Chapter 22

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Saturday morning, Nora arrived at the event center with the planner and lists in hand, eager to get back to planning with the event committee. She'd made a backup document with her planned orders and inventory, locked so that Sabrina couldn't sneak into it, and she'd spent the night before telling herself that it didn't matter if one person was determined to get under her skin. Everyone else was on her side, and happy to have her helping out, and that was what mattered. At the end of the day, the festival would come together and be a success, and Sabrina would see that Nora's help had been worthwhile.

She set out the boxes of decorations that she'd already bought, a stack of custom signs sitting next to them, feeling her spirits rising again. She had a date tonight with Aiden to look forward to, and while her optimism had taken a bit of a blow, she'd always been good at bouncing back. That was part of what made her such an invaluable event planner in Boston—no matter who else was melting down about plans not going the way they should or something turning up missing, she was always able to keep a cool head.

The festival was getting closer, and she needed to focus on that, and what was coming together. She looked up from organizing the table, seeing Melanie, Bethany, and some of the other women starting to filter in, and she felt the spark of excitement return.

They all started unpacking what she'd brought, setting out garlands, velvet bows, and strings of light, laying out the custom signs.

"So what do you have planned for all of this?" Melanie asked, and Nora flashed her an excited smile.

"The decorations are going to have a theme for every area of the festival. Colors, lights, ribbons, everything with a theme and a color as you move from place to place. I had all of these ordered for the booths and each station." She gestured to the signs. "And then I have new tablecloths coming that match the themed tree for the main room for the buffet. There will be food stations throughout the festival too, with their own themes for each area, and I have a list of outside caterers I want to use. They're all highly rated. A few of the items that need to be fresh the day of I'll have Marie's handle, but the other caterers will bring in the menu items the day before."

"You've really planned out every inch of this." Bethany sounded faintly impressed, and Nora's excitement turned into a warm glow at the praise.

"I wanted to really make it something grand," she enthused. "It's had a little bit of a makeshift vibe in the past, and I wanted to make it more elegant, really showcase what it could be."

"That's exactly the problem." Sabrina's sharp voice cut through the air, and Nora and everyone else turned to see her striding in, her cat-eye glasses perched on her nose as she walked quickly to where the others were standing. "‘Grand' is exactly what we don't want here. All of your ‘grand' plans are going to ruin a festival that means so much to this town. Look at all of this." She swept her hand out, indicating the shipped items laid across the table. "There's no heart to any of this. None of it supports the locals in Evergreen Hollow. None of it is handmade by us, or cherished, or passed down, or has anything to do with who we are and what we want guests at the festival to see."

She crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at Nora. "The festival is supposed to be about community. And you've just turned it into some cold corporate affair."

Nora felt her stomach sink to her toes, Sabrina's words crashing into her like an icy wave. She looked at Bethany and Melanie for help, but Melanie was biting her lip, and Bethany seemed to be considering what Sabrina was saying. Some of the other women were nodding and murmuring, as if swayed by Sabrina's argument. Or maybe they'd just been thinking that all along, and had needed someone to say it out loud so they could agree.

Tears burned at the back of her eyes, an echo of a few nights ago when she'd broached her ideas for the inn. She felt crushed, defeated. She'd put so much work into the planning, creating an elaborate vision that she'd been so excited to see come to life.

But now, it felt as if no one had really wanted her to work on the event at all. That maybe they'd just felt sorry for her—running back home with her tail tucked between her legs after a breakup—and had thought they'd give her some busy work to take her mind off of it. Maybe they'd wanted her to fail, so that she could see once and for all that this wasn't the place for her.

So that she'd go back to where she belonged.

She bit her lip to hold back the tears, not wanting to cry in front of Sabrina. "I'm—I'm just going to go," she managed, hurrying toward the door. She wanted out of the event center before she fell apart.

Nora thought she heard Melanie call after her, but she ignored it. She needed to be alone.

They could figure it out. After all, it felt very clear that they didn't need her, after all.

Aiden pulled into the driveway of The Mistletoe Inn, pleased to see that Nora was already hurrying out of the front door, clearly eager for their walk. He opened the car door for her so that she could hop into the passenger seat, then backed out of the driveway and headed toward a quieter part of town past Main Street.

Many things were closed down for the day—including the antiques store, the post office, and a few other small shops—but the trees along the sidewalk were strung with fairy lights, and the snow had a warm and cozy glow as they parked and got out of the car.

Nora had bundled up in a soft, plush-looking black jacket over leggings and boots, the navy scarf wound around her neck and tucked up under her chin, a thick black beanie pulled down over her dark hair. He thought she looked adorable all bundled up against the chill, but she had a slightly sad look on her face—not at all what he'd expected, considering how excited she'd been for their casual date.

"Is something going on?" he asked as they walked, not wanting to pry but worried about her. He linked his gloved fingers with hers, and Nora looked up at him, biting her lip.

"Sabrina and I had it out a little, at the planning meeting today. I had a bunch of the decorations ready and explained my ideas, and she just burst in and said it was all too grand!"

Nora's voice rose, more animated and cracking a little as she continued. It was clear that Sabrina had hurt her feelings badly.

"She said I've—that I've ruined everything that makes the festival special to Evergreen Hollow, that none of it supports or has anything to do with the people who live here, and that it's all just cold and corporate now." She sniffed, and Aiden thought it might not entirely be because of the cold. "I worked so hard on it, and it feels like it's all for nothing."

Aiden was quiet for a long moment as they continued to walk, and he could feel Nora looking at him.

"What are you thinking?" she asked softly, and he sighed.

"You're not going to like hearing it."

He rubbed his other hand over his mouth, feeling the light scratch of stubble under his glove. He hadn't bothered shaving before they came out for their walk, in too much of a hurry to get Nora after he'd finished up work. Besides, he thought she might like it.

"I understand where Sabrina is coming from," he admitted, glancing at Nora to weigh her reaction. "The spirit of the festival is all about keeping things local. Outsourcing any of it takes away from that. It takes away from what it's always been meant to be about. It's not about how pretty or fancy it is, it's about showcasing what's here, right here in Evergreen Hollow."

Nora swallowed hard, audibly, and he felt her tug her fingers away. The color was high in her cheeks when he looked at her again, and he could tell that she was upset. It hurt his heart to see it. He hadn't wanted to upset her. But he also wanted to be honest with her. If they were going to have any kind of relationship, they had to be able to be honest with each other.

"Some of the other women felt that way too," Nora said quietly, shoving her hands into her pockets. "They were on board until Sabrina said her piece, and I could see they'd been having some of those same thoughts. Even Bethany and Melanie weren't completely on my side anymore." She bit her lip. "I just don't think I fit in here. I'm clearly not a good match with the people here. We don't think the same. We don't see things the same way."

She looked at Aiden, her expression dulled, the earlier happiness he'd seen in her drained away.

"In Boston, I was a successful event planner. One of the top ones in my field. People loved the events I put on. They came back and asked for me again. I did graduations and weddings, bridal and baby showers, all for the same people. There's a sense of community in that too, isn't there? But they loved what I did. Everyone here thinks it's soulless."

Aiden let out a breath. He wasn't sure exactly what to say, and he didn't want to make things worse. "Just because the people here want to keep the event more local," he said slowly, "doesn't mean they don't like you, Nora. It doesn't mean that you're not fitting in here."

She looked up at him, tears glittering in her eyes. "What else would you call it?" she demanded, her voice rising slightly. He could hear the crack in it, and it made his own chest ache. "I've started to see the beauty in Evergreen Hollow, but what does that matter if no one here wants anything I can bring to the table?"

Nora swallowed hard, looking away as she clearly tried to get her emotions back under control.

"At the end of the day," she said, her voice low and edged with frustration. "The people here just can't look beyond the confines of their small town. Not even to think a little bit outside the box."

Silence hung in the air for a long moment. "You're a great example of that," she said finally, her voice still quiet as she turned to look at him. "You have a great education as a carpenter. You went to a good trade school. You have everything going for you—talent, drive, recommendations—and yet instead of using it on a bigger scale, where your abilities could have really shone, you came back to Evergreen Hollow."

He recoiled slightly, the words stinging. He took a step back, slightly, feeling as if she'd reached in and poked a nerve that she in particular knew how to find. It hurt, to have his confidences used against him like that.

"And all you ever cared about was climbing the ladder," he retorted, his voice still quiet and even, but no less sharp. "There's more to life than that, Nora! All this knowledge you have about how to put together an event and what goes with what and how to attract visitors."

He waved his hands in frustration, letting out a breath as he tried to find the right words through his anger and hers.

"What matters , ultimately, is the personal touch. The thoughtfulness that goes into something. All these grand plans you have for the festival are perfect examples of that . These people don't want impersonal and fancy. They don't want perfectly catered menus and custom signs that someone who's never been to Evergreen Hollow or cared about it made."

He let out a heavy sigh, feeling a distance between them that hadn't been there before.

"They just want to have a good time with their neighbors, and celebrate with them," Aiden said finally. "Even if it comes off as a little tacky in the execution."

Nora swallowed hard, nodding. He thought he'd never seen her look so sad, and his chest ached, knowing he'd contributed to it. But he couldn't have lied to her. He couldn't have said he felt differently than he did, and he hoped she wouldn't have wanted him to.

"I should've just let the planning committee handle it themselves." Nora turned away, starting to walk back toward where he'd parked the truck. "I should never have tried to help."

"That wouldn't have been necessary," he started to say, but she shook her head, walking a little faster.

"I'm tired." Her shoulders hunched forward, her head ducked down. "I should go home."

The drive back was silent, the truck filled with all the things he wished he could say and all the things she seemed to wish she hadn't. She got out of the truck before he could come around to open her door, without saying goodbye. There was a heavy feeling as she stepped out, and he wondered if he'd see her again.

They hadn't parted ways like this before. He didn't like it.

But he didn't know what to do to fix it either… or if he even should.