She still had a lingering twinge in her wrist and shoulder but even that was fading. “I have to go to the pharmacy, anyway, for Maddie and to be honest, I’m looking forward to finally seeing a little more of Haven Point.”
The past week had been so busy, she hadn’t even had a chance to leave the ranch. It was hard to have cabin fever in a vast twelve-thousand-square-foot lodge complete with all the amenities of a small resort but a change of scenery would certainly be welcome.
“You said you needed cream of tartar?” she asked.
“That’s right. How can I make snickerdoodles without cream of tartar?”
“Excellent question. I’ll be happy to pick some up for you. How much do you need?”
“Better get me at least four of the biggest spice containers they have. Aidan has always loved my snickerdoodles and he assures me his family will, too.”
“Because you make the best snickerdoodles in the whole wide world,” Maddie declared from her elbow.
Sue smiled down at her, rubbing her head. The two of them had become fast friends, too, these last few days. Sue clearly adored Eliza’s daughter and treated her like a beloved granddaughter. Her quiet, darling husband did the same.
In their many conversations over the past few days, Eliza had learned that Sue and Jim had found each other late in life, too late to start a family. Sue had confessed that being with Maddie made her ache for the children and grandchildren she never had.
“Wait until you try my cut-out sugar cookies, darlin’,” she said now to Maddie. “I promise, you’ll be in cookie heaven.”
Maddie giggled. “There’s no such thing!”
“You say that because you haven’t tried my cookies yet.”
Eliza smiled. “Okay, cream of tartar. Anything else?”
“Let me check.”
Sue pulled down the notebook she used to organize menus and shopping lists for the party. “I think that should be everything. Aidan is supposed to be bringing some of the specialty items I can’t find locally.”
“And he’s coming home tonight?” she asked, trying for a casual tone even as her pulse hitched up a notch.
“Tonight or tomorrow. When he called this morning, he still didn’t know when his meetings would be done.”
Against her will, Eliza’s gaze shifted to the sofa in the kitchen sitting area, where they had shared that stunning kiss.
Try as she might, she couldn’t seem to shake the memory. She had started to avoid sitting down on that particular sofa because she could swear the clean, deliciously masculine scent of him still drifted in the air.
After six days she should be over this ridiculous and completely embarrassing crush she had developed—especially since she hadn’t even seen the man since that kiss.
The day after their early-morning conversation and embrace, he had made himself scarce, spending his time either outside helping Jim clear away the fresh snow or holed up in his office on phone calls. She knew, because every time she walked past his office toward the other rooms she was working on in that area of the house, the muted murmur of his voice through the closed door seemed to shiver through her as if he had trailed a finger down her spine.
The next morning, Tuesday, she found out after breakfast that he was gone, ostensibly to handle urgent, last-minute negotiations for a company Caine Tech wanted to acquire.
She was grateful he was gone, she told herself. Without his presence, some of the fine-edged tension under her skin seemed to dissipate and she could really go to work making his house into a warm and welcoming haven.
“Looks like we’re running low on baking powder,” Sue finally said. “Why don’t you pick up more of that and maybe some of that local artisanal cheese they carry in front of the store?”
“Got it. Cream of tartar, baking powder and cheese. Okay, find your coat, Mads.”
“Why don’t you leave the little one here?” Sue suggested. “I can sure use a little help decorating the sugar cookies.”
Maddie’s eyes widened. “Oh, can I, Mama? I want to decorate sugar cookies! You know I love putting on the sprinkles.”
She smiled. “That does sound like fun. You always have been an extrasprinkles girl, haven’t you?”
“Can we make some angels with silver wings?” Maddie suggested to Sue.
“I do think I might have a cookie cutter in the shape of an angel. We’ll see what we can do.”
Though Eliza was torn about leaving her daughter, she didn’t feel like she could deprive her of this fun. “Thank you,” she said to Sue. “I know you have plenty to do without babysitting, too.”
“Are you kidding? I’m not babysitting her, she’s helping me. Anyway, I love the company. Take all the time you need. There are a few nice shops in town you should check out while you’re there, especially if you need anything else on your Christmas list.”
Christmas. It always seemed like such an abstract concept until it started getting this close. The holiday was just around the corner, only five more days—this was Friday and Aidan’s family would be arriving the following Tuesday, the day before Christmas Eve.
She still had so much to do but as she walked through the house on her way to the garage, she couldn’t help admiring what she had accomplished so far.
She was far from an interior decorator but she did know the little touches that warmed up a room and made a guest feel welcome. A beautiful home wasn’t necessarily a gracious one and she wanted his family to remember how comfortable they felt at Snow Angel Cove.
To that end, she had made sure every bedroom had extra blankets, house slippers and fuzzy socks in various sizes, water carafes for the bedside tables, little baskets full of designer toiletries she had ordered rush delivery from the same supplier she had used at the hotel. She had carefully selected books and magazines for each room according to what she knew about his family and had worked late into the night making basic instruction manuals that explained in simple terms how to work the electronics, the wi-fi passwords and the gas fireplaces.
To make each room more festive, she and Maddie had spent a wonderful afternoon cutting boughs and glossy red winterberries from the abundant forested areas around the house and then arranging them on mantels and in containers on side tables. They had used extra to make wreaths to hang on some of the doors. Each room also contained a small four-foot Christmas tree, decorated with the individual guests in mind.
Would he like the little touches or would he think she had overstepped?
She supposed she would find out when he returned. If he had been here, she could have asked his opinion and at least had a little direction. Sue had approved of everything she had done, so Eliza had to hope she was on the right track.
If he hated everything, she could strip the house back to the cool, impersonal shell it had been four days ago.
A few moments later, she was pulling
