The little bell above the café door jingled, and Colton smiled at who it was. “Hey, Noel.”
Noel waved, and next to Colton, Merry let out a squeak. Colton turned to find Merry’s cheeks had gone bright pink, his eyes wide as he stared at Noel.
“I’ll, um, go put in your order, Clara.” Merry promptly took off like someone had lit his candy cane socks on fire.
Colton arched a questioning eyebrow at Clara, who sighed.
“Those two have been dancing around each other for months. Ever since Merry moved into town. It’s adorable and frustrating.”
Noel was a big man, ruggedly handsome. He had that lumberjack vibe to him. He was older than Merry, but not by much. Colton leaned in. “And how does Noel feel about Merry?”
“Between you and me, I think he’s interested, and I’ve seen him flirt with Merry before, but Merry just short-circuits. Neither of them seems to get anywhere.”
Colton hummed. If Fitz were here, he’d have already devised a plan to get those two together. Noel stood at the counter, waiting patiently, a gentle smile on his face while Merry took his order, his face looking like it was about to catch fire. Merry’s gaze would move to Noel’s, then dart away. Clara was right. They were both adorable and frustrating. For crying out loud, kiss already! Good grief, he sounded like Ace.
“I have our invoices for you right here,” Clara said, snapping Colton out of it. He turned his attention back to her as she handed him a flash drive. “Since we order almost the same supplies every year, I thought the easiest way to get you all the information you need is to give you copies of all our invoices.” Her expression softened. “Are you sure about this, Colton? You can still back out, and no one would blame you.”
“Don’t you worry. We’ve got this.”
Clara nodded. “The rest of the boys are back at the Ice Castle. Red was assessing the damages. Mason and Lucky were inspecting the roof. They said they’d put together a list of supplies. Jack was removing the old panel and inspecting the wiring with King. You have no idea how grateful Christopher and I are.” She wiped a tear from her eye.
“Christopher?”
“My husband. Christopher Snow. He’s the mayor of Winterhaven. I’m sorry he couldn’t be here. He’s at the reindeer farm.”
Colton opened his mouth, but no reply was forthcoming. Had he heard her right? The hospitality manager, Clara, married the mayor, Christopher Snow, who looked like Santa and had a reindeer farm. Leo’s precious little head was going to explode. Finally, Colton found his words.
“You have a reindeer farm?”
“Oh yes. Christopher loves animals. It started one winter when he rescued a poor, injured, abandoned calf. A few months later, he’d rescued another. His herd grew from there. He takes care of them year-round. Every winter, we offer sleigh rides, and leading up to Christmas, guests can take a photo with him and his reindeer.”
“Does he grow the beard for Christmas?”
Clara laughed and waved a hand. “Oh no. That’s what he always looks like.”
Well, I’ll be damned.
Anothermeephad Colton glancing toward the counter in time to see Merry trip on something, flail, and disappear just before a loud thump suggested he’d hit the floor.Ouch! Unable to take it any longer, Colton shot off a text.
“That poor boy is going to knock himself out one of these days,” Clara tsked, shaking her head.
Noel had run around the counter to help Merry, lifting him and putting him on his feet like he didn’t weigh a thing. Poor Merry looked like his little heart was about to burst out of his chest at any moment.
The bell above the café door jingled loudly as it flew open. A flurry of faux fur rushed through. A heartbeat later, Fitz dropped into the chair beside Colton and ran a hand through his wind-swept hair.
“I came as fast as I could.”
Colton gaped at him. “Did you just run here from the tree farm?”
“The woods,” Fitz corrected. “You said there was a matchmaking emergency?”
Clara laughed joyously. “Oh, you boys are fun to have around.”
Fitz scanned the café, his eyes landing on Merry and Noel. He gasped loudly, a hand flying to his chest, or at least where his chest would have been were it not buried beneath several layers of furry winter coat.
“Sweet Sally Hansen,” Fitz whispered. “Well, I know what Paul Bunyan wants for Christmas, and it’s not more plaid.”
Colton snickered. “Poor Merry. I think he needs help.”
