Noelle wasn't sure what had woken her. It could have been the a cappella version of "Good King Wenceslas" coming from the alarm clock radio. Or it may very well have been the sharp paw digging into her right boob from the feline named after an Oscar winning actor standing on her chest.
"Shoo," she threw Cat Damon off her, sending the animal to the floor. Like a good example of his species, he landed on all four feet.
Rolling on her side, Noelle searched for the alarm clock, but found none. "Son of a—" she caught herself from cursing as she realized that the wake-up concert was live, delivered by a choir standing under her window.
Avery, however, was already gone. Her bed just a few feet away was empty, the white and blue comforter with its snowflake motif mussed from use. Noelle considered taking advantage of the peace and quite and lying in, but a strange odor forced her from under the covers. Sniffing the air, she quickly located the source of the foul smell in a small bowl by the far wall.
Avery must have brought back some leftovers for the cat last night, but the finicky eater didn't clean his plate. From the look and smell of it, Avery had some type of fish.
But as Noelle headed toward the bathroom, she nearly stepped into what turned out to be another odiferous culprit. "I'm going to lock you out into the snow, you little demon," she cursed the cat, making a mental note to find a box and newspapers for him.
After changing out of her palm tree adorned flannel pajamas, brushing her teeth, and slapping enough makeup on to get that "all natural" look, she headed downstairs. Having skipped dinner, her mission now was clear: find food. Even if they didn't do room service at the inn, no one said anything about in-house breakfast. Her hopes and suspicions were confirmed when a mixture of mouth-watering aromas hit her halfway down the staircase. The smell of bacon, sausage, toast and eggs mixed with the sweet scent of caffeine led her past the reception desk into a small room with several tables set for two. Although there were crisp tablecloths, shiny china, and sparkling silverware, there was not one soul in sight.
Muffled talk and the clattering of pans drew her attention to a door in the back. Swinging the door open, Noelle found herself in the kitchen, but while she wasn't sure what she was expecting, she definitely didn't count on what she found.
"Good morn—," she began, but the word stuck in her throat as she saw Nick. He was hunched over a prepping table while working out a batch of dough with a rolling pin. Standing next to him, the old lady from the reception desk was sipping a mug of something hot. But she wasn't Noelle's main concern. "What are you doing here?" she addressed Nick.
"And a very merry Christmas Eve eve morning to you too," he said with an extra chipper tone, continuing on with the work. "Is that how you'll greet me every time we meet now?"
Noelle rolled her eyes at the forced name for December twenty-third. It could have only come from someone who was really, really into the holiday. "Only if you show up everywhere I go," she replied, defiantly crossing her arms. It was their third chance encounter in less than two days and it was becoming suspicious.
"It's a small town," he said, spreading flour under the thin dough to keep it from sticking.
Noelle scoffed. "Right. And you're the guy who gets things done," she sarcastically repeated his explanation from the night before.
Without the slightest appearance of insult, he nodded. "I am."
A whole slew of retorts flooded her brain, but Noelle decided to stop before their spirited banter escalated to nasty bickering. With the mood she was already in, it wouldn't have taken much. Hangry was a legitimate reason, after all. "Is there a chance I could get some breakfast," she asked the old woman.
"Of course," she said, nodding before placing her mug aside and wiping her hands on her apron. "What would you like, my dear?"
She could have eaten a whole cow, but because Noelle doubted that was on the menu, she made it easy. "Whatever you usually serve. But if I could just get a really big cup of coffee right away, I'd appreciate it."
The woman smiled and disappeared behind a shelf. Moments later, she emerged with the steaming beverage, topped with a mound of whipped cream. "Here we are. I will prepare your food and bring it out into the dining room for you."
Taking her coffee, Noelle turned to leave, but Nick—who'd started on rolling out an identical piece of dough except in red—looked up. "You can stay in here, if you'd like," he said.
Caught by surprise at the offer, Noelle just stared at him.
"Since the dining room is empty, that is. We could keep each other company," he added, nodding to a stool nearby that she could use.
Noelle nodded. "All right." Taking a seat, she sipped her coffee while watching him work.
After he'd flattened out the red dough, he laid it on top of the white before adding a green layer that had already been prepared. Twisting up one end, he rolled the three together until he had one, thick log.
"What are you making?" Noelle asked less out of interest and more just to break the silence.
He moved to a shelf to get a storage box. "Pinwheel cookies. Would you like to help?"
She shook her head. "I don't bake," Noelle said.
Nick smiled. "I don't need you to bake. The oven will do that. What you could do is decorate."
She liked his cheekiness, but Noelle was about to refuse before remembering something. "Okay, I can do that. But one thing first." More than one could play at quid pro quo.
"Yes?" he asked, cocking his head to the side.
The mischievous twinkle in his eye almost made her forget what she wanted to ask. "Uhm .... Oh, right. So, do they let anyone just walk into this kitchen and start making cookies or what?"
He became a bit more serious and cleared his throat. "Proprietors can usually do as they please. It's one of the perks. Your turn," Nick said, waving for Noelle to join him.
As with so many times already with this man, Noelle was puzzled. "So wait. I thought you said you owned the clothes shop across the street. You own this place, too?" she asked while hopping off the stool and rounding the table.
"It's more of a family thing. Technically, everything in Keskitalvi belongs to us," he said, taking the lid off a plastic tub. It was filled with colorful candy sprinkles.
"Your family owns the whole town?" Noelle repeated just to make sure she heard right. But right as she said it, a thought occurred to her. "If you have access to our reservations, you can tell me who's paying for my room."
Nick frowned as spread a layer of sprinkles in a shallow baking pan. "You don't know?"
"I got a plane ticket, the name of this hotel, and the time to show up for tomorrow's concert. I don't even know what I'm expected to be playing," she said.
"You can roll that dough log into the sprinkles, but while you do that I have a confession to make," Nick said, and Noelle's spidey-sense started tingling. Was he about to reveal that he invited her here and has been stalking her for some weird reason? She was getting queasy from just the thought.
He took a deep breath before he continued. "After I dropped off your bags yesterday while you went shopping, I checked your reservations. Something about your sudden arrival felt out of place, and it turned out that I was right."
Noelle tried not to appear too anxious for him to finish so she concentrated on getting an even layer of sprinkles on the cookie dough. "So?"
"So your room was paid for in advance in cash, and there was an extra retainer left for other expenses," he said. "There's no way to tell who brought you here."
Feeling dejected, Noelle passed the cookie log over to Nick. He picked up a knife and began cutting thin slices before he continued.
"I can help you with your second problem, though. After breakfast, I'd gladly take you to our concert hall if you'd like to practice on location," Nick said.
Noelle's whole mood immediately changed. "That would be amazing."
This is my #NaNoWriMo2019 project and while I absolutely love all of my silent readers, I would LOVE to get your encouragement while writing this story. So please, please, please add it to your libraries, vote on the chapters (updates daily!) and leave me comments. <3
Christmas cookies are the best! Do you have a favorite? I'm quite particular to gingerbread myself.