CHAPTER 1
Dallas, Texas
Ali Lovejoy cruised along I30 headed west in her sweet little Mercedes convertible listening to classic rock on the car stereo. Hoping to catch a traffic report as she headed home toward Fort Worth, she sang along with The Boss until the final notes of “Born To Run” faded into an all-too-familiar jingle. Then, quick as a rattlesnake, she struck the preset button to change the station before the teddy bear advertisement blared from her speakers.
“…send lovely red roses, delivery guaranteed….”
Her index finger poked again.
“…delicious chocolate-covered strawberries….”
Jab.
“…peek-a-boo pajamas to your Valentine today!”
This time, Ali hit the “off” button. She’d rather risk bumper-to-bumper traffic than listen to one more of those commercials.
Not that she had anything against stuffed animals or flowers or sexy lingerie or chocolate anything, because she didn’t. In fact, Ali was a big fan of romance.
It paid the bills.
Ali made her living as a wedding photographer. This very moment she was on her way home from signing a lucrative contract with a MOB—aka mother-of-the-bride—to photograph all of the events surrounding her daughter’s June nuptials.
Romance was good for Ali’s bottom line.
Valentine’s Day made her cranky.
The day of red hearts and roses had been a source of trouble for her for much of her life, from Kindergarten’s decorated shoeboxes to last year’s one-for-the-record-books humiliating Valentine’s Day. Now, during this first week of February, all she wanted to do was play Rip Van Winkle and hide under the covers until February 17th.
She tacked on a few extra days to allow bargain shoppers to clear the shelves of discounted chocolates, which was a real sacrifice because Ali did adore her chocolate.
The touch screen on her dashboard signaled an incoming call. Recognizing the number, Ali smiled as she answered. “Jessica! Well? Was the shopping trip a success? Did you say yes to a dress?”
“No!” Her best friend and college roommate replied with a groan in her voice. “I found some ‘maybes,’ but nothing that screamed ‘This is the one.’ My mom is getting frustrated with me.”
“I can’t imagine why. You’ve only tried on, what? Six hundred wedding gowns?”
Jessica sniffed. “No more than five hundred fifty.”
“Well, no rush. You still have plenty of time.”
“Speaking of time, that’s why I’m calling. I have a huge favor to ask.”
Uh oh. If Jessica Martingale said it was a big favor, it would be a big favor, and Ali would be obligated to grant it. After all, if not for Jessica going above and beyond when Ali came down with mononucleosis during their last semester at the University of Texas, Ali wouldn’t have graduated on time. And her friend had been her rock many other times since.
Her friend continued. “Ordinarily, I wouldn’t dream of suggesting this because it’s a huge ask. But under the circumstances, I think it could be a win/win for both of us. Sean will be happy because a relative of his is pushing for it. Something to do with a distant, elderly aunt. I admit I don’t understand that part, but the Gallaghers are a huge family, and I haven’t met everyone. Of course, I’ll understand if you can’t do it, and my feelings won’t be hurt or anything. I just want it to be you so bad because you’re the best photographer in the entire world, and you’re my maid of honor, and we could have a really fun long weekend.”
“Jessica. Jessica. Slow down. I gather you want me to photograph something? That’s not a big ask.”
“I haven’t told you the who, what, where, and when.”
Ali waited. And waited. And waited. “Jessica?”
She asked in a rush. “Will you come to Colorado and photograph the reenactment of my Christmas Eve engagement?”
“You jerk!” Ali exclaimed, slamming on her brakes to avoid hitting the florist delivery van that abruptly changed lanes in front of her.
“Oh.”
Hearing the hurt in her former roomie’s voice, Ali quickly explained. ”Not you, goose. I was talking to the idiotic driver in front of me. Of course I’ll take your engagement photos. I’d be honored, in fact. The problem is my schedule. You know I work almost every weekend.”
“That’s the ‘when’ part. I know you aren’t working this particular weekend because you’ve sworn a blood oath that you’re not leaving your house.”
Oh. Ali’s stomach sank. She knew what was coming.
Jessica continued, “This year, Valentine’s Day falls on a Saturday. So we’re doing the reenactment on Valentine’s weekend.”
Okay, that is a big ask.
Ali had spent the past twelve months padding a lawyer’s bank account while she put the pieces of her heart back together. Approaching the first anniversary of the death of her dreams on the worst day of the year was bad enough. The last thing she wanted or needed was to risk running into her Valentine’s Nightmare Past. But unfortunately, the way her luck ran, that’s precisely what would happen.
And yet, this was Jessica doing the asking, and the venue was a small, isolated mountain town in Colorado. The odds of running into her ex in Eternity Springs were next to nil, and she could still follow through with her current Valentine’s evening plans from there. So doing this favor for her bestie wouldn’t break her vow in any way. In fact, it might be good to get out of the house.
“Cool. I’m free on Valentine’s weekend. I can watch horror movies on the night of the fourteenth in a hotel room as easily as I can in my own bedroom.”
“Horror movies? You don’t watch horror movies.”
“It’s a new tradition of mine I’ve decided to establish in keeping with the spirit of the holiday.”
Jessica laughed. “Oh, Ali. You’re a mess. Well, we will be staying at Sean’s family’s bed-and-breakfast in Eternity Springs. They might have a theater room. If you’re serious about this new tradition, I’ll reserve it for you. I’ve been warned that we need to make reservations for everything we want to do while we’re in town because there’s a hot air balloon festival that weekend, and the place is packed.”
Ali’s artistic interest perked up. She tried to recall what Jessica had told her about the place where she’d gotten engaged. She had a mental vision of a Victorian snow village, and the hot air balloons didn’t fit it. “I’m intrigued. Isn’t there a lake in this little town?”
“Yes. Hummingbird Lake. I think the balloons take off from there.”
“Cool. That’s something I’d like to watch if we have time.”
“You’ll definitely have time. The balloon flights take place at dawn. It won’t be interfering with anything I have scheduled.”
Ali laughed at that little truth. Jessica was not a morning person. The two women discussed their travel schedules until Ali heard an electronic sound in the call's background. Jessica said, “Gotta go. Class is about to start.”
“Go whip those Kindergarteners into shape, Miss Martingale.”
“I’ll try. I swear this year’s group is five going on twenty-five. I’ll email you the deets about your reservation at Aspenglow Place B&B. Bye!”