Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE

That Monday morning, Nora was home and completely consumed with decorating for the holiday.

She’d been so excited for this when she and Aiden had picked out their house. He’d sold his just before the wedding, and they’d bought a beautiful Victorian house at the edge of town a week before the big day. It wasn’t hugely grand or anything like that—none of the houses in Evergreen Hollow were—but it was the most charming house she thought she’d ever seen. It had several Victorian features that she loved, and a uniquely fancy parlor-style living room that had made her fall in love with it the moment she’d seen it.

As soon as they’d toured the house, she’d started picturing how she would decorate for the holidays. All of the unique aspects of it made her think automatically of how she could use them to put a twist on her holiday decorations, how she could make them special and different from anything she’d done before. It felt like second nature to her at this point, after her years as a decorator and event planner.

She was glad, she thought as she strung a garland across the fireplace mantle, that she’d been able to find a way to keep doing that after moving back home to Evergreen Hollow. She’d been prepared to figure out something else to do for work, unsure if her job would translate. It was on a much smaller scale, that was for sure, but she liked that. She’d gotten to slow down, exactly the way she’d wanted to. And between the needs of the locals in Evergreen Hollow and jobs in the surrounding towns, she’d stayed plenty busy.

Nora checked her watch, before opening a box of ornaments and sifting through them. She had a client meeting in half an hour for the baby shower that she’d been hired to coordinate, but she was having so much fun with the Christmas decorations that she wanted to squeak out every last minute that she could working on it.

She’d been on pins and needles to decorate since Thanksgiving, but Caroline had asked for her help with the plan for the decorations at the inn, and she’d wanted to help her sister. Now that was done, she had time to focus on her own house.

One benefit of living in a small town, she reflected, as she picked up a silver and white reindeer ornament and examined it, was her meeting was less than a ten-minute walk away, and there was no traffic.

She heard the sound of the door opening and jumped a little, startled. A moment later, her husband poked his head around the doorway, grinning as he saw the chaos of the open boxes and holiday decor everywhere.

“I had a break on the construction job,” Aiden said, grinning. “Figured I’d surprise you and we could have lunch together.”

Nora flushed, feeling a sheepish smile cross her face. “I got caught up decorating,” she confessed, motioning at the mess around the living room. “I think cold sandwiches are going to have to do.”

“I love your cold sandwiches.” Aiden turned around in a slow circle, taking in everything she’d done so far. “You’ve really outdone yourself on the decorations. This looks like something out of one of those magazines you’re always reading.”

Nora laughed, a sheepish smile tilting the corners of her mouth. “I love the small-town events here. And it really feels like I’m doing something special, every time I help put one together. But sometimes I miss coordinating the fancier events,” she admitted. “So I figured I’d go all out here, for our house. Scratch that itch a little, and really go all out. Like you said.”

Aiden leaned down, kissing her forehead. “It’s fit for a grand ball, I think. It would suit a fancy party perfectly.”

She let out a small gasp as his words sank in, pulling back suddenly as her face lit up. “You just had the best idea!” she exclaimed, and Aiden chuckled.

“Yeah?”

“Yes!” Nora looked around excitedly. “What if we had a fancy Christmas party here at our house? This front parlor is so incredibly gorgeous.” She turned in a wide circle, gesturing around at the space, the huge windows, the beautiful fireplace—all laced with perfectly arranged Christmas decorations now. “It would be a shame not to deck it out completely for the holidays and then celebrate with everyone. A real Victorian Christmas party! We can theme it and everything, it would be so much fun.”

Aiden grinned, clearly pleased with her excitement. “I think that’s a great idea. You love doing it so much, it won’t even be work. And our friends and family will get a real kick out of it, I think.”

Nora nodded. “Yes! I’m going to start planning now. I know I have a few magazines around here with some ideas.”

Aiden chuckled. “Don’t forget you have a meeting,” he said, starting to amble toward the kitchen in search of lunch.

She paused mid-scramble, already looking through a stack of decorating magazines that she’d pulled out earlier. “Oh, you’re right.” Nora laughed, brushing some of her hair that had fallen out of her bun in her hurry out of her face. “I got a little ahead of myself. I’ll work on it when I get back, then.”

“Go on, so you’re not late. I’ll fix myself a sandwich.” Aiden leaned against the doorway, watching her with a sparkle of amusement in his eyes, and Nora went to give him one more kiss. She was still amazed, sometimes, by how handsome of a man she’d married.

“Are you sure? I’m sorry, I know you came home to have lunch with me.”

“We get to have lunch together whenever we want now.” Aiden returned the kiss, smiling down at her. “Tell me all about it when we have dinner tonight.”

“Okay.” Nora flashed him a smile. “I’m looking forward to it.”

She grabbed her tote bag with her planner and the layouts she’d designed for the party, eager to get to the meeting and then spend the rest of her afternoon scoping out ideas for her own.

This Christmas season was already shaping up to be a wonderful one.