I pulled out my phone to check the schedule Avalon sent out to the wedding party. “I don’t have to be anywhere until noon, right?”
“That’s right.” Dirk elbowed me in the side. “I heard some of the bridesmaids are going out after this. Maybe you want to join them?”
I reached for my club soda with lime. “Nah. They’ll have more fun without me.”
“One of these days, you’ll get him to settle down.” Avalon leaned into Dirk.
“I’m already settled.” I had a business I loved, owned my own home, even had a dog to share it all with. There was only one thing I was missing in my life, but I wasn’t about to admit it to two people who clearly thought all of their friends should be tying the knot along with them.
With dinner drawing to an end, Dirk got up and said a few words. He thanked everyone for coming and shared some last-minute details people needed to know for the next day. His dad gave one last toast and then the servers started clearing plates. I took that as a sign it was time to go.
Hoping Holly had reconsidered my offer, I pushed back from the table and walked over to where she stood talking to Avalon’s stepdad, who I realized was also her father.
“All I’m asking for is a few minutes of your time, Dad.” Desperation laced through her tone.
“After the wedding, Holly.” He had on a dark sports coat with a crisp dress shirt underneath. A touch of gray colored his temples, giving him that distinguished corporate vibe. He nodded toward me, then reached out and squeezed Holly’s arm. “If you’ll excuse me.”
She let out a sigh full of frustration.
“So…” I started. “Any interest in taking me up on my offer to show you the magic of Christmas?”
“Will there be alcohol involved?” She turned to me, and I recognized the pissed off, had-it-up-to-there look in her eyes.
“There can be.”
“I need to get out of here. Let’s go.” She hooked her arm around mine and tugged me toward the door. It didn’t seem right to silently thank her dad for putting her in a bad enough mood that a sharing a cocktail with me became such an appealing option, but I managed a quick glance toward the heavens.
Ten minutes later, I’d picked up a bottle of cinnamon-flavored whiskey and we were headed out of town in the front seat of my brother Owen’s truck.
“Do you want to talk about it?” I asked.
“There’s nothing to talk about. My dad calls the shots. Always has and always will. I just thought he might be willing to,”—she sighed and turned to look out the window—“I don’t know, give me a chance to prove myself.”
Holiday music played low in the background. Holly reached out and pressed the button to switch to a different station. I didn’t want to be the one to tell her that this close to Christmas, she’d have trouble finding anything but holiday tunes on the airwaves. She gave up on the music and turned the whole radio off.
“You work with your dad?” I asked. Dirk said something about Avalon’s dad owning some hotels, but I hadn’t paid too much attention.
“I’d say I workformy dad, not necessarily with him. His company owns several hotel chains. I want to niche down and start a chain of luxury boutique properties. He won’t even give me a chance to make my pitch.” She glanced over at me. “I don’t want to talk about me anymore. Tell me about you.”
“What do you want to know?”
“Why do you love Christmas so much?”
“You’re about to find out.” I turned off the pavement onto a narrow dirt road. One of my friends from high school had taken some vacant land his family owned and turned it into a drive-thru Festival of Lights. They’d shut down over an hour ago, but I’d sent him a text before we left town to see if he’d be willing to leave the lights on for a little while so I could show them to Holly.
“What’s this?” She peered through the windshield as we drove through the gates.
“You’ll see.” I stopped by the hut where they usually sold tickets. My buddy handed me two to-go cups full of hot chocolate and two big candy canes.
“Take your time going through. Just flip the main switch here on your way out and close the gate behind you.” He waved at Holly through the open window. “Merry Christmas.”
She gave him a forced smile as I handed her a cup of cocoa. “Thanks, you too.”
I thanked him and slowly pulled past the gates. “You can’t even say it, can you?”
“Say what?” She’d loosened the lid of the cinnamon whiskey and splashed a little into her cup. “Want some?”
“No thanks. Even though we’re only going five miles per hour, I’m still driving.”