Ash studied her more closely. Sofia never answered a chance to talk about a trip out of town with only three words. “Did you get Isaiah some new clothes?” he prodded.
“Yep.”
“Talkative today, aren’t you?”
Sofia’s faced relaxed, and she gave him her usual playful smile. “Okay, you got me. It was great until the end. Then things got a little awkward between Isaiah and me.”
Ash tensed, and Sofia quickly read the look on his face, shaking her head. “Not like that. He just kind of… wants to date me, I think.”
“Would that be so bad?” Ash had grown to like Isaiah very much, but he could tell that Sofia was holding back with him. He understood that his past was a mystery, so she would hesitate, but everything he had seen from Isaiah so far had been nothing but upstanding character, and Ash thought Isaiah would make a fun friend.
Sofia let out a huff. “Ash, we still don’t know who he is. Wouldn’t jumping into a relationship with him be a little reckless?”
“I didn’t know that much about Holly when I fell for her. Sometimes fate just works these things out.” Ash couldn’t tell her that magic had had a hand in his and Holly’s relationship.
Sofia shook her head. “New topic, please.”
Ash grinned and obliged. He knew he couldn’t convince Sofia of anything. She would have to convince herself in time. “So, I was thinking…”
“Go ahead. What harebrained idea do you have now?” Sofia didn’t even look up from her counting.
“Our last couple of festivals have been really successful. I’d like to keep the momentum going. You know, make Emerald Hollow a festival destination.”
“Okay, so what’s the next holiday? Fourth of July?”
“I’d like to do something sooner. With these insane tulip blooms we’re having right now, I was thinking we could host a tulip festival.”
Sofia paused and looked up at him. “A tulip festival? Like they have in Europe?”
Ash hoped he had her. She’d told him about a tulip festival she’d attended when she briefly lived in Germany, and she’d always spoken fondly of it. “Exactly. Not quite as big, but I thinkwe can attract a crowd. There’s never been a tulip bloom like this before. If we get the word out on social media and set up some photo ops, I really think it could be something.”
Sofia seemed to think about it for a moment, then she nodded. “It’s not your worst idea ever. But when do we have it? Tulips only bloom for a couple of weeks at most. We’d have to throw this together really fast.”
Ash’s mind raced. He couldn’t tell her that Holly thought it was the North Pole magic affecting the tulips and that they were likely to bloom much longer than normal.
He averted his eyes, pretending to wipe the counter. “There’s a weird soil effect in place this year. The bloom is expected to be longer than normal. But you’re right. We’d have to move fast. I’m thinking we host it on the first of March.”
Sofia completely stopped what she was doing, and Ash tried not to let her see him sweat.
She looked at him skeptically. “A soil event? Where did you hear about that?”
Ash continued to avoid meeting her eyes. He’d forgotten Sofia was a fairly avid gardener and she knew a thing or two about soil. He racked his brain, and it snagged on something from the previous night. “I think I saw it on the news. Just trust me. Are you in?”
Sofia huffed out a sigh but smiled. “I’m in.”
When life gives you magic tulips…Ash thought with a grin as he reached for the mop.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
HOLLY
Holly arrived in Finland and was greeted by much colder air than Emerald Hollow had been experiencing. She made her way to the café that her friend and the oldest elf, Lumi Kringle, owned and operated.
She hadn’t been back to Helsinki since she’d discovered that her Finnish friend Lia was in fact an elf from their very own North Pole. Even though Holly had had a few months to digest the information, it was still startling. Up until that revelation, she’d had no idea any of the elves left the North Pole at all. It had been just one of many things about North Pole magic she’d discovered she’d been completely ignorant of.
She had come back to Lumi with a question. The oldest elf knew more than anyone alive about the North Pole and its magic. If anyone would know the answer to what Holly needed to ask, it was her.
The café bells tinkled as Holly stepped inside. She spotted Lumi immediately, sitting at a corner table with a mug in front of her. She smiled when she saw Holly and beckoned her over.
