So all Jake had to do now was arrange to connect with her at the Snow Ball, swap the bags back, and be reunited with his luggage - and the ring.
Now, as he looked across the dinner table at Heidi’s pretty face shining in the candlelight, he finally allowed himself to relax.
Just in time.
Chapter 18
On Christmas Eve, once the kids were asleep, Ally and Lara went upstairs to the master bedroom to get ready for the gala ball.
The size of the bathroom was about the same as her entire Boston apartment.
She watched as Lara looped large strands of her hair around the barrel of her curling iron. As she let them go, they fell into perfect rings.
“So are you excited about tonight?” her friend asked.
Earlier that day, Lara had gotten a call from the general store owner, passing on a message from the owner of the bag, who’d somehow managed to track her down.
They’d made arrangements to switch the cases back at tonight’s event, and while Ally knew she should be thrilled about getting her stuff back, for some reason she felt … flat.
It meant that J.T. would be reunited with the ring and get to propose to some lucky woman this Christmas, while she, Ally would be reunited with … her phone charger.
“Ally, do you have a crush on this guy?” Lara’s questions automatically made her cheeks redden. She looked down at the hairbrush in her hands, afraid her expression would invite even more questioning.
“What? No. Nothing like that. At all. I think maybe I’ve just built up a picture of him from his stuff and his writing. He just seems so … intuitive.”
As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she realised how foolish they sounded.
“I knew it! Oh this could really be the start of something you know. Maybe he’s done the same with your stuff and tonight, will take one look at you and think losing his suitcase was the best thing that ever happened to him. So let’s finish getting ready and get you to your Prince Charming.”
Ally didn’t have the heart to tell her about the ring, to say nothing of the fact that she didn’t want to admit she’d been prying in the bag to that extent.
Better to let her idealistic friend enjoy her fantasy, nice and all as it was.
Lara put down the curling iron and Ally shook her head, watching her shiny curls bounce. It was exactly how her mother used to do her hair every Christmas Eve when she was a child.
She went back to her room and lifted the sparkling dress off of the hanger. Then held her breath as she slipped it on, hoping it still fit after four years waiting.
After struggling with the zipper a little, Ally went to the mirror and barely recognised her own reflection.
“Here we come! Get your cameras ready,” Lara called to her husband, as Ally stood at the top of their huge staircase.
“Wow! You look … incredible. Doesn’t she look great Mark?” Lara said proudly.
She and her husband looked like proud parents standing at the bottom of the staircase as Ally descended past the twinkling Christmas tree, feeling herself almost like a fairy princess.
She smiled, doing her best to join in the excitement and despite herself, couldn’t help but wonder what J.T. might say when they finally met and he caught sight of her in this dress.
Then she kicked herself for thinking the guy would say anything other than, ‘thanks for my suitcase.’
Lara and her silly, romantic notions were well and truly starting to get to her.
Chapter 19
When her friend had told Ally that Mark’s family ran the town inn, she’d pictured a small bed and breakfast, maybe converted from an existing large old home with a few guest rooms.
She couldn’t have imagined they in fact owned a full scale hotel, with eighteen bedrooms, a fine dining restaurant, plus a ballroom big enough to hold the entire town’s population.
“This is … incredible,” Ally gushed, as she climbed the massive centre staircase that lead from the lobby to the ballroom, fully bedecked in sparkling holiday finest.
