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

by Hale, Chelsea

  Hailey bounced on her toes. “Can you keep a secret, Santa?”

  He nodded. “Of course,” he said.

  “I more than like him. I’m definitely falling for him.” She covered her mouth like she’d revealed an earth-shattering secret.

  He smiled at her, wanting to tell her it was him, and knowing that if before was bad timing, now was even worse. He said something along the lines of congratulations to her, all the while his head spun at the vocal revelation. He was falling for her too. He wanted to say just that but she interrupted his thoughts.

  She shook Troy’s hand. “Thanks again for the amazing performance this morning. It’s been a long time since I’ve been impressed by a Santa, and I’ve hired a lot of them.”

  “Thank you. I wasn’t trying to create the performance, it just happened.”

  “That’s always the case when you wear the Red Suit. We’ll be in touch.”

  Troy nodded. Hailey looked at her phone and then held it to her ear as she headed out through the lobby doors. Troy made a bee-line for the elevators, pulling out his own cell phone from his present sack as soon as it started vibrating. He pushed the elevator button up, and swiped the phone on. When the elevator door opened and there was no one inside, he pulled down the beard. “Hello?”

  “Where have you been?” she asked. “I thought we were going to meet for breakfast.”

  “Sorry, I got … held up in a conversation, for work.” He was grateful for the reception in the elevator that hadn’t dropped the call. He headed straight for his room. He would breathe easier once he took off the suit. She’d find out soon enough who her favorite Santa really was, but until then, maybe he’d keep it as a happy surprise.

  She blew out a breath, her tone changing. “Oh, sorry about that.” She gave a nervous laugh. “I forget sometimes that you have a real job that isn’t just helping with all of my whims for the Festival.”

  “I don’t mind your whims,” he said. “Besides I’m having a lot of fun with my role in helping you.” In fact there was nothing else he’d rather be doing in his life than helping Hailey succeed, and spending time with her.

  Chapter 16

  “Thanks, Troy,” Hailey said into her phone as sat outside the hotel. For a few minutes she’d actually thought Troy had forgotten about breakfast. Her stomach rumbled, and she hoped it didn’t come through on the call. Until this moment, she’d glossed over the fact that Troy using his vacation for her event for a couple of months, might require him to still check in. She felt insensitive for not thinking about it.

  It’d been so helpful to have someone to bounce ideas off of, and he was so good at commanding the attention of everyone when they’d gone to the different businesses. He was a natural. But it was more that she couldn’t imagine any of this without him. Her heart was wrapped up in him. Giddiness sprinkled itself over her at the thought.

  She bit her lip, the words that she’d spoken to Santa racing around in her mind. Maybe he could be more than just a friend. It was a delightful thought, and one that she wanted to explore with Troy. Their kiss in the mountains last night had made her weak in the knees for the rest of the evening. She’d tried to remember anything that she and Emily had talked about over dinner last night, but all of it had gone in one ear and out the other when her thoughts centered on Troy. She hadn’t wanted to let go of their doorstep kiss either. She’d laid awake thinking about kissing Troy for a long time last night.

  “So, is it too late for breakfast?” he asked. “Or should we call it brunch?”

  “I’m still in the mood for breakfast,” she said, her stomach rumbling again at the mention of eating food.

  “Are you close by?”

  “Waiting for you,” she said.

  “I like the sound of that.”

  “Ha. So the hotel breakfast?”

  “I’m waiting in the lobby,” he said. “Where are you?”

  “You’re not. I was just in the lobby five minutes ago,” she said.

  “I’m here by the fireplace, right where I said I’d meet you.”

  “I-I’ll be right there,” she said, hanging up the phone and standing up from the bench. She walked back inside, her nerves firing on all cylinders. She’d had a stomach full of butterflies when she’d walked in earlier, but they’d all calmed down as soon as she’d focused her attention on the mysterious Santa. He’d been sweet with the little girl. She’d watched from the lobby, standing next to a pillar. Santa had had the posture, the look, the gestures. From her vantage point earlier, she hadn’t been able to hear the little girl’s request, but she watched the whole scene like a silent movie, filling in the motives and the emotions when it was appropriate. The entire thing was perfect.

  As she glanced to the chair Santa had been in, she saw Troy sitting there, reading the local newspaper, as if he’d been there the whole time.

  “Where were you before?” she asked.

  He blinked at her, a neutral look on his face when he said, “What are you talking about? I’ve been in this chair all morning.” He straightened out the newspaper, engrossing himself in the black and white newsprint.

  She shoved his shoulder. “No you weren’t. Santa was just here. Where were you before you were here?”

  “In my hotel room?”

  She rolled her eyes. “You’re impossible. Is this seat taken?” She pointed to the wing-backed chair that she’d sat in before when she’d been talking with Santa earlier.

  “I’ve been saving it for you,” he said. “It might be hard to eat our breakfast in these chairs.”

  She moved the chair back, revealing the small round table, and pulled the table forward between the two chairs. “There. This should work.”

  A server came over to them, offering them menus. Troy folded the newspaper, laying it on the hearth.

  “I ran into someone this morning,” she began, after looking through the menu.

  Troy tilted his menu down. “You ran into someone? Did that hurt?” His eyes held a gleam in them.

  She shook her head, covering up a laugh with a cough. “Not like that. I mean, I met someone this morning.”

  Troy looked at her thoughtfully. “Should I be jealous?” He seemed to hold another sparkle of a laugh in his gaze.

  She giggled. “I don’t know, should you be jealous?” She bit her lip, loving the banter between them.

  Troy rubbed the bottom of his chin. “Maybe I should. I mean, we only kissed yesterday and I’m still in a fragile state about what that really means for … us. Telling me you met someone this morning doesn’t really bolster my confidence in the relationship area.” He smirked at her.

  “Ha ha,” she said, pushing his shoulder. “Not like I met someone, met someone. I met Santa.”

  Troy laughed.

  She tilted her head. “What’s so funny?”

  “You really met Santa?” His eyes were curious.

  “I did.”

  “I’m definitely not jealous,” he said.

  She laughed. “I didn’t think you would be.”

  He paused for a heartbeat, then said, “Would you rather he be your Santa Claus for the Forest Festival?”

  “Didn’t you already order your Santa suit?”

  “Not the question,” he said, his eyebrows drawing together.

  She shook her head. “I think you’ll do a great job as Santa, besides, it’s something really fun. If I could pull off being Santa for it, I would. Just the opportunity to connect with everyone on a different level is amazing.”

  “I agree,” he said, with such conviction in his eyes it took her by surprise. “I think there must be something to it. I can see why it would be a coveted position. Would you ever be Mrs. Claus?”

  Her eyes widened. “No. I’m definitely not old enough to fill that role,” she said, touching her hair. “There’s no way I’d be believable.”

  He frowned at her. “Aren’t we close to the same age? And you think I can pull off Santa Claus.”

  “That’s diffe
rent,” she said, realizing she’d painted herself into a corner. “Besides. I already have a cute elf costume. I’ll be the one helping the kids to smile while they get their pictures taken.”

  “I don’t think there’s any difference,” Troy said. “If I can pull off Santa Claus, then you could definitely pull off Mrs. Claus.”

  Hailey could feel her cheeks heating. “They’ve never really had a Mrs. Claus here before.”

  Troy nodded. “I think you’d be amazing at it,” he said sincerely.

  Hailey looked around as they continued eating their food. “Speaking of amazing, you really should have seen this Santa Claus. The entire costume looked custom. I’ve never seen such a well-dressed Santa before. He was pretty modest about it, but with a suit like that, I have a feeling he’s been doing this for easily ten years.”

  Troy smirked. “Ten years, huh? Is that what he told you?”

  “Just a guess. Maybe it’s been longer, who knows. He was a pro at the part too.”

  “It sounds like you should hire him for the job. I might be a disappointment after a seasoned Santa appearance.”

  Hailey shook her head. “I’m not bringing it up to compare, not really. I guess I’m still in awe at seeing a Santa so early in the season. That’s all. I wish you would have seen the way he talked with the little girl who came up to him. It was magical.”

  “Magical?” He leaned back in his seat, looking at her for a long moment. “I wished I could have seen what you saw.”

  * * *

  Clouds had gathered in the morning, whispering the arrival of snow, but not falling until their breakfast was almost over. Hailey put a hand to her heart, the little flurries outside the window next to their chairs bringing her mind straight back to their kiss from last night. She could feel the warmth settling on her cheeks. She probably looked like a giddy little school girl. She finished her bite of food, about to announce the change in the weather, when Troy interrupted her thoughts.

  “Look, it’s the first snow of the year.”

  Her heart pounded at his excitement, and at the memory in Silverwood. “Soon we’ll be walking in a winter wonderland.”

  “I think that’s an excellent idea,” he said, watching the growing flakes fall and stick to the trees and sidewalk.

  “The antique shop said that their donation is ready, and they want us to come and see it. It’s not far from here, if you want to brave the weather,” Hailey said, smiling. They finished their breakfast, and she wrapped her scarf around her neck as they headed outside.

  Troy’s gloved hand found hers as they walked down the snow dusted sidewalk. Their footprints melted the snow, leaving a meandering path behind them. Christmas wreaths with large crimson bows hung from each of the lamp posts down Main Street, but now with a little dusting of snow it was felt more like Christmas. Hailey savored the moment.

  They approached the small antique store with the bright orange door squashed between a row of windows displaying newer and older items. Brass shone from decorations, while other items looked like they’d been purposefully weathered to attain their antique status.

  A bell rang as they walked through the door. Cinnamon and the smell of oranges filled her senses inside. Light Christmas music hummed in the background. Every inch of the store held something to see, an old-fashioned type of charm that filled the space. They looked at the Christmas display area, not seeing anyone working in the store.

  “Is this your kind of store?” Troy asked.

  “What do you mean?”

  Troy shrugged. “You decorate for events, pulling from a range of stores, but if you were to pick something for you, where would you go?”

  Hailey looked around the store, tilting her head. “There are definitely some treasures here,” she said, taking an ornament with a large velvet ribbon off the tree. The crystal star distorted the light behind it, almost seeming to glow in her hand. “This is my style.” It was more than her style. She loved it. “This would be something I would hang on my own tree.”

  “It’s beautiful,” Troy said.

  The shop owner came out from the back, ushering them to see what he’d created for the Forest Festival. Hailey reluctantly returned the star ornament to where it had been on the tree, determined to come back and buy it as soon as she saw the owner’s tree in the back. She followed the owner quickly.

  After admiring the tree and asking about delivery, she and Troy headed back into the shop. She picked up a few old-fashioned wreaths to use as decorations for the Forest Festival, but when she came back to the tree, the star ornament was gone.

  She asked the woman at the cash register about it, as Troy hung back, looking at a few more of the decorations. “Did anyone buy the star ornament that was on that tree?”

  The woman looked around the shop, her eyes wide. “I’m sorry, miss. Christmas decorations tend to move quickly through our store.”

  They’d barely been back in the back room ten minutes. She sighed. “Well, it was a beautiful ornament,” she said, wishing she’d held onto it instead of putting it back on the tree.

  Chapter 17

  “Don’t be mad,” Troy said to Cara. He paced in his hotel room, knowing he probably should have alerted Cara sooner, but he had spent the entire day with Hailey enjoying the first snow.

  “See, when you start out a phone call like that, I assume I’m supposed to be mad.” She laughed. “What did you do this time?”

  “I may have panicked and given out your personal number to someone,” he said.

  “Am I pretending to be your girlfriend to let someone down not so gently? Because I do feel like I’ve become an expert in that,” she said.

  “Would you be mad about that?”

  “Of course not. It’s actually kind of fun!”

  “That’s good to know for the future, but that’s not why.”

  “I’m waiting,” Cara said. “Who did you give my number to? A single guy who needs a date to the Forest Festival?”

  “Hailey.”

  “The girl you’ve been working with? Doesn’t she have your direct line already? Why shuffle her through me?”

  “Well, I couldn’t give her my number when she asked Santa for his contact information, could I?”

  “Why didn’t you just tell her it was you?”

  Troy ran a hand through his hair. “I thought she knew it was me. After she opened up to me as Santa, and then asked for how to contact Santa, I realized she didn’t know that it was me. I’d just asked her about her friend, thinking she knew the whole time that it was me, and it would have been so awkward to tell her right at that moment. So I panicked and gave her your number.”

  “So, I’m supposed to answer every possible unknown call on my personal phone with some sort of greeting about the North Pole?”

  “I’m texting you her number, and if she ever calls, you can pretend to be an elf for Santa.”

  “An elf? Really?”

  “I warned you not to be mad.”

  She laughed. “I’m not mad, I just think you’re going to a lot of trouble for this woman.”

  “I really like her, Cara.”

  “Then you should just tell her the truth.”

  “I will. I’m going to. But I wasn’t going to admit that after she’d confided in someone she thought was a perfect stranger. This is only if she calls in the next couple of weeks, before the Forest Festival. If she calls after that, well, she’ll already know by then. I’m going to be the same Santa at the Forest Festival.”

  “Did you give your elf a name?”

  “I just used your name. I figured that was easiest.”

  “So, let me get this straight. Say she calls me and asks for Santa’s availability. What am I supposed to say? Do you want me to book you an event?”

  Troy scratched the back of his neck. He and Hailey needed to at least talk about their relationship openly together before he revealed that he was Santa. After that it would be a non-issue. He could explain to her that he wasn’t really av
ailable to do any Christmas party for her. She would understand. He supposed that if she was really in a pinch, he’d come and help her for an event anyway, though playing Santa at a ritzy party he could have been invited to, felt a little odd. But if Hailey was planning ahead and wanted to book something between now and the time he could talk to her about it, what would he do? “Check my calendar and see if it’s something that I can feasibly do. If it is, sure you can put it on my calendar.”

  “And if she asks you to travel for it?”

  Troy sighed. There were so many possibilities. But Hailey was completely mesmerized by him being Santa. He’d seen it in her eyes. “I’ll travel for Hailey, as long as she’s in attendance at the event.”

  “I’m writing all of this down,” Cara said. “So, she’s an event coordinator. She’s going to book multiple events at a time. So what’s your limit on how many you’ll do for her?”

  “I can’t imagine you finding much room in my calendar to begin with,” he said.

  “Humor me. You’re the one who got yourself into this mess. I’ll be thorough so I don’t have to call Santa in the middle of the phone call to get this figured out.”

  “Fair enough. Two is probably the max,” he said, though even as he said it he knew he’d be willing to do more. He’d throw out his whole winter schedule if it meant spending more time with Hailey after the Forest Festival. Warmth spread through him at the thought. He wanted to see her after the Forest Festival. He’d jumped into this competition with the idea of winning, but right now that didn’t matter. The competition had brought them together. He’d focus on that, whatever it looked like after she went back to Seattle and he went back to New York City. Right now, he was keeping his options open.

  “Got it,” Cara said. “Anything else I can do for you, boss?”

  “Yes, one more thing. Hailey is going to put her aunt’s house up for sale. Have my realtor look into this property and see what he thinks.”