The air was cold and crisp on my lungs, but it never felt too cold here. It didn’t sting my skin, or make my eyes water. Even though I was sure we were at the top of the equator. Nik had said they were protected by some kind of magic, but didn’t go into specifics. And I hadn’t asked. There were many magical secrets in Santa’s Village, and I respected the need for secrecy.
“Hi Kendrick!” Harry, a waiter at the village restaurant, called as he walked by. “Happy Thanksgiving!”
“Happy Thanksgiving, Harry!” I waved back, as he hurried on his way. He carried what looked like a couple of pies in his hands, and I wondered if he had made them this morning using the restaurant's ovens.
Keegan had made sure that all the stores were closed on Thanksgiving Day, including the restaurant. Insisting that if anyone needed a place to spend the day and get a meal, they were welcome at Nik and Keegan’s.
The number of people that showed up varied from year to year. As the holiday tradition had taken hold, fewer people wound up at The Santa’s house, going to friends' houses or hosting themselves.
The snow crunched beneath my boots as I made my way to my brother’s cottage. Somehow the two-bedroom dwelling had added a third bedroom when Keegan had gotten pregnant with Kieran. The living room had also magically expanded a couple of feet. I guess that came in handy as your family expanded, and you didn’t have to move. All Nik had to do was wave his hand and call forth his Christmas magic, and the house got larger.
Following the path past Nik’s parents’ cottage, I made my way up to the rounded wooden door. Giving a cursory knock, I entered the warmth of the house, the low sounds of conversation drifting to me. My nose twitched as the smells I associated with Thanksgiving–and home–washed over me. Roasting turkey, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie. Even though I detested pumpkin pie, I had always loved the warm spiced scent of it.
Before I could get the door completely shut, Bal was in front of me, his bulk nearly pushing my backside into the hard door. Putting a hand to his chest, I attempted to shove him back. “Why are you invading my bubble?”
He grabbed my hand in his warm one, his silver eyes troubled. “I need to talk to you,” he hissed, tugging me to the right, into what Keegan called the family room. “Now!”
“What is wrong with you?” I demanded, wrenching my hand from his. I did not need to feel whatever I was feeling with my hand tucked securely in his. My cells felt on fire, all my nerve endings lit up at his touch.
Taking a step back, I nearly tripped on a wayward toy. With quick reflexes, Bal grabbed me, pulling me into the hard wall of his chest. Looking up at him from beneath my lashes, I inhaled sharply. His scent wrapped around me, heating me from the inside out.
Candy cane and chocolate. It was a scent I automatically associated with Bal now, but there was something different about it today.
Had he always smelled like this? So rich and decadent? This tantalizing temptation that made my mouth go dry? That had my slick dampening my hole?
He stared down at me, his silver eyes narrowed with surprise…and something else. Whatever it was had his pupilsflaring wide. He dropped my hand like it was a flame that burned him, rubbing his palm against the shiny material of his pants.
“Careful,” he said softly, glancing at the floor. “Looks like Kacey forgot to pick up her toys.”
My voice was shaky when I spoke. “Thanks for the catch. What’s so important you had to drag me into another room?”
He moved his head, getting a look at the doorway. “I might have told Nik we were dating.”
Squinting up at him, I took a step back. “Might have or did?”
He rolled his eyes, “Do the facts really matter?”
“Yeah, kind of.” Crossing my arms over my chest, I tapped my foot against the floor and stared him down.
Finally, he threw up his hands in defeat. “Fine. I told him we were dating. I told the entire room in there we are dating. So, I need you to play along.”
“Ugh,” I groaned, “Why? I said I would go with you to your parents and be your pretend boyfriend. Wasn’t that enough for you?”
“Shhh!” he hissed, going over and peeking around the doorway before turning back to me. He stomped over to stand in front of the stone fireplace that was putting off a pleasant heat. Leaning one hand on the mantle, he stared down into the red and orange flames. “Your brother invited a blind date for me! I’ve already told him I wasn’t interested in dating anyone–especially Ruby from wrapping–but he doesn’t listen! I told him to absolutely not invite someone to fix me up with. He swore to me he hadn’t, but he’s a little liar! I had to say something!”
“And you decided telling my entire family that we are dating was it!”
Fuck a duck! Pretending to be Bal’s fake boyfriend for a couple of hours for his family was one thing. We could get in and out relatively easily, and no one would be the wiser. Announcing we were dating to my family, to the Kringles, and whoeverelse from the village happened to have shown up to eat, was something else entirely.
He pushed off the mantle and spun to face me, his eyes wild. “I panicked, okay? I didn’t know what else to say to make that elf stop touching me.”
Wait,what? Some elf had put their hands on my elf? No, not my elf. Balfour was notmyelf.
I mean, he was usually the elf that transported me to the village. And we did end up spending a ridiculous amount of time together when I visited, because we both vied for Kacey’s attention. And yeah, one of my favorite things in the world was getting under his skin so I might have, on more than one occasion, gone looking for him to start some mischief.
But it wasn’t because I liked him, or because he was mine. He was most definitely not my elf.
But I taught first grade and we all learned to keep our hands to ourselves. Clearly, they needed to teach that better here in the village. You just didn’t go around touching other elves.
