Holly held her breath. Luis would announce the theme next. As a contestant, she hadn’t been allowed to know that part in advance.
“This year’s theme is the Kentucky Derby, which means you’ll be fashioning a hat made of flowers. What constitutes a hat is open to your interpretation. Are we ready?”
A few cheers and whistles came from the crowd that had gathered around the twelve contestants.
Luis blew an air horn, and Holly jumped into action. She quickly tuned out everything around her, even Ash, who was on her right. She got to work reaching for materials: bendablewillow branches, tendrils of ivy, and flowers of reds, pinks, and purples. She could feel the magic vibrating through her hands as she worked, completely consumed in the activity.
The hour passed in the blink of an eye, and Holly jumped when the air horn sounded, signaling that time was up. She dropped her supplies immediately but noticed Ash shove one last delicate yellow flower onto his hat.
She smiled as she looked at it. He’d used netting that was common in fascinators and some yellow tulle to create a small beehive. White and yellow daisies were glued into the netting and on the tulle, and a few yellow petals had been carefully mixed with some black material to imitate little bees. Her heart swelled. The execution wasn’t perfect, but the idea was clever. She absolutely loved it and, despite her competitive streak, found herself hoping with all her heart that Ash would win.
They stepped back from the table, where the judges would spend the next hour making their decision. Ash took her hand. “That was stressful. I felt like I was on one of those reality shows. Like where they’re making a cake under a time crunch.”
Holly, who had never seen these shows, let out a soft laugh. “Oh, cakes would be fun. Maybe I’ll challenge you to a cake-decorating contest next.”
“When it comes to decorating, it’s really not a contest. How about I challenge you to…” He thought for a moment, looking around the clearing. His eyes lit up as an idea came to him. “A fishing competition. Fishing season is going to be in full swing here soon. We’ll see who can land the biggest fish.”
Holly made a face. “Fishing?”
“Not so confident now, are you?” Ash asked with a grin.
“Okay, you’re on. But only if the fish stock is high this season. And only if you promise to cook it for me afterward.”
Ash looked positively thrilled at that. “You drive a hard bargain.” He leaned in closer. "But you’ve got yourself a deal.”
Chapter Forty-Nine
SOFIA
Day one of the tulip festival was winding down, and there were only two major events remaining: the Dutch dance and the lantern boats. Both were evening activities and would occur after the craft vendor stalls had closed. Sofia and Isaiah had been working nonstop at her booth, and when six o’clock rolled around, they both began to do the light teardown to store the materials for the second and last day of the festival.
Holly and Ash approached her booth, and Sofia’s heart swelled, all her anxieties about the “expert” they were going to introduce Isaiah to the next day forgotten. Luis had announced the winner of the floral design contest about an hour ago, and no surprise to Sofia, Holly had been crowned the Flower Queen. The contestants could sport their creations for the rest of the night.
Ash had only agreed to take one picture with his fascinator on then quickly ditched it. Holly, however, was effortlessly wearing a large woodland wonderland: coiled branches laced through with greenery and stunning bright flowers. Sofia thought she looked like a woodland sprite.
Holly approached Sofia and slipped the smaller flower crown she’d been wearing earlier in the day onto Sofia’s head.
“Congrats on your win, Holly. Maybe I should take you on as a business partner, and we could add flower hats to my jewelry collection.”
Holly laughed. “Don’t think these would fare well in the mail. How was business today?”
Isaiah feigned falling over against the table, and Sofia rolled her eyes. “Drama king over here. But wewereslammed. I feel like I didn’t take a breath all day.”
“We brought you some food,” Holly said.
Sofia finally noticed the paper boxes Ash was holding. Holly’s hat had completely distracted her. She nabbed the boxes. “You are lifesavers. I’m starving.” She opened both to see what was inside then handed one to Isaiah.
He took the plastic fork and began to eat immediately.
“Italian?” Sofia asked. “Is this from Enzo’s booth?”
Ash nodded. “Did you know his son Luca is in town? He was working at the booth with Enzo.”
Sofia raised her eyebrows. “He hasn’t been back in years. Doesn’t he live in some big city? LA?”
“San Diego,” Ash replied.
Sofia nodded and began to eat.
