“The press certainly seems to love her.” Allyson glanced over at the photographers who’d gathered around Nadia.
After chatting with the town officials, Allyson headed over to the different exhibits to make sure everything was going smoothly. As always Cameron was right by her side, making things as easy as possible for her. She had no idea how she would have survived without her assistant these past few weeks.
Work had been beyond hectic in the run-up to the sports show. Not just because she had to plan and organize the event, but because her husband had a hectic schedule of his own. Christmas was just a few days away, and they hadn’t seen that much of each other. Sure, Dane had flown back and forth between Colorado and Michigan, but they were both so busy with work. She with the sports show here in Colorado; he overseeing the opening of Prescott Global’s new office in Detroit.
She missed him terribly, but work had taken over everything. Work and... something else. Something else that kept her up at night, and leaning on her assistant Cameron a little too heavily.
If her husband knew how much time she was spending with Cameron and why... Pushing the thought out of her head, she focused on the task at hand. It didn’t matter that Cameron had been there for her in Dane’s absence. All that mattered now was that they sold as much sports gear as possible today.
Cameron hovered over her, and she tried to ignore him as she looked over the equipment. Everything from fishing rods to dog sleds to ice skates were on display, and there were scores of excited women shoppers. Women with their husbands and boyfriends. Each cozy couple sent a pang of jealousy through her heart.
When Cameron tapped her gently on the shoulder at the ice skate booth she whirled around, startled. She swallowed hard, ignoring her jitters about what Dane would think about all the time she had been spending with her assistant. “Yes, Cameron?” she managed to choke out.
“Mr. Prescott will be landing within the hour.” Cameron tapped his watch. “Would you like to meet him at the hotel, or would you rather stay here and keep working?”
She bit her lip. “I don’t want to leave too early.”
“You’ve been running yourself ragged for days,” he said. “It’s up to you, but I can assure you everything’s under control here.” He reached for her hand and squeezed it. “You should get some rest. Especially since—”
“Not here,” she said sharply, cutting him off. Her eyes scanned around, making sure that nobody was listening to their conversation. She wasn’t ready to share that yet. Wasn’t ready to reveal what was really going on. Only Cameron had some inkling of the secret she was keeping. “Let’s head back to the hotel to meet Mr. Prescott.”
With a nod, Cameron followed her to the park entrance and into their rental car. Their driver whisked them away from the snowboarding park and headed towards the Snow Canyon Hotel.
As they navigated through the streets, Allyson took in the sights of Snow Canyon. The town was beautiful, surrounded by majestic, snowcapped mountains. Christmas decorations lined the streets, complete with Christmas trees, wreaths, garlands, lights, and nativity scenes. The festive displays in the store windows were so inviting. Main Street was lined with shoppers. Store Santas rang bells outside, trying to entice even more shoppers into the stores. It was all picture-perfect. Like a postcard.
“It’s so beautiful out here,” she said with a sigh.
“Got any holiday plans?” Cameron asked from the seat beside her.
She nodded. “Dane and I will be heading back to New York tomorrow to spend Christmas with our families.” There were butterflies in her stomach. Spending her first Christmas as a married woman was already putting her on edge. She wanted this Christmas to be absolutely perfect. Her family and Dane’s family would be coming together, and she had spent the last few weeks organizing the festivities at the same time she had been planning the sports show. The stress from it all had been so draining, but it would be worth it for a perfect Christmas in New York. “What about you?” she queried.
“I’m flying out to California first thing tomorrow,” he said. “I haven’t seen my family in a year, and I’m really looking forward to it. Thanks again for giving me some extra days off, by the way.”