After a while, we were all curled up, starting to dose. Artie actually sat next to Pumpkin on the floor in front of the fire. He took a couple hours to warm up to the squat little cat, but at least there was hope.
When Ronnie’s parents said their good-byes, I scooped up my cat and presents and made my way out too. I felt like a little grey rain cloud ruining everyone’s holiday, and I needed to get away. I dropped Artie and the presents off at my apartment, promising him I would be home in a short while. It was after midnight, so it was technically Christmas, but it was still Christmas Eve for me. If I got out of my funk, tomorrow night I could enjoy my holiday with Artie.
I walked through the streets, letting the cool air clear my head. The enchanted snow crunched underfoot, and music piped through the neighborhoods. Kids were outside, playing in the snow. Now that the holiday monster was gone, Havencrest was back to looking like a picturesque snow globe. I stopped to buy those stockings I’d promised myself for Artie and me, and I managed to get a few little gifties to slip inside. Yes, I bought myself a few gifts—a girl’s gotta spoil herself sometimes.
Eventually I found myself at the town square, the massive tree looming overhead. I wasn’t the only one with that idea—the park was full of people. Carolers were grouped on the sidewalk, a gold bucket in front of them for donations. The city had set up a temporary ice-skating rink with lights strung overhead. Couples and families circled and laughed.
I found an empty park bench and sat, sighing quietly as I looked at the decorated tree. While I was trying to figure out which ornament was mine, someone walked up behind me and cleared his throat. Bolting up, I turned to find Cole. He was wearing a charcoal-grey peacoat with a blue striped scarf, and his hands were jammed into his pockets.
He smiled at me. “Hi.”
“Hi.” I gestured toward the bench. “Care to join me?”
“I hoped you’d ask me that,” he said as we sat.
We leaned back and stared at the tree. The enchanted snow carefully fell around it and not on it so as not to obscure any of the magical decorations.
“Had to get away from the family,” Cole said. “Just a bit much.”
“How so?” I wanted to know that I wasn’t the only one dealing with something over the holiday.
I had actually been looking forward to this Christmas and not worrying about money. It was supposed to be the first holiday in years where I could just have fun and try not to think about my problems or that my parents weren’t around to enjoy it with me. Instead, it had been consumed with death, yet again. I’d watched a goddess destroy her child, and the scent of his ashes was still in my nose. Would I ever have a holiday that didn’t remind me of death?
“Oh, you know,” he said, adjusting in his seat. “I’m the only single one, so everyone is all paired off and wanting to fix me up with their great friend with the wonderful sense of humor! And all the kids.” He made a frustrated noise.
“You don’t like kids?”
“No, it’s not that. They’re just a bit much, you know?”
“Actually I don’t,” I said with a shrug.
“Well, they get stockings full of candy and then toys and more toys, and it’s suddenly like something out of Lord of the Flies. They take over the house, and there’s nowhere you can walk without getting a sticky hand on your leg.”
I laughed, shaking my head. “Gee, you make it sound so magical.”
“I know, right?” he said with a smile. “I’d say it would be different if they were my kids and not just my nieces and nephews, but I swear my sister’s mug of eggnog was mostly rum by the time I left.”
“Merry Christmas,” I said, making him laugh.
“So if you’re not escaping the terrors of the Island of Misfit Toys, why are you out here?”
“Just been a rough week,” I said.
“Oh, with Kramp—”
“Please don’t say his name.”
Cole closed his mouth and looked at me with raised eyebrows.
“But yes,” I said.
“I saw you in the paper. You got those kids back. That’s pretty amazing.”
I closed my eyes, dropping my head. “I guess.”
“No, come on,” he said, turning to face me. He placed one gloved hand on my knee, urging me to meet his eye. “That’s amazing. Those kids, who knows what would have happened? Now they’re home, playing with toys and watching cheesy Christmas movies with their families. They get to wake up on Christmas morning and remember Santa is real too.”
“I love cheesy Christmas movies,” I said after a moment.
Cole smiled again and took his hand back. My knee was warm through my jeans where his hand had rested.
“Me too,” he said. “You know, they’re playing Elf at the dollar theater down the street.”
“I love that movie.”
“You’d be a cotton-headed-ninny-muggins if you didn’t.”
He said it so seriously that I burst out laughing. It felt so good to laugh—it shattered the tight knot that had been in my back since I’d walked out of Helheim.
“You think we can catch it?” I asked.
“They’re playing it all night.” Cole stood and held out his arm for me. “Come on, you look like that was your first laugh all week. Let’s see what we can do about that.”
I hesitated, but after a moment, I stood, picked up my shopping bag, and slipped my hand through the crook of his arm. “You know what, you’re so right.”
We walked through the decorated streets, and with his warm presence next to me, something inside me melted. The world looked brighter, and the music was sweeter. When he insisted on paying for the tickets, I didn’t argue. But I did buy the popcorn and sodas.
The movie was as good as I remembered, and we took turns whispering some of the choicest lines to each other, making us laugh a little too hard sometimes. By the time we were back outside of the theater, the sun was rising, making the enchanted snow glitter. It was Christmas morning, and I was alive.
Cole walked me all the way to my apartment building. Stopping in front of Ronnie’s shop window, he pressed his face to the glass and oohed and ahhed over the decorations inside. He pointed at the sign overhead, marveling at it after seeing it online on her fan page.
“You need to come into Havencrest more often,” I said as I unlocked the door to the building, holding it open with one foot.
“Maybe if I had more reason to visit.”
I felt a fluttering in my stomach. After my awkward last encounter with Fletcher, I hadn’t even given another guy a second look, telling myself I needed time alone. But it had been months now. Maybe I’d been alone long enough.
“You know, New Year’s Eve in Havencrest is pretty amazing,” I said, lifting my eyes to his.
“Is it? I’ve never spent New Year’s here.” His voice was lower, sending a tingling sensation through my back as he stepped closer. He took my hand, giving it a small squeeze, but not letting go.
“You really should,” I whispered, unable to look away. He was closer to me, and I hadn’t even realized he’d moved.
“Maybe you can show me why it’s so great.” His warm breath washed against my lips.
“Maybe,” I whispered, the word muffled against his lips.
His mouth found mine, and the kiss was soft and slow. His lips parted, drawing my lower lip between his. My hand rested on his chest. Through his layers of clothing, I felt his heart pounding, but he didn’t press into me. He didn’t push for more, and it was him who broke the kiss, taking a step back. He smiled at me, giving my hand another squeeze before letting it go. I smiled back, feeling lighter somehow.
“So it’s a date then?” he asked.
It took me a moment to remember what we’d been talking about. “Yes, it’s a date.”
“Pick you up at sundown?”
“Perfect.”
He waited for me to turn and go inside so that the door fell closed between us. He raised a hand, and I waved through the
glass, watching as he turned away and headed down the street.
I made my way up to my apartment, my feet lighter than they had been when I’d left. That was how one should spend a holiday, with smiles and affection, not longing and sadness. When I got to my apartment, I changed into my clean pajamas, gathered Artie, and went to bed. When I fell asleep, I wasn’t afraid of a nightmare finding me.
I woke with the setting sun, feeling more refreshed than I had in over a week. I made some pasta, curled up on the couch with my cat, and watched Claymation movies meant to renew my faith in humanity, just as I wanted to.
Acknowledgements
Thank you to the fans of The Matilda Kavanagh books. These are my love letter to my favorite genre. They are a breath of fresh air for me and so much fun. Your support of these books makes it possible for me to write them.
A special thank you to my editor extraordinaire, Cassie Cox, without whom I could not publish one book because she makes them better for me. And thank you to Elizabeth, my proof reader, you really helped make this book sparkle.
About the Author
Shauna lives in Southern California with her husband and two dogs and she is still writing, fueled by coffee and plot bunnies. Having already started on the next, magical adventure, Shauna is working furiously on the fourth book in this series. Watch out for the fourth book, Bewytched, coming in February 2015! You can follow Shauna on her website, shaunagranger.com, for more information on her upcoming projects.
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