone here.”
“The hunky lawyer isn’t a part of this?”
“Um.” Tasha blew out a breath. “He is.”
“I see.”
She gripped the phone. “What does that mean?”
“You like him.”
“I just met him.” The words shot out one on top of the other. Tasha cringed. She hadn’t acted like this when she was a teenager and crushing on a classmate.
