Officially, eight hours till party time, and things are going surprisingly smoothly… aside from the massive migraine that I’ve had since this morning that I’m sure is stress related.
If I’m honest, all I want to do is crawl back into Jackson’s ridiculously comfy bed and sleep for the next twelve hours. My body is sore in all of the best places from last night, and as anxious as I am for this party to go off without a hitch, I’m looking forward to catching up on sleep without the stress of this party hanging over my head.
“Emma, darling?”
The voice pulls me from my thoughts, and I glance up to see my mother walking toward me. She’s wearing a two-piece suit, heels, and a matching pair of pearls, flawless as always.
“Hi, Mom,” I say, stepping in to give her a hug, to-do list still clutched in my hand. “You know the party doesn’t start for another eight hours, right?”
She nods. “Of course. I just wanted to check in on you. It’s been a couple weeks since you stopped by the house, but I know how hard you’ve been working on the party. Is there anything I can do to help?”
Stealing a glance at my list, I shake my head. “Nope. I think we’ve got it covered. I just need to get home and change, then get back up here so I can make sure everything is delivered and set up correctly.”
Mom looks around the building, her eyes raking over the decorations, the table settings, the lights twinkling along the rafters courtesy of Jackson and his brothers.
“Everything truly looks amazing, darling. I’m so proud of you,” she says, reaching out to pat my arm affectionately. “I see you’ve kept the Worthington place card holders—they are a lovely addition. Oh! And the tree. Beautiful. Your father and I are not overjoyed about having to be with the Pearce family tonight, but we will be here for you. He needs to see all of the hard work you’ve put in despite the adversity you’ve faced having to work with… them.”
“Well, thank you for the compliment and for being here tonight,” I say, suddenly overcome with the urge to hug my mom. I toss my arms around her and hold her close against me. This year might be different when it comes to our family tradition, and I know she’s not happy that it’s changing, but it means a lot to me that she’s here.
I feel her pat my back and whisper against my ear, “I’d do anything for you, darling girl.”
I didn’t realize how much I needed this until now. The last few weeks have been a whirlwind of different emotions, and in the midst of all of it, I feel different.
Happier. Lighter.
“I love you, Mom.”
“I love you too, darling,” she says, and I swear that I hear her sniffle, but she clears her throat and pulls back. “Goodness, enough of that. I’ll let you get back to it, and I’ll see you tonight, okay? Oh, and you may want to turn the heat up in here—it’s quite chilly. You’ll want to make sure all of our guests are nice and warm.”
“I’ve been so busy setting up I didn’t even notice. I’ll let them know to turn it up. See you tonight.” With a smile and a wave goodbye, she walks out of the door, leaving me alone.
I feel better, less nervous, after talking to Mom, and now I’m ready to get home, put on the most beautiful dress I’ve ever owned, and throw the best dang party that Strawberry Hollow has ever had. All with Jackson by my side.
After one last run-through, I leave the catering company to finish setting up, let the maintenance guys know to turn up the heat, then grab my bag and head out the door.
The moment I walk back across the threshold, I know something is very, very wrong.
It’s freezing.
It’s barely three o’clock in the afternoon, and I can see my breath… inside Town Hall.
Of course, I’m already completely dressed for tonight in my party dress and favorite Louboutins. I wanted to make sure I was ready and back here in case there were any last-minute issues, which clearly… there are.
“Has anyone seen Jackson?” I ask Gary, the maintenance and lawn guy for the city, as he passes by, a look of worry on his face.
Great, even Gary looks worried. Something is definitely wrong.
He doesn’t say anything but points toward the back room, where moments later, Jackson comes strolling out. I expected him to be dressed for the party, but instead, he’s got his signature worn jeans and a flannel on, and he’s covered in black dirt with a large wrench in his hand.
Oh God.
He looks irrationally hot right now, but I can’t even focus on that because I am now full-blown panicking.
“Please tell me that it’s just me and it isn’t actually this cold in here,” I tell him when he stops in front of me.
I can tell just by the expression on his face that that isn’t the case at all.
“I wish I could, Snowflake,” he says softly, gently, as if I’m a wounded animal about to flee. “Heating’s out. The furnace should’ve been replaced a damn decade ago. I tried but couldn’t fix it.”
Groaning, I drop my face to my hands, tears welling in my eyes. I knew things were going too smoothly. There was no possible way everything was going to go that great.
I was waiting for the other shoe to drop, and it did.
“Hey,” Jackson says as he sets the wrench down onto a nearby chair, tipping my chin up to look at him. “We’ll figure it out, Emma. It’s going to be okay.”
“Jackson, it is not going to be okay!” I sniffle as his thumb swipes along my cheek, brushing away the stray tear that has fallen. “God, I had this perfect plan. Every single detail planned out and even a plan B, although I was sure that I would never need it. Well, guess what I didn’t plan for? The venue not being usable. This is a disaster, and now the entire party is going to be ruined. We put so much hard work into making this place go from drab and dreary to a winter wonderland, and it’s ruined.”
I’m full-on crying now, and I know my makeup is probably smeared down my face at this point, but I’m so upset and disappointed.
“Fuck, I hate seeing you cry, Emma,” Jackson says. “Baby, I will fix this. Maybe not the furnace, but this party is far from ruined. We’re going to have the best damn party that Strawberry Hollow has ever seen.”
I want to laugh at how confident his words sound, but I’m too distraught at this point.
“What can we do? It’s not like we have a ton of spare buildings ready to host the entire town, Jackson. And the food? The decorations? The band?” My chest starts to feel tight when I start to think of all the moving pieces that I need to align for this damn party to happen.
His chest rises as he exhales, still holding me to him, and then he pulls back to look at me. “I’ve got an idea. You might hate it, but I think it’s the best one we’ve got, Snowflake.”
At this point, we’re going to have to take what we can get, or this party is not going to happen. And to save both of our reputations and records, there has to be a party.
“I’m listening.”