7
The party was in full swing when Merry heard a light tapping from the front of the shop. Her mother preferred to welcome her guests, but she was busy and Merry was close to the door. Her mother glanced up, wearing an impish grin. She nodded toward the front of the building. It wassolike high school all over again.
Merry hurried to the door and unlocked it. “Come in. Come in.”
“I got to come,” Grace cried once they were inside, her cheeks pink from the cold.
“I’m glad you did.” Merry pointed to the bright lights coming from the back room. “Alex is waiting for you back there.”
“One moment,” Carlisle said, barely catching the sleeve of his daughter's coat as she darted away. “Perhaps Miss Merry can tell us where to put our coats.”
“I’ll take them.” Merry had already dropped to her knees to undo Grace’s zipper. She took a second to put a wild curl back in place. “You look perfect.”
Grace surprised her by throwing her arms around Merry’s neck and giving her an impromptu hug. The gesture brought an unexpected burning to her eyes. What a charming child. The little girl then turned and ran to find Alex.
A large hand appeared in front of Merry. She took it, and Carlisle pulled her to her feet. It brought them close together and kicked her already heightened awareness into overdrive. Was it her imagination, or did his gaze seem more intense than it had in the past? He smelled so good, and she wished he’d already taken off his gloves so she could feel his hand. His gaze darted to her mouth, and her heart gave a lurch which both ached and thrilled her.
Someone laughed in the other room, breaking the moment. Merry stepped back, and Carlisle released her hand. Her face warm, she turned and headed to the employee coat rack.
“You can hang yours here.” She took a hanger and slipped Grace’s coat on it, dismayed to hear shaking in her voice.
Carlisle Wyndham hadnotbeen thinking about kissing her. And she certainly wouldn’t have let him. No matter what her mother thought, this man was dangerous to Merry. Her dreams were proof of that. She’d only known him a few weeks and already he was getting under her skin.
He was taking his time hanging up his own coat and scarf, and she finally glanced at him. The crease between his brows showed something was troubling him. Was he disturbed by what had just not happened?
Or had she imagined it, her mind dreaming up things because of her mom’s comment. Merry’s chest tightened. That was probably it. He’d been thinking about something at work, some problem which worried him. Because he always seemed to be thinking about work. And here she’d been imagining he wanted to kiss her.
“The party’s in the back room.” She’d only taken a step toward it when he spoke her name softly. Her stomach knotted, but she took a slow breath and turned to face him.
“Gretchen has informed me I must attend one day at the festival, and I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing.” He winced as though from an unpleasant thought. “I believe you mentioned you would be there, and I wondered if perhaps you could offer me some advice on how I should conduct myself.”
The sharp stab of disappointment irritated her. What a fool she was. In a very businesslike manner, she signaled for him to follow her toward the back room. Full of her mother’s partying employees, it should help steady Merry’s head.
“Most of the booths are sponsored by local businesses,” she said when Carlisle had caught up with her. “We have quite a group of artistic-types who get booths to sell their wares at the festival. So, we’ll have artists, authors, jewelry makers, and even some inventors. I’m guessing you’ll be there to answer questions about avalanche control at the resort.”
“Yes. I made the mistake of suggesting one of Gretchen’s actual avalanche control team members could attend.” A chagrined look crossed Carlisle’s face. “She had to remind me they would be needed on the slopes.”
“I thought they did that kind of thing in the mornings before skiers got up there.”
“The recent fluctuations in the weather have contributed to prime avalanche conditions.” His expression had turned serious, even gloomy, and Merry was sure he was thinking about his wife. He said, “Gretchen’s people are needed on the slopes and not at a Christmas festival. I should have known better than to suggest it.”
“Do they already have materials available for you, like videos of conditions skiers should be aware of or lists of safety materials?” Merry now had to raise her voice to be heard over the partiers. “Don’t they run safety classes up at the resort?”
“Oh, I’m sure you’re correct.” He gave her a relieved grin.
It reminded Merry of Grace. “What day did she assign you?”
“Saturday, and I have no idea what to do with my daughter. I would imagine your mother will be there representing her business.”
“Yeah. Mom will be there every day of the festival. I’m assigned on Saturday, too, and Alex will be with me. If our booths aren’t too far from each other, maybe they can entertain each other.”
“That would be fabulous. Let me see what Nia gave me.” Carlisle pulled out a folded piece of paper which showed a map of the events with one circled. He held it up for her to see. “This is the resort’s booth.”
“The heavens might be smiling on you.” She pointed to the booth right next to his. “This is the salon’s, so Alex and I will be nearby. Just be glad we won’t be doing perms at the festival.” At his confused face, she added, “Permanent wave? It’s a long and smelly process.”
“Ah, yes. I recall my grandmother getting those.” Carlisle made a face. “My grandfather complained about how her hair smelled for days afterward.”
“Sounds about right.”
