with an intent look. I glanced between them. Was I supposed to talk?
“So are you going?” Emilia asked after she took a sip of her apple cider.
“Going?” I picked up my half-eaten sandwich and took a big bite.
Emilia nodded. “Tomorrow. Are you going?”
I glanced from Emilia to Bea and then over to Porter. They all looked as if they knew what was going on; I was the only one in the dark.
“Yes?” I finally said, hoping that was the right answer.
“You are?” Porter asked. The surprise in his voice had me instantly regretting my response.
But when Bea reached over and patted my hand, she helped me feel better. “See. I told you. It’s for a couple, but we’ll have fun with it.”
What in the world did I just agree to?
“Snowtop looks pretty romantic,” Emilia said as she slipped a chip into her mouth. “I mean, there’s a romantic dinner, a midnight sleigh ride, cuddling by the fire…” Her voice trailed off, and I noticed that her gaze was focused on Bea as if she expected that was all it would take to convince her friend not to go.
Finally feeling caught up on the conversation, I sipped my water and shrugged. “We can make it work, right? It’ll be fun.” I gave Bea a smile, and her expression perked in response.
She nodded resolutely as she turned her focus back to Emilia. “Yeah. It’ll be great.”
Emilia didn’t look convinced but didn’t push it. Instead, she focused her attention on Porter, and they started brainstorming what they were going to do. I took this time to peek down at Bea. She was picking at her sandwich. So I bumped her with my shoulder.
“Are you sure?” I asked.
Bea glanced up at me. “About what?”
I nodded to the gift cards that were resting on the table next to the flowers. “About taking me. You should take Emilia. I’m sure she’d enjoy it.”
Bea paused and studied Emilia before she shook her head. “Nah. She wants to spend some time with Porter. Besides, I can’t leave you here by yourself for the day.” She leaned forward. “Not with Scrooge upstairs.”
I snorted at her description of Scarlet. It was quite accurate.
After we finished lunch, Bea and Emilia said that they were heading to their room to relax for a bit. I waited until they disappeared upstairs before I headed into the kitchen to rinse our dishes and load them in the dishwasher. Porter stayed in the living room, where he picked up a book to read.
I was alone as I stepped up to the sink and turned on the faucet. I waited for the water to warm before I started rinsing each dish. My mind started to wander. Surprisingly, it steered clear of Scarlet. Instead, the only face that kept drifting into my mind was Bea’s. Her smile. The way she looked up at me. The expression on her face when she won. All of it seemed cemented in my mind.
“Feeling okay?”
Mom’s voice startled me enough that I dropped the plate I was rinsing. It clattered in the sink but thankfully didn’t break. I turned to see Mom standing next to me, peering into the sink after the dish as well.
“What?” I asked as I forced my heart rate to return to normal and finished loading the plate into the dishwasher.
Mom poured herself a mug of coffee. “I was wondering if you were feeling okay. I mean, I did just see you walk into the inn holding Beatrice’s hand.” She peered over the rim of her mug at me as she took a sip. “What was that about?”
I cleared my throat. “I don’t know what you are talking about.” I picked up a glass to rinse.
Mom reached over and took it from me. She set it on the counter and turned off the water. I sighed. She wasn’t going to let this go, so I turned my focus on her. “What?”
Mom pursed her lips. I cleared my throat and offered her an apologetic smile. “What?” I asked, softer this time.
Mom studied me for a moment before she sighed. “What is your game plan, Ethan? I mean, I know we talked about giving Beatrice a Christmas to remember, but is that what you are doing?”
I turned my focus back out the window and rested my hands near the sink. I took in a deep breath. What did I want to do? I knew that having Bea help me save face in front of Scarlet was honorable enough. After all,