That little magical stunt only cost me five points, so I have plenty left to win over my very human mate. I might have thought she was an elf escaping from Sugarplum when I first saw her, but after the few moments we were interacting, it’s clear just how human she is. For one, a true elf would have known who I was immediately.
It’s what happens when you are one of the reindeer princes of Sugarplum. Consider it the human world’s equivalent of a movie celebrity. So yeah, she would have reported me to therealhead elf as soon as she opened her eyes.
Another reason? The glamour over my appearance that helps me really sell the whole human man persona? Yeah, she would have seen right through it. Although we have a pretty accurate human appearance, some things can’t be hidden. Such as snorting, twitching our noses, stomping our feet, and overall reindeer behavior. It would be quite obvious I wasn’t normal if I didn’t keep the glamour up.
Claire squeaks to get my attention, holding out two steaming cups of hot cocoa. I wink at her, take the drinks, and turn towards Macy’s.
Time to find my mate.
Chapter Four
Saved by the Tinsel
Holly
I’ve had bad mornings before, but this one surely has taken the top of the list. Especially when you add in “Jonathan screaming at me before I’ve even clocked in” to the day right behind my near-death experience and losing all the hot cocoas.
I’ve barely made it through the staff entrance before his onslaught begins.
“Holly.” My name cracks through the air like the snap of one of those long horse whips. “Do you have any idea what time it is?” His voice screeches like nails scratching down a chalkboard, causing me to wince as my teeth grind against each other.
I stop short as he steps in front of me. Yikes, I’ve seen Jonathan mad, but not angry tea kettle mad. Customers arepeeking around shelves to see what all the fuss is about. So now I’m covered in sticky, dried hot chocolate and being stared at by random people. Lovely.
“One Mariah Carey chorus past fashionably late?”
His hand balls into a fist on his hip as his eyes squint in disdain. Okay…so my joke didn’t land. Shocker.
He’s wearing his signature black slacks with the loudest Christmas button-up I think anyone could find. There’re wrinkles already forming down the front, something that only happens when the frazzled, control freak side of him comes forward. Great, now my day just got longer.
“You were supposed to be here thirty minutes ago, working to finish the North Pole display long before guests began arriving for photos with Santa. Now, instead of your talented touch, I had to step up and do it myself. I’m pretty sure Mrs. Claus looks possessed instead of warm and bubbly. So instead of fond, happy memories, kids are going to have nightmare fuel. All because…” His eyes flick down my body, slowly assessing my now stained elf costume and sticky tights.
I lift my toes up, the tiny silver bells ringing gently as they rock back-and-forth. You know that moment after the teakettle alerts you that the water is boiling? When it seems to rock, the longer it waits for you to pull it from the heat? That’s what Jonathan looks like, the rocking teapot screaming for you to move it.
I lean to the side, peering around him to see Mrs. Claus. Sure enough, he’s somehow managed to turn the cute lady into something demonic. She looks as if she might audition for a role in a Christmas horror film, not the cute, classic version of Santa Claus.
I wince as my eyes move from the display and back to the fuming teakettle. “Yeah, that looks bad. Not sure how you managed that one.”
“Well, what happened to you?” Jonathan asks as he glares at the wonderful whipped cream stain on the edge of my skirt. He scrutinizes it as if he can discern exactly the story if he only stares long enough. My damp elf hat is dangling limply from my finger as I twist them back and forth. “Did you wrestle someone for their hot cocoa this morning? Is that—chocolate?” His finger shakes as he points to the melted brown stain decorating what is supposed to be the “snow” on my hat.
Between his hand balled up on his hip, the anger radiating off of him, and his tone of voice, I feel more like a petulant child who ruined the family Christmas photo, instead of the adult who’s had a shitty morning.
“Close,” my voice barely audible over the Christmas music pouring from above us. “I was pushed off the sidewalk and into oncoming traffic.”
He scoffs as he rolls his eyes to the heavens. “I’m sure you were. You know Holly I really stuck my neck out for you when I gave you the promotion to head elf. Maybe you’re not…”
His words die off as soon as a voice as smooth as melted chocolate comes from behind me. I watch in fascination as his entire demeanor changes because of whomever just walked up.
“Excuse me,” the deep male voice says right behind me. As if his words are the siren song to my libido, every inch of me reacts to his voice. My spine straightens as a chill runs down it. My heart skips a beat as heat floods places untouched in years.
“I think this belongs to Holly,” Ryatt says as he walks up next to me holding out a fresh cup of hot cocoa. He even made sure to put chocolate shavings on top of the whipped cream. How did he even know I’d want that?
Jonathan blinks slowly as if his brain can’t comprehend what is happening in front of him. To be fair, I’m not sure what’s happening either. “You two know each other?”
“I wouldn’t say we know each other…” I manage as my gloved fingers brush along Ryatt’s. Tingles race up my arm, but not the static electricity kind. No, this is something different. Something I’ve never experienced.
Ryatt’s perfectly pink lips tilt up into a smile. It’s like seeing the sun glisten across freshly fallen snow. Rare, beautiful, and enrapturing. I don’t know how to paint, but I’d give anything to paint his face onto a canvas, forever holding this moment. The moment a man as handsome as him shared what feels like a secret smile with me.
He doesn’t stop looking at me, his eyes holding mine as he answers Jonathan. “She was almost part of the morning traffic report. Thankfully, she is safely inside listening to…” He looks over to Jonathan who is staring at Ryatt with his mouth agape. “Someone on a power trip, who wields it as a weapon against employees who can’t fight against him.”
