Christmas in Pine Island: A small town holiday romance

had the staff bring up your bags. Feel free to take as much time as you need to get settled in. Then just head back down here when you’re ready and I’ll have a whole list of Christmas-y adventures for you to choose from.”
She leads the group toward the nearby stairs. The banisters are decorated in festive greenery and white lights that send shimmers of light across each step.
Each of the guests holds their mug of warm cocoa as they follow her toward their suites. Even Ryan hesitantly follows after Jake and Stacy, though I can tell by the longing looks he sends over his shoulder that he wants to keep playing with Ava.
I'm so glad my little girl is going to have a friend this Christmas. A child’s Christmas spirit is such a beautiful thing, and to have two little ones scampering about is only going to make it even more special. I'm already looking forward to watching them on Christmas morning.
As their footsteps get farther and farther away, Ethan heaves a sigh and shakes his head.
“You alright?” Owen asks, curiously.
He nods, staying strangely quiet.
“Did everything go smoothly this morning when they checked in?” Owen presses.
The whole trip over here, Owen and I had been talking about Co-Co and Ethan and how well they’d handled running the lodge without our parents for the first time. Of course, we hadn’t known about the last-minute addition of the celebrity Christmas crashers.
We both fully believe in Co-Co and Ethan’s ability to run the place but catering to celebrities is a whole different ball game. I’m sure with our help we’ll be able to give these guests a lovely Christmas, but my sweet little sister does tend to get wrapped up in the insignificant details of things instead of the big picture. I hope this doesn’t wind her up so tight that she can’t enjoy the holiday.
Dragging a hand through his hair, Ethan chuckles in marked disbelief. “Yeah, actually, everything went great. I'm going to be honest; I was nowhere near as excited as Chloe was when I heard these big-name celebs were coming here for the holidays. I thought they’d be all sorts of stuck-up and rude, but I was dead wrong. They’re so . . . normal. They even brought in their own bags. You should’ve seen the snowball fight they had too . . .”
A big smile spreads across my face. “Sounds like they’re going to fit in perfectly.”
We all grin at one another, clinking our mugs of hot cocoa together.
“Here’s to a very merry Christmas!” I announce, happily. “Let’s enjoy every second that we can!”

Chloe Martin
Lifting the warm mug to my face, I inhale the sweet fragrance of the chocolatey beverage. Everything about the rich hot cocoa is so perfect—just like this lodge.
“Can you believe this place?” I ask between sips of hot chocolate. It washes across my tongue, warming me to the core with every gulp. “We’re so lucky Stacy happened upon it while she was checking out field trip ideas.”
“It’s definitely one in a million,” Donovan muses in agreement. “I can’t believe it’s been owned by one family for so long. I wonder how long my company will stay in the Dunn name . . .”
My ears prick and I whip toward him, hurriedly scanning his face for any hint of emotion regarding what he’s hinting at.
Could he be thinking about our future, too?
It’s the first I’ve heard him reference anything like this. I want to ask him what he means, but he’s already been distracted by a pile of papers on a mahogany bureau.
Biting the inside of my cheek, I shake my head and look around the room. It’s beautifully decorated with framed pictures of the surrounding Pine Island landscape. I lean closer, wondering whether the trees in the grainy, old photos are still growing here, or if they’d stood proudly in the living rooms of the loving family homes nearby.
I stop in front of a particular photograph of a little family cuddled together, gazing up at their Christmas tree.
Will that ever be me and Donovan?
Last night, as I pretended to be asleep when Donovan finally came to bed, I made the decision that I was going to stop thinking about the future. At least for now, anyway. I want this Christmas to be a treasured memory, and by forcing a tough conversation with Donovan about settling down, I’d only taint the holiday for us both.
I can bide my time and try to enjoy myself for a few days—hopefully.
There will be time to talk when we get back to the city.
I sink down on the bed, stretching out my legs and flopping back on the pillows. Even the room smells like Christmas trees and roasted chestnuts. If I listen hard enough, I can just barely hear the tinkling notes of a holiday tune playing from somewhere in the lodge.
The bed is as soft as a cloud, the luxurious white sheets inviting and soft. If I wasn’t so excited to see what Co-Co had up her sleeves for our Christmas activities tonight, I might’ve dozed off. We had to get up pretty early to make the flight out here and despite pretending to go to bed early, I’d spent most of last night tossing and turning, at war with my emotions.
“I wish we were staying longer than just a few days.” I sigh aloud, gazing up at the ceiling before deciding to rest my eyes. “I think I could probably live here.”
“Mmm-hmm,” Donovan muses.
I crack open an eye, watching him, expecting him to be on his phone getting something done for work, but he’s actually flipping through a pamphlet about the lodge.
“What does it say?” I ask curiously, pushing myself up so I'm seated.
He looks up and flashes a smile. “It’s all about the history of this place. It’s pretty fascinating, actually.”
I gaze at him, taking in the way the afternoon light filters in through the window. The sunlight dances in his blue eyes and