“How?” Ash asked. He had told Sofia to call and cancel with Hallmark, but apparently, she and Holly had done more scheming than he’d realized.
“Me” came a voice from behind them.
Ash turned to see Lucas coming around the corner. His jaw dropped, but he recovered quickly and smiled tentatively.
“I can’t apologize enough for the damage I caused with the warehouse,” Lucas said. “But when I heard through the grapevine that the Hallmark rep was stuck at chain control, I got in my truck and went to pick him up. It doesn’t make everything right, but I want you to know I’m rooting for the Emerald House and for you.”
Ash climbed out of the sleigh, stepped forward, and stuck out his hand. They embraced with their other arms as they shook hands.
“It means a lot,” Ash said.
Lucas nodded.
“All right, it’s time to get this show on the road!” Sofia called.
Ash returned to the sleigh, climbing aboard with Holly, who had pulled out some costumes for them. She’d told him it wasn’t what she normally wore while riding in her sleigh, but it matched the American vision of Mrs. Claus.
“Ready?” Holly asked.
Ash smiled easily in return, like climbing into a sleigh with the real Ms. Claus was the most normal thing in the world. Comet, who had been busy licking the snow, jumped into the seat with them. Holly reached into a crevice of the sleigh and pulled up some fabric reindeer antlers and placed them on Comet’s head.
The sleigh rounded the corner onto Main Street, joining the other floats, and Ash saw that, like the clearing, Main Street had been completely transformed. The remaining decorations had been hung all over by members of the town. The garlands and baubles adorned the lampposts and small businesses that lined the parade route.
The crowd gasped when Holly and Ash approached in the sleigh. Snow was still falling but softer, with instrumental Christmas music coming from a nearby speaker. The two larger reindeer, whom Holly had called Dasher and Gale, led them right to the front, while the smaller ones, Ivy and Clove, strutted behind them like proud peacocks.
The parade officially got started, and the residents of Emerald Hollow packed the sidewalks with the tourists and cheered as the sleigh passed by, Santa and Ms. Claus waving to the crowd. Ash’s heart swelled seeing them all there. The turnout had been incredible in spite of the massive snowstorm.
As they rounded the corner at the end of the parade, momentarily out of sight of all others, the reindeer led the sleigh under an arch decked with a sprig of mistletoe. Ash grinned and slipped his arm around Holly’s shoulders.
He leaned in close, taking a strand of her silky hair in his hand. “I’m pretty sure a part of me has wanted to do this since the moment I first saw you drinking my hot chocolate.”
Holly’s eyes sparkled with delight, her beautiful eyelashes softly closed, and he leaned in the rest of the way for a kiss more magical than anything she had shared with him before.
ChapterFifty-Five
Following the parade and a joyful hour spent with the people of Emerald Hollow, Holly knew it was time to go. Though it wasn’t late yet, she needed to give the elves time to load the Dreams into the sleigh, and she would need a full team of reindeer.
Holly studied Ash’s face as he talked to a small group of townspeople. He was completely relaxed, smiling broadly and laughing with his friends. Finally, he seemed to be completely in the moment, not running around, trying to fix everything. Still, in spite of being surrounded by all his favorite people, he couldn’t seem to let go of her hand.
He pulled her in close whenever they turned away from a conversation, gently brushing her hair from her face and making her skin tingle with a tender kiss. Part of her wanted him to be able to stay there and enjoy the rest of the night in his town, but another, stronger part of her felt compelled to pull him aside and ask one more question.
“Hey, Holly. Today has been amazing. Thank you again.” He kissed her softly on the forehead, and her heart melted like whipped cream on warm gingerbread.
“Of course. But now I have to ask you something.” She twirled her watch, which was pleasantly warm on her wrist, feeling suddenly shy. “Would you… would you want to come with me? Tonight, I mean.”
Ash’s eyes widened as realization dawned, then he grinned. “That’s a possibility?”
“There aren’t any rules against it. You’ve been able to see the reindeer for a while now, so I think Christmas magic is already becoming part of you.”
Ash barely stopped to think about it. Within seconds, he lifted Holly into his arms and spun her around. Snowflakes danced in the air.Our perfect snow globe,Holly thought.
“I’m in.”
* * *
“Where are you two off to?”Sofia called to Ash and Holly as they passed her jewelry booth.
Ash did a quick inventory of her stall, which was busy, and she looked like she was doing well. “Don’t worry about it,” he said smoothly, taking Holly’s hand.
