Kristine Rolofson - Her Mistletoe Magic

“Grace isn’t in her office,” he said, trying to sound casual. “Is she around here somewhere?”

Jilly shook her head. “She left. Her foot was really bothering her.”

“She was in pain?”

“One of the EMT guys had to leave early and Grace caught a ride with him.”

“One of the EMTs?”

“Friend of the groom. I guess some of them were in the military together. But she told me to call her if there were any problems.” She reached into her pants pocket. “And she asked me to give you this.”

“Thanks, Jilly.” So much for that mystery. He opened the folded paper and read what he already knew. Grace was holed up in her own little home. Alone at Christmas, which obviously was how she wanted it.

Nico went home to his dog.

GRACE CURLED UP in her blue-and-white bedroom, listened to voice messages from her father—“great weather, wish you were here”—her aunt—“great weather, the baby is gorgeous, wish you were here with us”—and Patsy, who’d attended the wedding ceremony but went home to her family afterward.

“Tell me everything,” her friend said. “Unless it’s after eleven. Then wait until tomorrow.”

Did Patsy want to talk about her afternoon with the Vitellis or the success of the wedding reception? She returned none of the calls.

There was nothing from Nico, not that she expected to hear from him. He wouldn’t be pleased that she’d left without telling him. He took his responsibilities seriously. She’d done him a favor, she told herself, reaching for a tissue. He wouldn’t have to take care of her anymore.

They would be friends.

Grace wept.

“IF YOU WEREN’T interested you should have told me. You didn’t have to run off with one of the bodybuilders.”

It was seven-thirty Christmas morning and a rumpled, pale Nico Vitelli stood at her door. “Nico, what are you—”

“Breakfast.” He handed her a plastic grocery bag. “I grabbed some things to make pancakes.”

“Pancakes?” She stepped back and let him enter her small living room. She’d been up for two hours and had opened her three Christmas presents while drinking three mugs of coffee. At least she wasn’t wearing a flannel nightgown, not that pink yoga pants and a white sweatshirt with the Mirror Lake Lodge logo was much better. She leaned on the crutch and waited for him to explain.

“Yeah. I need to apologize. And Vitellis apologize with food.”

“I didn’t run off with a bodybuilder.” She took the bag. “I was saving you a snowy drive to town.”

“Liar.” He followed her into her tiny kitchen and leaned against the counter as if he owned the place. “You were running away from me. Why? Who hurt you?”

“That’s not—”

“Really, Grace. Who hurt you and how long ago? I heard you were dating someone for quite a while, but he moved away. Was it an ugly breakup?”

“His name was Josh. He got a job offer in Houston and he left me.” She poured a cup of coffee and handed it to him.

“Thank God for Houston’s booming economy,” Nico muttered.

“The relationship was getting serious,” she continued, her voice soft. “Or so I thought. I trusted him and he walked away.”

“You were in love with him.”

“It felt like love at the time.” Grace saw the hurt flash in Nico’s eyes and wished she hadn’t been quite so honest.

“He obviously wasn’t the right man for you.”

“No. I know that now. But at the time? I was heartbroken. He wasn’t ready to get married, he said. He wasn’t ready to ‘take the next step.’ That was news to me, because he’d hinted at a future together and I’d believed him.” She tried for a smile. “I seem to attract men with commitment issues.”

“No,” Nico said. “Those men just weren’t right for you. If that guy, the one who moved to Houston, had been the right guy you’d be eating tacos and drinking tequila right now.”

“Nico—”

“Just so you know, I have zero commitment issues,” he informed her. “I’m as loyal as Al.”

Grace couldn’t help smiling at that statement.

Nico continued. “I started to fall in love with you when I interviewed for the job here. The evening I asked you for a drink.”

“But—”

“Not because you were gorgeous. And wearing that red dress. Or because your hair was coming undone in a very sexy way. I fell for you when I saw you comforting a little girl. You really cared about her feelings and you took the time to make her feel better. I loved that. It made me want to know you.”

“I was talking to Anna.”

“Yes. I didn’t know who it was then—Marie told me later what had happened. If I’d only known it was her, I could have stepped in and been the big-hero uncle.” He smiled ruefully. “I didn’t see her face, but I saw yours.”

“She was crying into a corner when I found her. It took a few minutes to get her to tell me what was wrong.”

“I waited around until you came back, to ask you out. I was desperate to impress you, to convince you to talk to me.”

“You were flirting.” And she’d thought he was a well-practiced charmer and would have none of it. “I was a tongue-tied mess,” he confessed. “I’ve been trying to get your attention ever since.”

“You have not.”

“I have,” he insisted. “Ask Patsy. She arranged the Secret Santa gift. I bought the birdseed as a cover.”

“It worked. I was totally fooled. She set it up so I got your name, you know.”

“I suspected from the way you blushed.”

“I did not.”

“You did.” He slipped his arms around her waist. “Could we start over? I rushed things, I know. I scared you.”

“Only because I thought you seemed so...distant yesterday. I thought you were embarrassed that your family thought we were serious. The guys were teasing you about changing diapers and having kids.”

“I was afraid they’d know how very serious I am,” he admitted. “I didn’t want to scare you off.”

He kissed her then, and it was definitely not the kiss of a man who was just looking for a friend.

“Can we start over?”

Grace looped her arms around his neck, letting her crutch drop to the floor. “What did you have in mind?”

“We could go out on a date. To the movies. Eat popcorn. Hold hands.”

“Okay.”

“We’ll have Sunday dinners with the family once in a while. Watch the Super Bowl. Emily has a dance recital coming up. We could go and cheer.” His hands tightened around her.

“We could.”

“Then on Valentine’s Day I come up with some clever way to surprise you with a great big diamond ring. I get down on one knee and beg you to marry me.”

Grace blinked back tears as she looked up at him. He was serious. And he was nervous. “And when I say yes?”

He broke into a smile. “We plan a Christmas wedding, which I know from experience you are very good at.” Nico pulled back from her, reached into his pocket and pulled out a little bundle of jingle bells. “I kept them for luck. What do you say?”

“They’ll be perfect in the bridal bouquet,” she managed to say.

“And we’ll live happily ever after?”

“Of course we will.” She sniffed. “You, me and Al.”

“And maybe a couple of little Vitellis.” His lips skimmed her mouth.

“The more the merrier,” Grace whispered before she kissed him.