Holiday Wedding (17 page)

And that had been her choice. Not wanting to spend an awkward evening with Drew and Olivia, she and Miles had had dinner at Dasher's Diner and then met James for a holiday drink.

Now they were in the town's high school gymnasium with over fifty fellow exhibiters setting up for the Frost Festival.

When Luke had told them about the festival, he'd boasted that it was a Christmas spectacle, attracting over ten thousand visitors. She glanced around the gym, highly doubting more than one thousand could walk among the vendors at any given time.

It was incredibly festive with toy, food, and craft displays. She'd give him that. Lauren planned on soaking in all the Christmas cheer and hoped some of it would rub off and improve her mood after yesterday's events.

Last night had been tough. It killed her knowing Drew was back at the cabin alone with Olivia. The thought of him starting that fire he'd promised for her and then enjoying it in front of the Christmas tree they'd decorated with another woman caused Lauren to have a few more candy cane martinis than she'd intended.

“Thanks.” She took a sip and glanced at the cup's label. “Comet Coffee, of course.”

Drew laughed at the reindeer reference. “Cute little place around the corner. Where did Olivia and Miles run off to?”

She knew the answer and was grateful to the person who'd kidnapped the two shortly after Drew dashed off for coffee. “Natasha's taken them to Santa's Workshop. They'll be back in an hour or so.”

“You're kidding. What, is it a law that every visitor make toys within their first twenty-four hours in this town?”

“Maybe.” She took a longer drink and popped open her laptop. “We missed you last night when we got back to the cabin.” She tried to act all nonchalant, but it drove her crazy knowing that Drew had spent the evening with Olivia, not to mention slept in the same bed.

“It was an early night. What did you do?”

“Oh you know, spread some Christmas cheer.” She giggled. “James met Miles and me after dinner for a drink.”

“I'm sure that was fun,” he said with his all-too-familiar sarcasm aimed at either her spreading holiday cheer or hanging out with Miles. Probably both.

“It wasn't quite the evening I thought it was going to be.”

He reached out and touched her arm. “Listen, Lauren. You have to know … I didn't mean for yesterday afternoon to happen.”

She glanced down at his hand, before shifting her gaze to meet his. “What? The kiss or Olivia showing up?”

His face softened. “Believe me. I really wanted to take you back to the cabin and pick up where we left off.”

“And?” She paused, taking a deep breath. If she didn't ask the question, she might never. “How do you feel now?”

“I still do,” he said almost in a whisper.

Relief washed over her. “You do?” she asked, unable to hide the hope in her voice.

“Yes … and I feel awful.” He removed his hand and raked it through his hair.

She blew out a breath, understanding exactly how he felt. “I know. I do, too. I don't want to come between you and—” She stopped, unable to finish her sentence without her eyes filling up.

Reaching over, he stroked her cheek with the back of his finger. “You're not. I'll fix this. I just need some time.”

I'll fix this.
Somehow she wasn't comforted by his words. No. There was a bigger issue between them that had been bothering her for days. Even if he broke up with Olivia, how could Drew fix their relationship that had been apparently broken for years without either one of them realizing it? It was all she'd thought about last night as she tossed and turned.

Lauren looked past him to see James and two other guys wheeling in their direction three large carts overflowing with Happily Ever After dolls. “Why don't we concentrate on today's task for now? We've got a lot to do.”

“Hey, guys.” James came up beside them, ending any more talk about last night. “We've got all the dolls out of storage. Where would you like them?”

Lauren stepped in front of the first cart, relieved for the distraction. “Hi, kids. Welcome to Snow Frost Mountain,” she joked. “Let's stack them behind the table like a Christmas tree pyramid.”

“Wonderful!” James clapped his hands. “I've got some tinsel we can wrap around them, and a big ole giant star for the top doll.”

Drew chuckled.

“What?” James asked.

“Nothing. 'Tis the season,” Drew said sarcastically as James bounced off to get the decorations.

Lauren came up and swatted him. “Be nice.”

“You do realize that guy is
exactly
like Miles.”

She couldn't help but laugh because Drew was right. The two seemed to hit it off last night as they both tried to make her feel better. She'd even caught Miles entering what she presumed was his number in James's phone when she returned from the restroom.

Over the next thirty minutes, Lauren and Drew began setting up shop, deciding to take several of the dolls out of their boxes for kids to play with while they both talked up the toy to parents, grandparents—really any adult who was willing to listen to their spiel. Lauren's laptop was now set up off to the right, where customers could log in to the Happily Ever After website, register the dolls, and find out the name of their doll's soul mate.

She pushed a couple of empty boxes to the side. “Drew, I didn't find any fliers advertising the contest for the complimentary trip to New York City and the grand-prize shopping spree, did you?”

“Not yet, but I bet they're in here.” Drew reached inside the last cart and pulled out a small brown box. Grabbing a box cutter, he set it on the table and sliced it open. “
Voila
.”

“Excellent. Why don't we start handing them out?” Lauren pointed to the line of festival goers that formed at the entrance. “Get a head start. Natasha dropped off some homemade Christmas candy that we can also pass out.”

“Let's do this.” Drew pulled out a red flier, and his eyes widened. “No freakin' way.”

“What? Don't tell me there's a typo.” Lauren highly doubted their team wouldn't catch any edits before they were printed, but mistakes happened.

“If it's a typo, it's a big one.” He shook his head. “I can't believe this.”

“Let me see.” She snatched the paper from his hands, staring down at the cursive congratulations message.

Congratulations on your purchase.

Your Happily Ever After is a click away. Happily Ever After dolls Anna and Tyler have come to Snow Frost Mountain to find their soul mates. Help them by purchasing a doll. If your doll is Anna, Tyler, or their soul mates, you will win a quarter of a million dollars. Now, that's a happy ending!

Luke Cannon, CEO, JDL Toys, Inc.

“Oh … my … God!” Lauren's hand flew over her mouth. “Can Luke do this?”

“Apparently my brother had a bigger trick up his sleeve from the company reserves or from his own bank account.” Drew held up a letter on Luke's signature CEO stationary. “Looks like Father Christmas sent us different instructions.”

“What does it say?”

“It says that Anna and Tyler must be added into the dolls available for purchase and that their soul mates could be here or at any JDL Toys store around the world.”

“What? That means at least two winners are guaranteed to be from Snow Frost Mountain. We're sure to sell out once this is announced.” Lauren shook her head in utter shock. She hadn't seen this twist coming by a mile.

“Un-freakin'-believable. It says here the press conference starts at noon.”

Lauren understood Drew's annoyance, wishing she could also give Luke a piece of her mind. “This is kind of BS. I'm his VP of marketing and you invented the darn toy. We should have been told about this. We're not ready for a press conference, let alone prepared for the stampede once we announce it.”

Drew's initial surprise seemed to all but disappear. “Welcome to working for Luke. It's typical of him, riding in on his gallant steed to save the day. I should have known he'd pull something like this.”

Lauren turned her back to the growing crowd hovering near the entrance. Would there be a race to the dolls once the news broke? Despite wanting to wring Luke's neck for ambushing them with this enormous upgrade to the original NYC trip and shopping spree, they were sure to sell all the dolls in a matter of minutes. Moreover, once the media got word of this contest, there was going to be a mad rush to JDL Toys stores around the globe. Pissed at Luke or not, she couldn't deny that this holiday contest just might be brilliant.

“Your brother's one smart man—crazy, but smart. It's a good thing I brought my laptop.” She looked at the growing crowd outside. “Maybe James or Natasha could hook us up with a few more computers. Everyone is going to want to register their dolls for a shot at that prize.” She giggled, grabbing the Tyler doll. “You, little man, are worth quite a bit and going to make one family very happy. Don't let fame and fortune go to your head.”

“There's just one problem,” Drew said. Coming up beside her, he grabbed the doll out of her hand.

“What?”

“I gave Anna away, remember? To Sara, the little girl I met at the Gingerbread House.”

“Oh my gosh. That's right.” She pulled out her purse from underneath the table and retrieved her phone. “Let's call Miles and see if Natasha is still with him. We'll get the family's number from her so you can share the good news and invite them to the press conference.”

“We can't do that,” he said flatly. His gaze transfixed on the dolls.

“Why not?” Lauren couldn't quite figure out his frustration. Regardless of the way Luke had ambushed them with the new contest, this was exactly what they needed. Never mind moving the sales needle; this weekend, they'd be smashing it. The company would no doubt get a ton of publicity. Why was Drew not on board? “Don't you want to give Sara and her family the money?”

“Of course I do. God knows they could use it. But we can't.”

Lauren cocked her head. “Why not?”

“Because think about how it's going to look. The creator of the toy gave a doll worth a quarter of a million dollars away …”

Lauren was starting to understand what he was getting at. “You think it will appear that the contest is rigged.”

“Don't you?”

She bit down on her lip. He had a good point. While it would be wonderful to give the little girl and her family one of the four exorbitant cash prizes, it wouldn't look good for JDL Toys if the contest appeared to be fixed. “I think you're right.” She sighed, not liking at all what she was about to suggest. “We could get the doll back, mix it in with all the others, and let her choose a new one. She could still pick Anna again.”

Drew shook his head. “No, I'm not taking her doll. Luke can choke on his million-dollar investment. We're not promoting this contest.”

“Drew, you can't be serious.” She grabbed the flier, trying to think of a loophole so Sara could keep her doll. Maybe instead of Anna, they could choose another brunette doll for the prize money. “Okay, I agree. The contest is extreme, and I'm just as upset as you that it's been sprung on us like this …” She stopped, needing to choose her words wisely. She knew how sensitive Drew was to feeling like Luke was always one step ahead of him.

“Maybe this is what we need to get these dolls sold. Everyone out there in line is going to want to buy one, if not two or three—not to mention what's going to happen all over the world when news of this contest spreads. Drew, your dolls are going to fly off the shelves. Isn't that our end goal?”

“But it's not the doll they're buying. The toy is just an expensive lottery ticket. Who knows if they'll go online or engage with our brand? This isn't the way. It's not what I want.”

Lauren blinked. Who was this guy in front of her? The old Drew would have been high-fiving everyone in the gymnasium while announcing this over-the-top contest. She took a deep breath. “What do you want?”

He came around the table and put his hands to her waist. The simple act made her heart race. “Lauren, I
need
these to sell on their own and not because of some life-changing prize. I believe in this toy. I need you to believe in it, too.”

“Drew…” She paused. How could she believe in a product that her market research didn't support? This was their opportunity to resuscitate the dolls. But, gazing into his blue eyes that all but begged her to believe in him, she realized that she had only one option.

She held the flier up and with one swift motion tore it in half. “No contest. No gimmicks. Just the dolls.”

His arms went around her waist as he lifted her up and spun her around. “Thank you, baby. You don't know how much this means to me.”

Caught up in his calling her “baby,” she stayed in his embrace a few more seconds before sliding down his arms. She picked up the Tyler doll. “You know, Drew. You're going to have to explain to Red that he's not worth two hundred and fifty grand.”

He laughed and his face lit up brighter than the lights he'd strung up on their cabin's Christmas tree. “I know we can do this. Remember, we can do anything together.”

“Yeah, but a million dollars might have helped us get a head start.”

“Not this time. He rubbed her shoulders and that simple act caused a rush of heat to pulse through her. “It's cold outside. Why don't I go out and greet folks? You okay here?”

“Yeah.” She waved him off, watching as he greeted a returning Olivia and Miles at the gymnasium's entrance. Olivia showed off a small train in her palm to a smiling Drew. Lauren took a deep breath, sending a reminder to every jealous bone in her body that he had asked for time. Still, it hurt to see another woman gushing up at him.