Mistletoe Magic (Evergreen Lake: Under the Mistletoe)

Chapter 9

nine

HOLLY

I was stressed.

Okay. I was cold and stressed.

But I couldn’t complain. I wouldn’t complain.

Chris had gone out of his way to make everything as comfortable as he could under the circumstances. Between the car issues and the storm, everything was starting to get to me when Noelle mentioned Santa.

I promised he’d still find her. I promised her that he was magic, and he wouldn’t have any trouble. I’d even gone as far as to mention it was probably even better because we were camped out in Chris’s office because he had a fire. And a fire meant he had a chimney for Santa to shimmy down.

When Noelle looked up at me with belief in her eyes and hope written all over her face, my heart raced. I couldn’t let her down. She was already growing up so fast, in the blink of an eye she’d stop believing, and the magic would fade away. We’d always celebrate, but it would never have the same sparkle as it does now.

I stood by the fire, my hands outstretched, watching the flames lick the log. Standing there in the silence, my mind raced at a million miles an hour. Still hidden in the back of the car were some of Noelle’s presents. As she was asleep, I’d sneak out and grab them.

Chris stepped around the air mattress taking up most of the room and stood beside me. He smelt like Christmas and home all rolled into one—a dangerous combination.

“She okay?” he asked quietly, nodding toward Noelle who’d already drifted off.

“Yeah, she’s fine,” I assured him.

“Sorry your Christmas is ruined,” he grumbled, rubbing the back of his neck.

The look on his face made the butterflies in my stomach flutter. There was something about him. From the moment we stepped into his garage, Chris had me intrigued. The man didn’t like Christmas, that much was obvious, but he hadn’t flinched in trying to make the best of it for Noelle and me.

“It’s not ruined, just different.”

“How can we give her the best Christmas yet?” Chris asked, and my head snapped back.

I looked at the man, really looked at him, and almost jumped into his arms. I didn’t know his story, hell, I barely knew him, but I wanted to hug him.

I dropped my voice to barely a whisper. “I need to get out to my car,” I told him.

“Let’s go then,” he replied, reaching down and taking my hand in his.

We both froze.

We stared down at our fingers, still laced together.

It had all happened so quickly, so naturally I hadn’t flinched when he’d done it.

Chris dropped my hand and took a step back. “I … I …”

“Let’s go before she wakes?” I offered him an out before inching around the mattress and out the door .

The moment I stepped out of the office into the wide expanse of the garage, I shivered. It was freezing in there and I wasn’t dressed for it.

“We should hurry before we turn to icicles,” Chris suggested, leading the way toward where my sad-looking car was sitting.

I reached the car and popped the trunk.

“What are we looking for?” Chris asked as I started rummaging through.

We’d been headed to the ski lodge, so the car was packed high with all the things we’d need. Boots, jackets, ski pants and goggles.

“There’s a black bag under that stuff,” I started, pointing to one side.

Carefully, almost like everything was breakable, he shifted things, trying to balance them.

“It’s fine. Just put it on the ground,” I assured him, lifting my own bag out and setting it down.

“You sure?” Chris asked, with a garment bag hanging on his finger.

“Yep!” I said, popping the ‘p’.

A few minutes later, the entire contents of my car were on the ground, and Chris was holding the black sports bag. “I’m guessing this is the one?”

“Yeah. It’s a few things.”

“I’m sure she’ll love it.”

“I hope so.”

There was no point denying it. I was worried. Noelle wasn’t a greedy kid and didn’t ask for much, but she was still a six-year-old. If there weren't presents and paper everywhere she’d be disappointed, and I’d feel like a failure.

Together we packed up the car silently. I was caught up in my head. This wasn’t the Christmas I’d been hoping for, and it certainly wasn’t what we had planned, but we’d make the best of it. It wasn’t until Chris was closing the trunk and swinging the bag over his shoulder that I realized I didn’t have a gift for him. I hadn’t planned on meeting Chris, and I certainly hadn’t planned on crashing his hibernation and hiding from the holidays, but being empty-handed didn’t sit right with me. Even though I had gifts for my father in the car, some new novelty socks Noelle had chosen, and a new set of golf club head covers, I didn’t think they were really Chris. I’d left the homemade cookies and candies at home and was wishing I’d brought them. I got the feeling that was something Chris would appreciate. Being taken care of. Being appreciated. Being cherished. He might be grumpy on the outside, and I may have only known him a short time, but there was a gooey soft marshmallow under the surface who deserved to be cared for.

“Damn, it’s cold,” I mumbled to myself, rubbing my arms and trying to ward off the chill.

“Why don’t you head back,” Chris offered.

“What are you going to do?”

“I’ve just got to run upstairs for a minute. I won’t be long,” he promised.

“Can I give you a hand?”

Chris winked at me, and the butterflies lying dormant in my belly fluttered again. “I’ve got it.”

I stepped through the office doorway, the wave of warmth hitting me. I hadn’t realized how cold it was until the warmth stung the tips of my ears and my fingers. I buried my hands in my pockets and looked around.

The office was bare and bland. It was obvious that the place was for function only. Like Chris only spent the absolute minimum amount of time in there and would avoid it if he could. The desk in the corner was tidy. Two tub chairs were shoved against the wall, and a box of tissues were on the corner. Noelle slept on the slate gray couch, her legs taking the whole length of it.

I couldn’t figure out how we were going to make this work or for how long we’d be stuck, but exhaustion was slamming into me.

I yawned loudly.

“Why don’t you get into bed?”

I spun around to find Chris standing in the doorway staring at me.

“I’m fine,” I lied.

“You’re tired. Look, the storm isn’t going anywhere anytime soon so you might as well get some rest. Besides, I’m guessing Noelle will be up early tomorrow and you’ll need your energy.”

Chris wasn’t wrong. Noelle was normally an early riser, beating the sun up most days, something she must’ve inherited from her father because I definitely was not, but since it was Christmas morning, I was sure she’d be extra energetic.

“You’re probably right,” I conceded, hiding another yawn behind my hand. “What about you?”

“What about me?”

“Are you going to bed soon?”

“Yeah. I mean, might as well. It’s cold as a witch’s tit out here, and without power there’s not much I can do. Might as well call it a night.”

My stomach flipped.

Sleeping in Chris’s bed was one thing. Sharing a room with him was another entirely.

I made a quick trip to the bathroom before returning to the office. I was just about to scooch Noelle over so we could share the couch when Chris interrupted me.

“What are you doing?” he hissed under his breath.

“Getting into bed?”

“Sleep on the air mattress, Holly. ”

“Chris …”

“Please.”

I gulped. Chris was hard enough to resist when he was hauling a tree up the icy stairs just to make my daughter smile, his pleading didn't make it any easier.

Straightening my shoulders, I tugged on the end of my pajama top wishing I had something sexier, something less motherly to wear. “Fine.”

“Great!” Chris conceded with a clap of his hands before realizing what he’d done and glancing down at Noelle who hadn’t moved. My daughter could sleep through a freight train racing through her bedroom.

“On one condition.”

“Condition?”

“Yep. I’ll sleep there on one condition,” I declared, feeling brave.

Chris rocked back on his heels and folded his arms across his chest. The way his sweater pulled around his biceps sent a shiver through my body and I regretted going down this path. Not that I’d back down. I was halfway down the rabbit hole now so might as well leap.

“And that is?”

I took a breath. “You’re sleeping there, too.”

I watched as Chris processed my words. An awkward look crossed his face and he stared everywhere but at me. Immediately, I wanted to take the words back. Actually, it was more than my words I wanted to take back. I wanted to scoop up Noelle and go sleep in the car. Surely, if we wore all the clothes we packed we wouldn’t freeze to death. I was beyond embarrassed. I hated that the idea of sharing a bed with me made Chris so uncomfortable.

“That’s probably not a good idea,” he murmured eventually .

As humiliated as I was, I refused to cave. “It’s for one night. It’ll be fine.”

“I don’t know.”

“I do. It’s one night. We’re adults. Nothing’s going to happen. And if you’re worried I’m going to cross the line, you can build a pillow wall between us.”

I tried to make it seem like less of a drama even though my heart pounded in my chest.

“I don’t think that will be necessary,” Chris mumbled.

I clapped my hands. “Great! It’s settled then.”

While Chris stared at me like I’d grown a second head, I pulled back the covers and sunk onto the mattress, rolling straight into the middle.

“I’m just going to lock up. Get some sleep, Holly,” Chris offered before bolting out the door, looking like he was going to hurl.

I tried not to take it personally. Lying there in the middle of the room, burrowed under blankets that smelt like sandalwood and man, I listened to the fire crackle and Noelle’s soft snores. I hoped Chris wasn’t repulsed by me. I mean, I wasn’t expecting him to have fallen in love with me, but I wasn’t that bad. At least I didn’t think I was. No, I shook off the thought. I didn’t even want to go there. I had enough insecurities without adding unrequited love to the list. I might have an itsy bitsy, little crush on Chris, but if he didn’t reciprocate, I’d be fine. The storm would pass. My car would be repaired, and Noelle and I would be back on the road never looking back. It would be fine. I’d be fine. I just had to get through the next twenty-four hours. Easier said than done.