the christmas clause
one
KATIE
Katie pickedup a sprig of spruce and a few stems of berries and placed them in the centerpiece she was working on. “I want a guy who will serenade me. Even if he can’t sing.”
“And I want…” her roommate, best friend, and owner of this shop, Emmalee, said as she trimmed a bunch of amaryllis stems, “a guy with a sense of adventure who never gets lost.”
Katie turned the centerpiece she was working on around, checking it from all angles. “And, of course, a guy who could come up with the perfect late-night snack at a moment’s notice.”
Emmalee stopped her trimming to give Katie a flat stare. “Really. You would sit on Santa’s lap, look him straight in the eyes, and ask for a man who will make you pizza rolls at midnight.”
“I’m sure he’s heard more ridiculous requests.”
“Okay, then.” Emmalee grinned. “I want a guy who’s a gourmet chef and specializes in breakfast foods.”
It was ironic that Emmalee brought up the subject of qualities they’d like in a man, since it hadn’t even been fifteen minutes since she said she was never going to date another man again, ever. Katie, though? She was always down to have funcasual dating. That was, of course, until the right man swept her off her feet.
And she’d made it a goal to stop wanting to date a guy based on first impressions so she could up her chances of finding that man who would do the sweeping. Usually, she found out after a date or two that a guy wasn’t quite what she’d thought at first impression. Which wasn’t always bad— she’d dated quite a few guys who made for interesting dates but didn’t have a chance at being her happily ever after. But now, she was all-in on slowing down and finding out more first.
She just didn’t really believe that getting swept off her feet would happen. At least not until she was at least thirty. Six more years wasn’t that long to wait, right? Until then, she was going to keep building her videography business and helping Emmalee build her floral business.
It actually worked out well for both of them. This flower shop was barely big enough for the two of them to work in— any customers who came had to stand outside at the window to place or pick up an order. But it was adorable and was right on Main Street in their small town of Mountain Springs. Emmalee got to do what she loved, and Katie got a part-time job that worked with the crazy schedule she often had as she worked to accommodate her clients’ videography needs. Plus, it was fun to work side by side with her friend and roommate.
And okay, sometimes when there were big events, like prom, a wedding, or Valentine’s day, the flower shop wasn’t big enough, and her roommate’s business spilled into their apartment. On the plus side, though, their apartment often smelled great.
And right now, the flower shop smelled pretty incredible. Christmas floral arrangements meant a lot of poinsettias, azaleas, roses, orchids, and pine cones. Combine it with the scent of pine sprigs, and it might just be Katie’s favorite scent.Add in the Christmas music playing through a small Bluetooth speaker on the counter and their view of all the Christmas decorations that were currently going up on Main Street, and Katie was ready to dream of a white Christmas, deck the halls (or the living room) of their apartment, rock around their Christmas tree (once they got it put up) and jingle all the way to her Christmas shopping.
As well as Emmalee’s business was going, it still had its feast and famine moments. Sometimes, Emmalee could use all the help that Katie could possibly give, and at other times, there wasn’t enough business for Katie to work at all. She definitely couldn’t rely on working at the flower shop to cover her expenses.
Not that Katie wanted to ever have to rely on Emmalee’s business for the ability to pay her bills. Especially because Katie was really good at videography. It was her passion, and every client raved about the final product. Making customers happy came easy for her. In a small town, though, word of mouth only went to so many people.
Her videography business might still be a fledgling one, but she had big plans for it. And one of those was to make enough in her busier months to not only cover the less busy months but to give her a big, “I’ve got this” cushion. There was nothing scarier than thinking that maybe she couldn’t get all she needed on her own.
Katie sighed. “I’ve got to find a way to get more business. And not just soon, but on a regular basis.”
“Do you have any ideas?”
“That are cheap or free until I can build up an advertising budget? Beyond trying to convince people in Mountain Springs and Nestled Hollow that they’d benefit by having a professional videographer at more events in their lives and posting about my business on social media in neighborhood groups outside of ourarea, nothing yet. But if I don’t find a way to grow my business soon, then I’m going to be living out of my car.”
“You’re not going to have to live out of your car.”
“I’ll be living out of my car and eating those cheap packages of Ramen. Which might not work out so well, because I don’t exactly have a kitchenette in my car. Oh! Maybe I could get some of those Styrofoam cups of soup that you just add water to. Then maybe I could use a convenience store’s microwave or something.”
“Don’t be silly. Your bedroom is still the same as it was the day you moved out, right? You could just move back in with your parents.”
Wait. Was that why they kept it the same instead of turning it into the guest bedroom that they said they were going to? In case her business failed? “I’m not moving back home. That would mean admitting defeat or admitting that I need help.”
“And you can do neither. Okay, I’ll tell you what. If your business fails and you end up living out of your car, then I will move into my car, too, in solidarity with you. We can park next to each other, open the doors between our cars, and put a big blanket over it. It can be a fort and we can pretend we are just having a sleepover like when we were kids.”
“You’d do it out of solidarity? Or because you couldn’t pay for rent on your own?”
Emmalee shrugged. “Call it whatever.”
Katie was just putting the arrangement she’d finished in the fridge when her phone rang, lighting up the screen with a picture of her dad smiling back at her. She answered and said, “Hi, Dad. You’re on speaker phone— Emmalee is here.”
She and Emmalee always answered calls they weren’t willing to take outside in the cold on speaker phone. If the other person in this small space had to listen to one side of the conversation,it was only polite to let them hear the other half, too. Plus, it kept their hands free for working.
