“It’s not an offer. It’s an act.” He picked up two bins and started for the main building. “Don’t even think about picking one up,” he said without turning around.

She laughed and followed him inside.

He saw right away she hadn’t been kidding about the number of storage containers. They were stacked everywhere. A big decorated tree stood in front of the living room’s main window, with two smaller ones flanking the fireplace. He could see others by the reception desk and in the dining room.

He set down the bins he held, collected three empty ones and went back to the garage. It only took a couple of trips to take the rest inside and bring out the empty ones. Once that was done, Dena showed him the decorating plan.

“The bins are color-coded,” she said, pointing to several bins with big dots on the side. “Red for the living room, blue for the dining room, green for the reception area and so on.”

She opened a red folder. The drawing of the fireplace in the living room was crude, but he could see exactly where the dancing bears were supposed to go, along with the decorative pine and the glass bulbs. Other drawings showed different parts of the room and what went where. There was a folder for each space, along with a diagram of where all the wreaths would go.

“Did you do this?” he asked. “It’s impressive. Easy to follow, and the instructions are clear. Nothing gets mixed up, and when you put it away in January, you simply keep the sections together in the bins.”

She smiled. “Thank you. I worked on this for a couple of years to get it right. Decorating used to take weeks, but now I can do it over the long weekend. I get help on the trees, and I have professionals putting up the outdoor lights first thing in the morning.”

“I’m glad you’re not thinking of tackling those yourself.”

She laughed. “I know my limitations.”

“No, you don’t. Where do you want me to start?”

“We are going to start in the living room.”

He wanted to push back, saying he would take care of it, but he knew that was ridiculous. She was right about barely being pregnant. Except for her morning sickness, she was strong and healthy. There was no reason she couldn’t handle a few Christmas decorations.

“The living room it is,” he said, his gaze briefly dropping to her mouth before he turned away. Not only could he avoid his lack of talent, he would get to hang out with Dena for the rest of the day.

He liked her company, he admitted to himself. He liked her.