Here Comes Santa Paws (Christmas Falls: Season 2)

22. Roman

Chapter 22

Roman

Never in a million years would I have expected to voluntarily wander through a neighborhood to admire varied takes on how to string lights on a house. Some homes used multicolored lights, while others kept it classic with white ones. There was a mix of understated scenes and ones that looked like Elias’s chaotic handiwork.

Clusters of people strolled along the sidewalks, pausing to admire decorated houses and snap photos. Cars also drove by at a snail’s pace, with people hanging out of their car windows.

Jim and Nancy slowly walked ahead of Elias and me. I had reservations about taking Jim on the Holiday House Light Tour. I’d pushed for driving the route, but Jim had insisted he wanted to stretch his legs. The man was impossible to argue with, much like his grandson.

Nancy’s hand hovered behind Jim’s arm. At least we were all ready to help him if he needed it.

“You’re watching him like a hawk.” Elias bumped his shoulder into mine. His hair poked out from the bottom of his forest-green beanie. “You’re off the clock, you know.”

I huffed a laugh. “Yeah, yeah.”

My steps faltered as Elias’s warm, peppermint-scented breath teased across my ear. I didn’t mind peppermint as much these days.

“I have it on good authority that Gramps plans to invite Nancy onto a sleigh ride to see the lights. His walking will be minimal.”

I relaxed at that. “Good.” Hopefully, that would give him some time to make his move.

Jim and Nancy paused next to a waiting sleigh and a small white sign mounted on a red-and-white striped pole that read Sleigh Stop .

Elias and I stayed about ten feet behind them in an unspoken agreement to give them privacy.

“I think he’s asking her to go on the ride.” Elias whispered excitedly like proud parent watching their first kid go off to prom.

Nancy nodded and smiled widely as she squeezed Jim’s arm. She lifted part of a thermos from her bag, and Jim nodded eagerly. Jim looked back, winked, and flashed a thumbs-up behind Nancy’s back.

“Think it’s hard cocoa?” I asked.

“Knowing Nancy? Absolutely. I wonder what made Gramps finally make a move. I figured he was being too oblivious to notice she liked him.” Elias pulled his attention off them to look at me.

I leaned in conspiratorially, pretending it wasn’t an excuse to inhale the scent of Elias’s woodsy body wash. “Word on the street is that she signed up for the matchmaking service. That might’ve spurred him into action.”

Elias shook his head. “Good for Nancy.” He tilted his head. “I heard about the service.”

An unwelcome tremor raced through my gut as I waited for him to elaborate. He didn’t, and an unsettling sensation made itself at home. It was fine. We could keep fooling around until he found someone, so it was a win-win for both of us.

I opened my mouth to suggest it, but something else entirely came out. “Want to go on a sleigh ride with me?”

Elias’s eyes sparkled. “I’d love to.”

“So you can keep an eye on Gramps.”

Elias winked. “Sure.” We walked to the sleigh stop sign.

How did he always see through my bullshit? Anisha was one of the few others with that particularly frustrating talent.

“Looks like this is where we wait.” Elias rocked on his heels and turned toward the house closest to us. “Wow.” Twinkly white lights reflected in his eyes the color of hot cocoa.

The man had me so spun out of sorts that I was making festive comparisons to his attractive features. Good god.

I moved until I stood shoulder-to-shoulder with him to see what had him transfixed. “Wow,” I echoed.

The home had to have thousands of white lights lining every surface. Roof line, windows, front door, tree trunk, and even the branches. Lit candy canes lined the yard’s edge and walkway to the front yard, giant ornaments hung from tree branches, and a lit outline of Santa’s bottom half rested on the chimney.

“Can you imagine the electric bill?”

“LED lights, you sweet summer child. They’re significantly cheaper.” He patted my shoulder condescendingly.

Little shit. I bit back a grin, but I must not have hidden it well because Elias aimed his own shit-eating grin at me. Before I could come up with some biting remark about how much I hated Christmas, I heard hooves clicking on the street.

Two reindeer with twinkle lights wrapped around their antlers approached, pulling a red sleigh with fir wreaths, glittery bows hanging from each side, and blinking white lights around the sizable wheels. A woman in a Mrs. Claus costume with umber skin, a red coat, wire-rimmed glasses, and a white wig pulled in a bun smiled at us.

“Merry Christmas! Would you like a ride?”

“Yes, please!” Elias grabbed my hand and pulled me onto the sleigh. Mrs. Claus sat on a narrow seat at the front. A single bench behind her had a thick blanket draped across it.

We’d need to squeeze together on that thing. Elias moved the blanket and sat, then patted the bench next to him. My broad shoulders ate up any extra space, so I wrapped my arm around the back of the seat to give Elias more room. He spread the blanket across our laps.

Mrs. Claus glanced at us over her shoulder. “Ready?”

“Hit it, Dasher and Dancer!” Elias beamed at me.

I shook my head. Elias was so unapologetically himself, and I was growing smitten . God, so smitten. Dammit.

A chill racked Elias’s body and he shook next to me. I wrapped my arm around his shoulders and pulled him close. He snuggled in close and smiled wryly—any evidence of a chill gone.

Mrs. Claus had a speaker next to her playing upbeat, instrumental Christmas music. Generally, one of my least favorite genres, but with Elias under my arm, being transported by reindeer, and watching dozens of people admiring bright-ass lights like the ones I had to look at every time I pulled into my garage—I supposed it wasn’t that bad.

People in warm coats and hats strolled along the sidewalks in pairs and small groups while some cars played festive tunes. We passed a group of wandering carolers in Dickensian garb. Christmas Falls went all out for the season. I knew it, it was in the name, but I kept finding myself surprised by it.

I pulled my phone from my pocket to snap a picture of the reindeer. Mom would get a kick out of it. After taking it, I meant to swipe to clear the app, but I accidentally tapped the selfie mode button. The image of Elias tucked under my other arm, with no space between us and a smile of childlike wonder as he admired the homes, would be burned into my memory forever. I brushed my finger across the shutter button.

“Ooh, selfie!” Elias dropped his head onto my shoulder and glowed.

I smiled—how could I not?—and snapped a picture. I watched Elias’s eyes widen as he turned toward me, and I snapped another. He placed a brief kiss on my jaw.

“What?”

“Your smile.” He shook his head and frowned like he was trying to find the right words. “It’s like pumpkin pie.”

My lips twitched as I tried to follow his logic. “Do I want to know?”

“I don’t get to eat it very often, so I always appreciate it more when I do. Same with your full-toothed smiles. Don’t get me wrong, I’d happily eat pumpkin pie every day, but I’m not upset that I don’t get to enjoy it all the time. It’s a special treat.” Elias returned his attention to the houses as the sleigh took us around the corner.

He didn’t need me to respond. He didn’t need an answer as to why smiles didn’t come as naturally for me as they did him. He didn’t need me to be anyone other than myself.

I wasn’t sure why Elias had entered my life when he did. I certainly hadn’t been on the hunt for a Christmas elf who wormed his way under my skin and made me feel settled, seen, but he’d forced his way in anyway.

And just as I’m interviewing for a job fifteen hundred miles away.

“You’re looking particularly pensive. Is all the merriment getting under your skin? Have we filled your quota?” Elias’s tone was teasing.

I was tempted to tell him about the job interview because I would like to talk it through with someone other than my parents who would automatically encourage me to move. Their motto was the unexplored always beat the known. A motto I’d lived by my entire life but was beginning to rethink. If I talked to Anisha, she’d encourage me to stay.

Elias had become someone whose opinion I trusted and cared about, but it wasn’t the time or place to talk about it. The interview might not lead anywhere, so why rock the boat?

“Seriously, are you okay?” His voice was quiet.

I kissed the top of his head. “Yeah. I was thinking about that photo contest.”

“Are you going to enter?” His tone was hopeful.

“Considering it.”

Elias straightened and turned toward me, the festive dressings on the homes quickly forgotten. “Do you have any photos in mind? What about taking some of the houses tonight? I bet you could get something of the reindeer and Mrs. Claus.”

Mrs. Claus turned back to us. “Always happy to pose for photos, dears.”

I chuckled and breathed easier now that I’d diverted Elias to a safer topic.

It was hard to ignore his eagerness about the photo contest. I had no idea what I’d even submit because I wasn’t out attending festival events and snapping photos with my DSLR camera, though cell phone cameras were damn good these days. As we passed a giant inflatable gingerbread house, I thought it might not hurt to snap a few pictures. Especially if it kept Elias smiling at me like that.