Tidings of Love

by Alicia Hunter Pace

  “Sweet shirt, Noel.” After their second round in the bedroom, Noel had put on an oversized red monogrammed sweatshirt because Nickolai had gotten baby oil on the shirt she’d had on earlier. Never mind how. “I’m always amused at women who feel they must put their initials on everything they own—makes me wonder if they plan on scattering their clothes hither and yon. Though you’re not the type.” Tewanda smiled the meanest smile Noel had ever seen. “Or are you?”

  Then she slinked over to where Nickolai stood. “Merry Christmas, baby.”

  And she opened her to coat to reveal that she was wearing nothing but a big red satin bow and emerald green underwear that made Noel’s look like Pollyanna’s pinafore.

  Nickolai held his hands, palms out, in front of him and made a sound that could only be described as primal and enraged.

  “Vse zayebalo! Pizdets na khui blyad!” His face reddened, his eyes bugged, and he pointed at the door. “Pashla Nahui! Cover yourself, woman!”

  Tewanda took a step toward him and said in a pouty purr, “English, dearest. I’ve told you a hundred times.”

  Nickolai ran his hands through his hair. “Tewanda, you do not want to understand what I said. Though you are not a stupid woman, only a crazy one. I’m sure you take the meaning. Get out of here! Leave this instant.”

  “But, baby, I had to see you for Christmas. I waited in your bed for the longest but I—”

  “You what? How you get in my house?”

  “No, precious. It’s ‘How did you get in my house?’ But to answer your question”—she laughed a silky little laugh—“I knew you didn’t really mean it when you asked for your key back, so I might have had another made. After all, occasions—like Christmas—do arrive. Too bad that big, bad storm kept you from me.”

  “Khuinya! I should have listened to Mikhail and gotten the locks changed.”

  “But you didn’t want to spend the money, did you, baby? ’Cause you are so afraid of blowing out your knees and ending up living under some overpass with nowhere to go and no one to go to. But you can always come to me.”

  Nickolai looked like he’d been slapped. “I should have listened to my agent, as well—and asked the American government for help in keeping you away from me.”

  “No one could have kept me from you today.”

  “Nyet. No. We are done!”

  “This is what we do. We break up; we get back together. This is the getting back together part.” She moved toward him again, and he backed up a step.

  Nickolai shook his head. “Nyet. Is not true.” He met Noel’s eyes. “Is not true!”

  But was it? He certainly seemed incensed, but maybe it was because he didn’t like to be surprised. Maybe he wanted to control when he saw Tewanda again. Or could this all be part of some sort of sick game they played where he’d sleep with someone else and Tewanda would sail in for a reconciliation? No. That was just crazy. Noel rubbed her temples. Or maybe not. What did she really know about Nickolai Glazov?

  And Tewanda had known where to find him.

  Nickolai must have been a mind reader because he folded his arms over his chest. “How did you find me, anyway?”

  “Gabe. He tweeted everything—who was at Christmas Eve dinner, how the storm hit, how you stayed over. Did you really sit up all night with a Yule log?”

  “On menya zaebal. Someone needs to take away the phone of Gabe Beauford, and it will be me. I will throw it in the ocean.”

  “That’s going be a long trip.” Tewanda’s laugh was mean and abrasive.

  “Then the toilet. I will throw it right in Gabe Beauford’s own toilet!” Noel cringed. Was it her imagination, or were they enjoying this argument? Though his eyes had turned steely cold, Nickolai was calmer now.

  “Well, don’t be too sure you can get access to Gabe or his toilet. I went there today as soon as the roads cleared, and those people wouldn’t let me in. I told the guy in the guardhouse that I was your girlfriend, but he wouldn’t budge. But neither would I. He finally told me you’d already gone, had left really early. So! I figured out the rest. I knew you couldn’t get back to Nashville, and Noel was the only other person you knew in this town—though I had forgotten about her until I saw Gabe’s tweets.”

  “I could have gotten back to Nashville. I didn’t want to get back to Nashville. I like it here with Noel.”

  Tewanda stiffened and slowly turned to look at Noel. “Really?” Then she began to laugh. “Really! Oh, honey. I knew he liked your quilts, but … oh, well.” Then she laughed some more.

  “Tewanda,” Nickolai said intensely. “Get back on your broom and get out of here. I mean it. Do it now.”

  “I can’t, baby cakes. My broom is broken. Either you’ll have to take me, or I’ll have to stay here with you and Laura Ingalls Wilder until someone comes to get me.”

  “What? Who?” Nickolai looked wildly from Tewanda to Noel. He was so confused on so many levels that Noel longed to solve it all for him—except she was confused, too. And most of her confusion concerned whether or not Nickolai even deserved any sympathy.

  “I had a wreck,” Tewanda went on. “These Podunk streets are still icy. I skidded and hit a light post four blocks from here. I managed to get my car to a parking lot, but some part underneath was dragging on the street. I had to walk all that way here in these boots.”

  “You should have kept walking,” Nickolai said.

  All of a sudden, Noel wanted Tewanda out of here—him with her, if that’s what it took. And if Tewanda had really wrecked her car, she was going to need help from someone.

  “Tewanda, I don’t think you can get a wrecker in Beauford today. Maybe in Nashville. Would you like to come upstairs where you can be comfortable while you make some calls?”

  “That’s the other thing.” Tewanda reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. “My phone’s dead.”

  “That’s all right. We have the same phone. You can plug in with my charger.”

  “I would love a cup of tea—green if you’ve got it.” Tewanda moved toward the stairs.

  “No.” Nickolai moved to block the stairwell. “Tewanda, you are not to have Noel’s hospitality.” He met Noel’s eyes. “I thought she was just annoying, but I see now that she is vile. I will not have her bring poison to your happy home.” He hesitated and looked from one woman to the other. “I will take Tewanda home to Nashville. She can make arrangements for her car there.”

  “I knew you’d see it my way, baby,” Tewanda said.

  “I see nothing your way.” He grimaced. Then he turned and laid a hand on Noel’s arm. “I will see you soon, zvezda moya.”

  It wasn’t until after the heavy door closed behind them that the snow globe crashed to the floor and shattered. It was only then that Noel admitted to herself that she had hoped it might stay intact after all.

  Chapter Nine

  It had been the longest day of Noel’s life. After Nickolai and Tewanda had left yesterday afternoon, Noel had admonished herself not to expect to hear from him, not to hope. But she had, of course. She’d never stopped hoping that he would call, or maybe even come back, until midnight.

  But at midnight the Christmas magic was gone—if there had ever been any—so she had changed her sheets, washed her face, and gone to bed. At least she hadn’t hoped today, let alone expected. She couldn’t decide what hurt more: the false anticipation or the certainty that there was no reason to be optimistic.

  Everything in the shop except the quilts had been half price today, so they had been crazy busy. That had helped.

  It was almost closing time now, and Noel cut what she presumed would be the last length of fabric today. “I think you’re going to be so happy with this combination,” Noel said to the woman who had come all the way from Atlanta for the sale. “Send me a picture when you finish your project. I’d love to put it on my website.”

  “I will. And thank you. I would have never thought to put the aqua with the apricot, but it works. You’re a genius!”

/>   “Yeah, that’s you. Genius,” Noel’s naughty bits said. “You lost our guy.”

  “Shut up. We never had him.”

  “Didn’t feel like it to us.”

  “Thank you,” Noel said. “Bethany will take care of you at the register. Bye now.”

  She took the bolts of fabric back to the room with the fun, retro fabrics. Emory and Rafe Beauford had brought Noel’s car to her earlier, and Emory had invited her to come out with them tonight to The Café Down On The Corner. It was open mic night, and Jackson was going to sing. But she didn’t have the heart for it. She might or might not eat a Lean Cuisine before going to bed.

  It was ten minutes until closing time, but Noel locked the door anyway. Bethany was straightening a basket of Christmas ornament kits, and Hannah had just finished vacuuming.

  “I’m going to shut down, girls. Keep an eye out, and if you see a customer coming, please unlock the door.” Though she didn’t see how there could be anyone left in the galaxy who hadn’t already been in today. She went behind the counter and removed the bank deposit bag from a drawer.

  “Hannah,” Bethany said. “Somebody’s coming across the street. Will you get the door?”

  Great. Now she’d have to wait to close out the register.

  “I can’t believe he’s a quilter. He’s a hunk and a half,” Hannah said.

  “Hey!” Bethany ran to the window. “He looks like that hockey player in the soup commercial.”

  Ice and fire prickles danced over Noel’s scalp.

  “Yay!” her naughty bits cheered. “Don’t screw it up this time.”

  “Shut up! You don’t even know why he’s here.”

  “Well, it’s not to buy a rotary cutter and a yard of cotton voile, that’s for sure.”

  Noel looked up to catch Nickolai’s profile as he smiled a thank you to Hannah, who opened the door for him. If the girls looked a little star struck, it was probably due to his good looks rather than his celebrity status. The star athletes in their world played football at Beauford High School.

  Noel beat back the joy blooming in her heart. What if he was coming to tell her he was back with Tewanda? Not that he owed her an explanation, but he might think he did.

  “Thank you, girls. You can go.” Noel forced herself to look at Bethany and Hannah. “Make sure the back door locks behind you. I’ll set the alarm.”

  And when she looked back at Nickolai, he had turned to display a happy smile—and the blackest eye she’d ever seen.

  Without thinking, she flew from behind the counter and closed the space between them.

  “What happened to you?” She led him to sit on the sofa in front of the fireplace and tipped his face to get a better look.

  “Is nothing—an accident in practice. I collided with my teammate’s stick. It makes me look tough and desirable, no?”

  It doesn’t take a black eye for that. She almost said it, but remembered that she still didn’t know the purpose of his visit. Maybe he’d left his phone or wallet. She hadn’t seen them, but it was possible. She released his face and stepped back.

  “You ought to wear better face protection.”

  He shrugged. “I don’t like the weight, and it makes it hard to see. And I don’t fear pain. If I did, I would play chess.”

  Noel ran her finger under the bruise. “Are you in pain?”

  “Not so much.” He dropped his head and gave her a pitiful look. “Perhaps some?” He tried to pull her onto his lap, but she resisted and sat beside him instead.” He gave her a pouty look and raised his face expectantly. “Maybe a kiss will heal?”

  She still didn’t allow herself to melt, but it was looking bad on that front.

  “What about Tewanda?”

  He shrugged. “What about her? I dropped her at her townhouse. I told her the government requires that you call the police when there is a wreck, but she does not listen. She only talks.”

  That didn’t have the sound of a man who’d reconciled with his girlfriend. Maybe he really had only wanted to get Tewanda away from here.

  “She was angry that I wouldn’t come inside her house and help her, but I was in no mood to be helpful,” Nickolai went on. “Taking her back to Nashville was enough. Her car is her problem. No one asked her to come here. I would have called you, but I am very stupid. I didn’t get your phone number.”

  Her heart lifted.

  “I called Gabe Beauford so that I could ask Emory for your number, but he didn’t answer. Then I fell asleep.” He turned the corners of his mouth down. “Not the night I planned.”

  She allowed herself to stroke his cheek. “You needed to sleep. Those catnaps didn’t do much to help you recover from staying up all night with that log.”

  “And with my Noel.” The devil was in his eyes—and maybe an angel, too.

  The melt started.

  He smiled, and the thaw went into full swing.

  “Kiss?” He lifted his face again, and she was a goner.

  They kissed a good long time—longer than they should have considering that anyone walking down the street could see them. But how could she stop when the pieces of the snow globe were fusing back together?

  When they finally parted, Nickolai smoothed her hair. “I like your hair, all the different colors of blond.”

  He probably wouldn’t approve of what she paid Sue Ann at Red Carpet Tresses for those highlights.

  “Thank you. It was a nice surprise to see you come in the door.”

  He frowned, perplexed. “Surprise? Didn’t you know I would come?”

  “Well … no.”

  “I might have called you on the Piece by Piece phone today, but you had your work to do. I didn’t want to interrupt.”

  If only her family would adopt that policy. While they were shopping, her mother had called three times and her sister twice so Noel could check to see if items they were considering buying could be found even cheaper online. Twice, she’d had to order things and have them shipped to Louisville. They had never been what you’d call thrifty, but they liked to win the After-Christmas Sale Game.

  “Stop thinking about them,” her naughty bits said. “Pay attention to our guy!”

  “He’s not our guy!”

  But she gave him her best smile. “And you had your work to do. How was practice?”

  Nickolai looked disgusted. “Not long enough for me. I had to stop to see the team doctor, and he wouldn’t allow me back on the ice, no matter that I only had a little headache. But that gave me time to get some things for you.” He picked up a bag at his feet that she hadn’t noticed until now. “First, I brought your favorite candy.” He handed her a three-pack of Goo-Goo Clusters.

  “Three? All for me? I’m a lucky girl.”

  “All for you. But is my favorite candy, too. So if you wanted to share …” He gave her a pitiful look.

  “I might. If I like what else is in the bag.”

  “You will. For our beach trip, there is this.” He pulled out a large purple and silver towel with the Sound’s logo of a music note wearing a hockey skate and wielding a stick. “Now you won’t need to use Gabe’s towel.”

  “I told you. It’s not Gabe’s towel!” But she laughed and rubbed the towel against her cheek. It was physical evidence that Nickolai had been here, that he liked her—at least for now.

  “But you like this Sound towel better?”

  “I do. It will be my number one towel now.”

  “And number two.” He pulled out a second towel. “And I have other things.”

  And he did—water bottles, t-shirts, koozies, a keychain, coffee mug, car tag, and soft-side cooler.

  “And last”—he reached into the bag a final time—“I brought you my old sweater. It will be big for you, but the other wives and girlfriends wear them big.”

  Girlfriend. Her senses snagged on the word and turned her world upside down.

  But Nickolai didn’t notice. He put the jersey in her hands. “See?” He pointed to a tear and a dark brown
stain. “I’m not allowed to wear this anymore because of the rip and the blood that left a stain.”

  “Blood?” she said with some alarm.

  “Sure. I got a bloody nose from a high-sticking Vancouver Canuck. I didn’t hit him back. He went to the penalty box, and I scored on the power play. This stain is how you know this sweater is authentic. Some women—they might buy a sweater to fool people into thinking they have a Sound boyfriend. But it doesn’t fool smart people. I have never given away a sweater before,” he said proudly.

  “Thank you. I love it.” And she did, bloodstain and all, even if that did make her a little barbaric.

  “I leave in the morning to play Detroit on Friday night. Then we play in Montreal Sunday morning. Eleven-thirty, I think.”

  “I’ll be gone to Louisville, but I’ll record the games.”

  “Then, maybe we’ll watch together?”

  “Sure. That would be fun.”

  “I’ll wave to you. On Monday, the night before New Year’s Eve, we play the Avalanche. You’ll come to that game? And wear my sweater? There is a special place for families and girlfriends to sit. I can get a ticket for you there.”

  Numbly, Noel nodded. Surely, all this must mean something. After all, it wasn’t every man who marked his territory by bringing a woman a bloodstained hockey jersey.

  “And when you come to see me play, you will sit with Mikhail’s wife and Isak Olsson’s girlfriend. They’re nice. Jan Voleck is only nineteen and does not understand that the wives and girlfriends do not like it if you make a girlfriend of a puck bunny. He has done this.”

  “Seems like the Sound’s locker room is a hotbed of gossip.”

  He shrugged. “Is good to stay informed about these things. Jan is new to this country, and his English is not so good. But this woman—Krystal—she speaks his language, though not Czech. She has spoken the language of many members of the team and tried with others. The wives and girlfriends do not like this.”

  “And the players? Do they like it?” Noel wondered if this woman had succeeded with Nickolai.