Sweet Home Alaska Read Online Free Page B

could keep it strictly to comic books. We’d advertise by inviting attendees to come to the grand re-opening dressed as their favorite comic book characters.”
    Trey remained quiet.
    Lauren took this as a sign to continue. “The party could be for adults and children alike,” she said. She reached for her notebook, plopped it on his desk, and leaned against the edge, closer to him. “Imagine, if you can, cupcakes that look like Princess Leia; I’ll attach Oreo cookies to each side like hair buns. We’ll have Chewbacca Burgers or Han-burgers, whichever you’d like. We’ll have Galaxy Grilled Cheese sandwiches, Tusken Raider Taters, Obi-Wan Kabobs, Skywalker Smoothies, Wookie Cookies…” she stopped, wondering why he was glaring at her with such intensity. Was he upset? Did he think she was nuts?
    This was supposed to be about business, but something about Trey tugged at her primal parts. Her mind raced for all the other things she’d practiced in her pitch. “But ultimately, you know Moose’s Tooth has the most mouth-watering food in town.”
    “So you’ve said,” his voice had a gravely tone.
    “Yes, so I’ve said, but you know it’s true. There isn’t another place in town that makes food as unique as Moose’s Tooth.”
    “Maybe, but it’s been floundering since your grandmother passed.”
    “I’m aware of that.” She took a step away from his desk. Like she needed him to remind her that Grandma was gone. “I’m well aware of the state of my business. Thanks. I’m not going to deny that getting this job is important to its success. Everyone in town will attend your grand re-opening and they need to be reminded that we exist—that Moose’s Tooth is open and has expanded to include catering,” she said.
    Oh, what the hell, she wasn’t above begging. “Please say you’ll hire me, Trey.”
    He moved away from her and stared out the window.
    She sat back down in her chair and fought the urge to bite her fingernails. This entire experience was more nerve-wracking than she could have imagined. She could keep talking, but somehow she sensed that she had said everything she could say.
    “All right,” he said, and swung around. “I’ll give Moose’s Tooth and your ideas for a cosplay AlaskaCon party a shot.”
    Excitement bubbled within her. She bolted up from the chair and stuck out her hand. “Should we shake on it?”
    His warm hand encompassed hers and she nearly melted into a puddle on the floor. She hadn’t realized the depth of how disappointed she would have been until now. She had no plan B for getting back into the good graces of her hometown. With a little convincing, Trey had welcomed her back; hopefully the town would, too.
    She wanted so much to belong. To feel like this was her home again, but without the welcoming arms of her grandma, she didn’t feel at home. She’d never felt at home in L.A., either. An Alaskan girl who attempted to dress and act like an actress in Hollywood, or a high-heel wearing washed-up wannabe actress living in the last frontier—neither place was a fit for her. She wasn’t sure where she belonged.

Chapter Five
     
    The next morning, Trey was still impressed with Lauren’s ideas for the grand re-opening, and couldn’t stop thinking about them. As much as he didn’t want to hire her, her passion sucked him in. Originally, he had been thinking finger sandwiches and meatballs, but now she had infused him with so much more enthusiasm for the event. He absently went to his bookmarked webpages and clicked on “Sweet Home Alaska.” Lauren hadn’t blogged for a while, mentioning only that she’d had a death in the family, but she continued to provide weekly recipes. Today’s post read: A festive fruit salad—perfect for a night under the midnight sun . He wondered if anyone else in town followed her blog, or if he was the only lovesick fool paying attention.
    An AlaskaCon cosplay costume party was a little unorthodox, but he couldn’t dismiss her