Lydia's Pine Harbor Christmas, стр. 2
Lydia studied Allie. “And Marco’s opinion affects matters how?” Sure, Marco was a half owner—a tremendous accomplishment for someone so young. He had his older brother to thank for getting the business on its feet, but Marco was amazing at his job. Sometimes he looked more like a monarch holding court than a bartender serving drinks. Perhaps she was biased, but she recognized his flaws too. Lydia wouldn’t trust the guy to match his own socks, so she was baffled by Allie’s sudden interest in his decorating opinion. Theo was no better, unless the goal was to deck the place with sports memorabilia. Lydia could only imagine what that would look like. Deck the halls with balls of volley, ball-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la.
Marco dried his hands on a bar towel and joined them. “What’s up?”
Allie looked around helplessly, which made Lydia smile. Very little in life rendered Allie helpless, so she had to be up to something. “We’re out of greenery.”
That didn’t make sense. If Allie was angling for more money to buy decorations, she could easily have asked Theo. Unless he’d just snuck out the back door, Lydia was pretty sure Theo was in his office, which was just a short walk through the kitchen.
Marco took the greenery news well. “This looks amazing.” He turned and looked back toward the bar, but before he could leave, Allie hooked her arm around his elbow. “This is only the beginning. Marco, when’s the last time you got out for a good whiff of fresh air?”
He eyed her skeptically. “I took the trash out ten minutes ago.”
She laughed. “But wouldn’t it be fun to go strolling through the woods, gathering evergreen branches and twigs?”
His eyebrows drew together. “Frolicking through the woods isn’t really my thing.”
“Frolicking? I believe I said strolling. By which I mean hiking with your blue jeans tucked into a pair of good, sturdy boots and an ax resting on your plaid-flannel-shirted shoulder.”
“So, like, a regular day.” His eyes twinkled. “Look, Allie, why don’t you work out this Paul Bunyan fantasy of yours with my brother. I’m not judging. What happens with you two stays with you two. I just don’t want to know.”
“Very funny! I just need some greenery to finish decorating here. You may not be able to envision it now, but you’ll thank me later. People want to see decorations at this time of year. It puts them in the holiday spirit.”
“I’ve got a few bottles behind the bar that’ll put people in the holiday spirit.”
“Wrong spirit. Here’s my dilemma. I’ve got some inventory coming in tomorrow, and I really have to be in the shop. So if you could gather some greenery, that would be a huge help.”
Lydia tried not to smile as Marco’s face took on a pained but polite expression. “What kind of greenery?”
Allie’s eyebrows furrowed a little too much. “Oh, you know. Tell him, Lydia.”
Lydia shot a look at Allie, who in turn did an excellent job of avoiding eye contact. That left Lydia to explain. “You know… evergreen stuff like you see on the trees and wrapped around… things at this time of year.” She looked sideways at Allie.
Allie narrowed her eyes and appeared to be thinking. “You’re not going to know what to get. No, you’re going to need help, aren’t you?” Before he could answer, Allie said, “Unfortunately, I’ll be stuck at the shop.” Her face brightened. “Oh! But Lydia here knows exactly what’s needed.”
Lydia forced a smile. Allie, no. I know you’re trying to help because you see me staring at Marco all the time, which I’ve really got to get better control of, but you’re not helping me get over this hopeless crush, so…
“Lydia! Why don’t you go with Marco? I can check my inventory while you gather all that we need to finish decorating the bar. Perfect! Problem solved.”
Your problem, maybe, but you’ve just made mine worse.
Allie cast a purposeful look Marco’s way. “Lydia will know just what I need, and you’ve got just the right muscles to get the job done.” She smiled at Lydia. “I’ve got an old sled in the back of the shop. You could use that to drag the heavier branches and whatnot. We need enough to finish decorating the entrance, and we’ll need some smaller bits for the table arrangements. Oh, and some pine cones would be nice. Make that a few dozen. I’ll find some red ribbon—or red plaid, even better—and floral wire. Keep an eye out for some mistletoe, but just to be safe, I’ll stop at the florist.” She clasped her hands to her chest. “Oh, it’s going to look so gorgeous in here!”
Marco seemed confused, but that was the least of Lydia’s worries. She’d been counting on Marco to nix the whole thing, but he hadn’t. The whole greenery-and-pinecone-gathering outing was beginning to look like a done deal. Lydia took a breath and prepared to protest, but Allie continued.
“The bar opens at eleven, so you’ll both need to be out bright and early so that Marco can make it back in time for the lunch rush. How does seven o’clock sound?”
“How about eight?” Marco offered. Marco tossed a questioning look at Lydia, and she responded with a helpless shrug. Sounding resigned, Marco said, “Okay, I’ll pick you up at eight. I’ll bring coffee. I know how you are in the morning.” He grinned then returned to the bar.
In disbelief, Lydia watched him walk away. “I’ll bring coffee?” Isn’t it enough that he sets off my smart watch’s health app cardio alarm? Does he have to be so thoughtful too? It looked like they would be spending the morning together. So much for putting distance between them. It would be so much easier if he were a jerk or unbearably dull. Then it wouldn’t matter how handsome he was. He would be easy to dismiss. But