The Billionaire’s Christmas Miracle: The Billionaires’ Christmas Gifts Romance

by Hale, Chelsea

  A pit formed in Troy’s stomach. He wanted the words Hailey spoke to be true. But the truth was, he never would have found this cause had he not been on the yacht when the competition was decided. He was trying to raise the most money he could for this cause. He did care about the cause, and Hailey, but that wasn’t the end-all of his motivations. He mentally smacked himself.

  Paul pointed a finger at Troy. “I just offered you $2,000, and you snub my gift. How much did Troy Rasmussen give to this cause?”

  Troy blinked, not wanting to get into this. “Donations are not public knowledge,” he said.

  At the same time, Hailey said, “Troy gave $10,000 to the Forest Festival. And it was a gift with no strings attached. It had nothing to do with whether or not I’d go out with him.”

  Troy’s eyes widened. The proverbial cat was out of the bag, and likely climbing up the walls leaving scratch marks. Could this get any more awkward?

  “So $2,000 isn’t good enough for you? I’m a millionaire, but I don’t throw around $10,000 for just one thing. But if I did, would that prove something to you? Would it prove I think we should give us another chance?”

  Hailey looked between Troy and Paul, and Troy knew that she was trying to reconcile all of it. He couldn’t give her the go-ahead with this guy that she obviously had no current feelings for, but the truth was, they weren’t together either. Maybe if he hadn’t been around, maybe she would have taken the offer.

  “It’s not about the money, Paul. It’s never been about the money.” She blew out her breath.

  “How about I donate $10,000 if you let me be Santa this year then. That’s the least you can do.”

  Hailey’s answer came faster and stronger this time. “No. You’re missing the whole point of the Forest Festival, Paul. You can’t buy your position. That position is a tradition. It’s not something that can be bought.”

  “I’m already helping her with the role of Santa,” Troy said, hoping that was helpful.

  Hailey’s eyes widened, but she didn’t say anything. He couldn’t tell if that was a good thing or not.

  Paul glowered. “You’re going to have an Outsider be Santa? Someone who doesn’t even understand the importance of it. I grew up here. I should have the right to be Santa.”

  “Paul, you should go now. I’ve already made up my mind on who will play the part of Santa. We’ve got a lot to get ready for the Forest Festival. If you’d like to volunteer during the Festival, you’re welcome to, but you won’t be getting any special treatment.”

  “I’m rich enough I don’t have to donate time anymore,” he said, then stormed out of the building.

  When Paul was gone, Hailey exhaled, leaning closer into Troy. “I’m so sorry,” she said.

  “It’s okay,” he said. “That guy has some nerve.”

  She looked after where Paul had stormed out. “He wasn’t always like that. It’s the wealth.” She shook her head. “Wealth changes people and usually not for the better.”

  Troy didn’t agree completely with the statement. Not everyone who had money changed for the worse. But that was Hailey’s experience with her ex. She wasn’t impressed by her ex’s money. In a way it was a positive thing.

  Their hands still held onto the mistletoe. “This was exactly what I needed.” She blushed. “Thanks for saving me.”

  “Anytime,” he said. And he meant it.

  Chapter 9

  Hailey couldn’t stop thinking about Troy’s quick kiss for the rest of the day. It was quick thinking on his part to make the whole situation look real. Troy had never said that he was her boyfriend, only repeated the line she’d given him earlier about not being able to live without him. Paul was the one who had inferred that that meant they were more serious.

  Yes, they were seeing each other every day, but not in a romantic way. At least not until that kiss. It had been brief. She’d barely been able to enjoy it before the moment had ended. She wanted to repeat it again. She’d felt the sparks between them, the chemistry. It had been fun talking with him all week, but now there was something different. A connection on a deeper level that she wanted to explore.

  She took easily twice as long as she needed to in sorting and categorizing all of the Christmas decorations. After they’d seen all of the decorations they’d go to see the events center venue on Monday. It was a natural choice, though Edna had given them the ability to change the venue if they wanted to. As an event planner, Hailey could see the pros and cons to sticking with the same venue, but before changing the location she wanted to know what Troy thought.

  “Does that ornament hold a memory?” Troy asked Hailey, breaking her out of her own thoughts.

  She looked down at the non-descript snowflake. There was nothing particularly special about it. “No. It’s just a snowflake.” She put it down in the box, and pulled out something else. “Why do you ask?”

  “You were staring at it for about five minutes. I didn’t want to interrupt your moment or your memory if it was something special.”

  “My thoughts were elsewhere,” she said, wishing she could tell him what was on her mind.

  He only nodded, not pushing her for more information. That wasn’t like him. He’d been chatty all week long. Every time they’d been together he’d asked her questions, wanting to know more about Red Oaks and the Forest Festival. Realization hit that she’d practically monopolized the conversation.

  “Tell me more about you,” she started, keeping her eyes on the ornaments. All of these boxes could be used. It was just a matter of seeing the events center and creating the decorating plan.

  He shrugged. “What do you want to know?”

  “What do your holiday traditions look like? I feel like we’ve mostly just talked about me and the town’s traditions.”

  “I’ve loved learning about this town, and the Forest Festival, and how many memories you have here. It’s … refreshing.”

  “Do you go home for Christmas?”

  He nodded. “Most of the time. Sometimes we celebrate Christmas by going on a family vacation, but typically I go home from Christmas.”

  “And where is home?” Did he squirm at her question? She wondered about that.

  “My parents live in Colorado. That’s where I’m originally from.”

  “That’s quite the change from New York City.”

  He nodded. “Just like Seattle is a different place from Red Oaks.”

  “Do you like city life?” she asked.

  “I do. I like the pace and the bustle. What about you? Do you miss the small-town life?”

  “I didn’t grow up here, only visited a lot. I’m from Pennsylvania. When I’m here, I always enjoy being here. Seattle doesn’t move at the same pace as New York City, but it has its own cadence, and I like it. I’ve worked for some amazing people. I love the area. I love throwing extravagant events.”

  “How extravagant?”

  Hailey shrugged. “Sometimes when I ask for a budget, I’m told that the sky is the limit and to spare no expense.”

  “Millionaires?”

  Millionaires, like Paul? No way. “More like billionaires.”

  Troy straightened. “How do you know they’re billionaires?”

  Hailey tilted her head. “Reputation, mostly. I mean, they typically don’t go about bragging about their status or anything.”

  “Not like Paul?” he asked, his eyes held interest.

  Hailey laughed at that. “Paul is only a millionaire, and barely one at that.”

  “A completely different viewpoint between the two groups then?”

  Hailey shrugged. “I guess I haven’t thought about it.” But yes, there was a huge difference.

  “So these lavish parties you coordinate, you like being in that circle?”

  Hailey paused, wondering about his sudden interest in her high-end clients. After Paul’s childish remarks the way he threw around his money, she did not want to be lumped into a group like that. It didn’t matter to her how much money her clien
ts made, she just never thought about it in that way. “My clients are nothing like Paul. I like what I do, and the people that I meet when I’m working. My company focuses on bigger events. Word of mouth travels quickly in small circles, so I make sure that all of my clients have an excellent experience, but it’s not like I’m traveling in those circles unless I’m in charge of the event.”

  “That makes sense.” He kept his face neutral, and Hailey wondered what that meant.

  She pulled out another decoration. A mistletoe ornament. She laughed, and Troy looked up from the box of wreaths he was going through. “What’s so funny?”

  “You were earlier.” She held up the small mistletoe. “It was really quick thinking of you.” She resisted the urge to put her fingers to her warming face at the memory of his kiss. If she tried, she could make it last longer in her head than it lasted in reality.

  He gave a single nod. “It looked like you wanted help getting rid of him. With any luck it did the trick.”

  Hailey twirled the ornament around in her hand. Was it bad to hope that if it didn’t work the first time that maybe she’d be able to steal another kiss? “If not, we could always try again,” she said playfully.

  Troy grinned. “I can have him come back.”

  “Or not,” Hailey said. They could absolutely just try the mistletoe out without her ex watching.

  He smiled, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes.

  This would take all day if they went through each box one by one. Maybe it was just best to say they’d use everything they could, and see what Edna said about that. “Maybe we should call it a day,” she said. “All of this stuff is usable. We’ll just take anything that Edna is willing to let us use, and we really should look at the venue before we decide how to use everything.”

  “I’m here to help,” he said.

  Hailey wondered if there might be a reason for the distance between them since their pretend kiss in front of her ex. She bit her lip as they walked through the storage room door together. She leaned back into the room to turn off the light. “I know you said you had a lot of vacation time, but are you here for the weekends too? I mean, don’t you have a girlfriend or something that you want to go visit?”

  It was a shameless way to fish out the information, but she didn’t care. She had to know. Paul had jumped to conclusions with the way Troy had talked to him, and the way he’d kissed her, but without reassurance, she wasn’t sure what to think. They’d grown close over the last week, but it seemed like a chill separated them shortly after their kiss, and she couldn’t put a finger on why.

  Maybe he really had just wanted to help her get out of her awkward moment with Paul. But if Troy had a girlfriend, he could have just as easily put his arm around her to make a similar impression. Why jump to a kiss so soon? And why was her stomach still feeling like it was in a bounce house from the experience? It wasn’t even a long kiss. It was just a sweet, tender kiss. And there went her stomach again, bouncing around like it would never stop. Did he feel the sparks between them the way she did? Or did he even notice? She couldn’t tell.

  He stopped walking, looking at her. “You think I’m the kind of guy who would kiss someone if I already had a girlfriend?”

  “No, I just … I’m not sure what to think,” she rushed to say the words, not sure that her admission made anything better. But from his question, he also hadn’t denied having a girlfriend either.

  “I don’t have a girlfriend,” he said.

  “That’s good. I mean, that’s a relief.” She shook her head, willing her stomach to stop bouncing around so she could think straight. “I mean, it’s nice to know that you’re available to … help with the Forest Festival.” She started walking again, this time more quickly toward the outside doors. Anything to get away from this very awkward conversation.

  He matched her speed. “I may take a weekend or two and go back to the City. There are a few things I need to get set, for work.”

  “That makes sense,” she said, mentally doing a happy dance that he wasn’t attached.

  “What about you?” he asked.

  “Seattle is much too far away to commute home on the weekends. Besides my assistant is handling things, and she’s doing a great job.”

  “I meant do you have a boyfriend?”

  “No.”

  “I find that hard to believe,” he said.

  She shrugged. “Believe it or not, being an event planner interferes with my social life.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “How so?”

  “The events I plan, especially for my high-end clients, are all on their time schedule. Holidays, weekends, long weekends. When I’m really busy I have events back to back almost every night during the week too. It can be a lot.”

  “You work holidays?”

  She nodded. “It’s my busiest time. It makes sense when you think about it. People want to throw parties on holidays. So I’m always available for every holiday. I open my bookings a year in advance, and I’m already full on all of my holidays for the next year.”

  “That’s a lot,” he said. “Would you hire more staff to help you with that?”

  “I have a decent sized staff, and they covered the Halloween parties that were planned for the last two weeks. My assistant took over my November events already, and I should be back for at least half of my December events. I could hire more, but my clients have come to expect me to personally attend their events, to make sure everything runs smoothly. I will bring help when the party size requires it, but, small circles and word of mouth means I’m asked for by name. Clients don’t want me to pass their event off to someone with less experience. It’s flattering, in a way.”

  “Sounds exhausting to plan others’ parties and then not enjoy a holiday because you’re working,” he said.

  She shrugged. “I don’t look at it that way. It’s been a great business, and I’m grateful for the success. This year’s 4th of July party I coordinated for Brooks Morgan made National News. National! It was exhilarating. Since then, the company has been even more busy, though for everyone without a direct referral to me, I have passed many events to my assistants and my other event directors.”

  “I heard about Brooks’ party,” Troy said, impressed. “That was you?”

  She beamed and nodded. “That type of recognition doesn’t just come by throwing a party on July 3rd or July 5th. I was there. I was still able to enjoy the setting.”

  He opened her door for her, and it wasn’t lost on Hailey that he was still a gentleman around her, even if things between them had gotten a little weird after their kiss.

  “Where are we off to? Should we go look at the venue? Or should we have some lunch?”

  “We haven’t eaten at the Red Oaks Pizza Parlor yet since you’ve been in town. Would you like to try it? It’s just off of Main Street, but it’s really good.”

  “It sounds good,” he said.

  Hailey noticed how much hadn’t changed since she was a teenager. The door still squeaked the same. The pictures were still the same. The place had been frozen in time. They were seated in a booth and after ordering their conversation seemed like yesterday’s, devoid of the awkward, weird vibe that had hung in the air since their kiss. They ate quickly, talking mostly about the morning, though avoiding any more conversation about the mistletoe and their kiss.

  When they finished eating and started walking towards Troy’s car, Hailey stopped. The air was crisp, but the sun was shining in a beautiful blue sky almost devoid of clouds. “The events center is less than a mile away. Want to brave the walk?”

  He smiled, and her breath caught. “I can handle the walk,” he said.

  The sidewalk was narrow, requiring them to walk closely to each other. Their hands brushed each other as their strides matched, and she found her arm looped through his when they pushed closer together as someone passed them. She was about to regain her arm, but it stayed there, locked in his.

  Troy cleared his throat. “I need to know
what you honestly think.”

  She nodded. If it was whether or not she liked kissing him, the answer was yes, but it would help to have a few more data points. She pushed the thought aside, not wanting to jump to conclusions. The cold air nipped at her cheeks. She was sure that was why they felt the need to heat up right now. “I’ve only given you my honest opinions so far.”

  “That’s good to know. So about this Santa thing. You gave me a look when I was trying to help you with the conversation earlier.”

  “I did.” She remembered the moment well. He’d offered something that she didn’t know how to accept. It was really too much on the time of this man she’d met a week ago. Yes, he was helping her. Yes, she was grateful. But he had no idea what he’d just volunteered for.

  “Was it a happy, ‘I’m glad you volunteered’ sort of look, or was it something else?” His gaze was so direct, so focused.

  She could melt under that type of focus. She smiled and shook her head, still wondering her luck at his willingness to help her recreate this tradition for the town. She wanted to give it new life, so it would continue on for years, even if she wasn’t in charge of it every year. That’s why she was doing this. And he was here to help. It warmed her. “You’re so helpful. But you basically volunteered yourself for the most intensive job of the whole Forest Festival. I don’t want to put that kind of pressure on you. I’m grateful you volunteered. I’m not sure Paul would be right for the job anyway, but, maybe you’ll want to know more about it before you decide if this is really the job you want to take on.”

  He stopped on the sidewalk, turning to face her straight on. “Before you tell me about it, is it something I could do?” he asked.