AN: This is the Alex/Emily version of this fic. If you'd like to read the Demily version, look under 60atinele88's username to find the fic of the same title.

Emily emerged from the airport, dragging her suitcases along behind her (and looking decidedly worse for the wear), her childhood best friend was waiting for her, leaning against her car with a smirk. "Hey, Fancy Pants!" she hollered, waved.

Emily looked up sharply, eyes flashing with annoyance at the nickname, but softened upon seeing JJ. She approached – primly avoiding piles of snow so as not to ruin her Italian leather boots – and leaned in to kiss both JJ's cheeks. "It is so good to see you again!" she effused.

"It's been too long," JJ agreed, though she got the feeling Emily wasn't being completely sincere.

The day she'd graduated from high school, Emily had left town and never looked back. After college, she'd moved even further away; all the way to London. Truthfully, JJ had a feeling that if it hadn't been for her father's untimely death, she might never have returned.

"I'm so ready to fall into bed and sleep for the next eighteen hours," Emily lamented. "Maybe enjoy that jacuzzi tub in the master bedroom..."

JJ snorted with laughter. "Yeah, good one!"

Emily shot her a look of confusion.

JJ raised a brow. "You... You weren't joking, were you?"

"Joking? About what?"

With a wince, JJ said, "I know you haven't been home in a while, so you probably don't know about some of the changes your father made..."

"Changes?" she echoed.

She nodded. "Just...well, pretty much everything." When Emily continued to stare expectantly, she sighed. "It's best if you see it in person."

Emily didn't like the sound of that, but she couldn't exactly turn around and get back on a plane now, could she?

Alex Miller hadn't always been a baker. In fact, if – once upon a time – she'd told her parents she wanted to be a baker, they would have laughed her right out of Kansas City. (To be fair, it hadn't even entered her mind until she'd long since left Kansas City in her dust.)

Becoming a baker was kind of like her second act; her first one having been something of a dismal failure. Between her marriage imploding and her professional reputation tanking, she'd kind of had a complete nervous breakdown. She'd been forced to take mandatory stress leave which had left her with a lot of time on her hands...and one very hungry kindergartner with an impending birthday.

In Ethan's own words, he wanted a 'jungle carousel' birthday cake. At first, Alex had laughed at the request, thinking it a joke. It was not...

In the end, it took her a solid week of decorating and the end result was hardly Pinterest-worthy, but Ethan had loved it, so she'd called it a win...both for her and the plethora of Youtube tutorials she'd relied on.

As JJ drove past the front gates to the property, she could see Emily nearly crane her neck one-eighty degrees to see the sign they'd just passed.

"Did... Did that say..." she stuttered, "Christmas Tree Farm?" Her voice kept getting higher and more incredulous.

JJ laughed, a little nervously. "That's just the sign for the holidays," she explained, "The rest of the time it's just 'Bed and Breakfast'."

"That's...not better," she said. "Since when is it a B and B?"

JJ shrugged. "A decade or so. But I think that's just to fund your dad's true passion: the holiday festivities."

Emily blinked dumbly. "Festivities?" she repeated. "It's not just trees?"

"Oh, sweetie..." JJ said with a shake of her head. "There's something you really need to see." She parked the car and lead Emily through the doors and into the foyer which was warm and brightly decorated and smelled of gingerbread.

Before Emily could speak, a gust of cold air came billowing in and in the next moment, she was swept into a frosty embrace. "Little Emmy Bo Bemmy," a voice boomed.

"Derek?" Emily managed to squeak out from the depths of the embrace.

He chuckled as he released her. "Who knew there was a strong wind blowing in all the way from London?"

She didn't have an opportunity to respond because they were once again interrupted by a door opening – this one with a gust of warm air and an aroma of molasses and spice.

"Cookies!" Derek crowed. He reached for the plate being carried in, only to have his hand smacked away. "Hey!"

"They're for the guests," a warm female voice chided. She looked up, caught Emily's bewildered gaze. "And for our new boss." She offered the plate of beautifully decorated gingerbread men to Emily.

Emily blinked a few times as she realized that was her. "Oh, I'm not..." She trailed off. To be polite, she reached for one of the cookies, but then seemed to think better of it. "Or, maybe I am...but I don't know for how long. I really just came to get the place ready for sale."

A silence followed that seemed to last eons. Then...

"What?" Derek said.

At the same moment, Alex echoed, "What?"