I freeze in place as I recognize Garrick’s voice. Slowly, I turn toward the sound to see Garrick standing on stage two, surrounded by dancers dressed as snowflakes. He’s taken off his coat and stands in the cold in worn jeans and a flannel shirt rolled up to reveal his bare forearms. His hair is on the longer side today and sticking out everywhere like he’s been running his hands through it.
“There she is.” Somehow, Garrick sees me over the crowd. “Come on up here, mayor, and say a few words to these lovely folks.”
I stay rooted to the spot. I don’t have a speech planned. What the actual fuck is he doing?
“Mayor Porter is responsible for putting together this amazing festival. Let’s all give her a hand.”
The crowd bursts into applause.
“What’s going on?” Cherry pops up next to me. “Is that Garrick?”
“Yes, and I have no idea what he’s doing.”
“You should probably get over there,” Cherry says. “Just in case.”
We weave our way through the crowd toward the stage.
“Not only is Mayor Porter amazing at putting together a kick butt festival, she has innovative ideas for making this town even better for locals and tourists. How many of our visitors here today would like to be able to sleep in this magical Christmas wonderland and spend two, three, maybe even a whole week here?”
The crowd cheers, and Garrick grins. It’s a tight smile. As charismatic as he is, he seems to be nervous talking to a crowd.
“Well, that’s great to hear,” Garrick goes on. “Because Mayor Porter wants to build some hotels here, so more of you can make Yuletide a destination for the whole family.”
The crowd cheers again.
It warms me to hear the support for my idea, but I still have no idea what’s going on.
“That’s just the start of the good ideas Mayor Porter has,” Garrick says. “She’s got a whole binder full of great ideas. She’s a fantastic mayor and a really wonderful person. In fact, I had the pleasure of dating Mayor Porter for a little while.”
I freeze about a yard from stage two. What is he doing?
Near us, someone gasps, and whispering starts up. He’s feeding the gossip mill raw, unpasteurized news.
“But I screwed up.” Garrick spots me in the crowd and his gaze locks on me, his expression softening. “I got too caught up in what I thought I needed for my business and I lost sight ofwhat she wanted and needed. In my own twisted way, I thought I was helping her. I really thought I was helping you, Blue, but I was dead wrong. I’m so sorry.”
Before I can say a word, he’s looking back out at the crowd. “I screwed up, and she dumped me as she should have. She was right, and I was wrong. I’m saying it for the whole town to hear. Blue Porter was right, and I was wrong. I made a selfish, blind, idiotic mistake, and I’d give anything in my power to undo it.”
It’s so quiet I’m pretty sure I hear pine needles dropping onto the snow.
Garrick smiles. “Oops, I got a little carried away. My point is that Mayor Porter planned this festival, and it’s amazing, and we should have her up here to say a few words.”
“Why is he doing this?” I ask no one in particular.
“So everyone sees their mayor triumphant,” Cherry says with a grin. “This is how you win hearts and minds.”
“Come on, Mayor,” Garrick says. “Now’s not the time to be shy.”
My heart racing and my hands shaking, I make my way through the crowd and up onto the stage.
CHAPTER THIRTY
Garrick
Damn, I’m so nervous my throat is tight and my heart is pounding. Blue, however, looks totally calm and collected as she steps onto the stage and takes the microphone from my hand.
She doesn’t even meet my eyes. I can’t get a read on what she thought of my apology.
It doesn’t matter. I said what I needed to say. If she wants to hate me forever, that’s her right.
