“Uh-huh,” Sofia said, her heart sinking more and more with every word. Isaiah had a whole life somewhere else, a good one, from the sounds of it.So what does that mean for us?
“I called Willow, and she’s going to drive up here tomorrow to get me. We can all grab dinner. I have a few calls to make from the landline at the Emerald House, but dinner at six tomorrow, okay?”
Before Sofia could ask who Willow was, Isaiah squeezed her hand and walked away.
Sofia saton her couch that night with her laptop out but was unable to focus on work. Not even the success of her booth at the tulip festival could help ease the nerves she was experiencing.Isaiah Perez. From Phoenix, Arizona. A former officer in the US Army. Preparing to start a coffee business in California.
She’d really thought that Isaiah had grown fond of Emerald Hollow, but she wondered if it had been something like Stockholm Syndrome. He was from Phoenix and lived in San Francisco, both massive cities compared to rural Emerald Hollow.
San Francisco.She could hardly imagine him there. If that was the type of place he’d chosen to live when he got out of themilitary, he certainly wouldn’t be interested in Emerald Hollow as a place of residence.
And who is Willow?He’d said her name so casually, as if he’d known her forever.A best friend? A girlfriend? Certainly, he would have said if that were the case, right?She took a sip of her wine then rolled her shoulders, trying to calm her anxieties about the next day.
Two different versions of me.Isaiah’s words rang in her head like a morning alarm. If there were two different hims, it meant the Isaiah before the memory loss was the real him, and the Emerald Hollow Isaiah had just been someone his brain had clung to in order to function during the trauma of the memory loss.
Maybeshehad been someone he’d clung to for the same reason, and he didn’t need her anymore.Be reasonable,she told herself.He hasn’t said any of that. Maybe it can still work out.
She drained her wineglass and turned on the TV. The movie50 First Dateswas playing.Great, a movie about a couple falling in love despite a traumatic memory loss.She scowled and quickly changed the channel. It was going to be a long night.
Chapter Fifty-Four
HOLLY
Holly strolled through the woods behind the Emerald House, Comet at her heels. She was trying to prepare herself for a conversation with Ash. The incident with Auryn and Isaiah had given her an idea. If she was right, it could lead to healing for a family. But if she was wrong, if could cause bitter disappointment.
She’d experienced enough human emotions through her Cheer meter to know that getting one’s hopes up only to have them crushed was not something she wanted a person she loved to go through.
And if I were the cause of it?Holly shivered.
She reached the small clearing where her reindeer liked to roam, and Comet ran over to greet his friends.
Holly tapped her watch anxiously.To tell or not to tell.There was always the option of pursuing the idea without telling Ash first, but she felt a strange twisting in the pit of her stomach when she thought about that. She’d already told Ash who she was and all about her magic. He’d even been to the North Pole.
But this feels different. This is abouthisfamily.And Holly thought it was possible that someone from the North Pole had accidentally destroyed it.
Chapter Fifty-Five
ASH
Ash finished closing up the kitchen for the night, flicking off the light switches as he left the restaurant. He was oddly calm. The tulip festival had been a success by all accounts, Isaiah’s memories had been restored, thanks to Holly and her elves, and he was starting to wonder if the magic that seemed to seep out of Holly and into the town was going to continue to benefit its residents for years to come—as long as there were no more snow tunneling incidents.
The knowledge that Holly was a Claus and that North Pole magic ran through her was still astounding, but it had never been impossible to accept. He’d known from the moment he met her that something was different about her. The explanation, once he’d received it, had come as a confirmation more than anything. Still, it was difficult not being able to share any of that with their best friend, Sofia.
Ash made his way slowly through the lobby, where brilliant, bold, fabric tulip decor was still covering all free surfaces. He smiled.Holly and her decorating.
He shook his head and decided not to worry about Sofia. She and Isaiah had hit it off, and though he knew that Isaiah’s getting his memories back might change some things between them, hewas sure they would work it out in the end, if their relationship was meant to be.
He smiled as he walked down the hall toward his rooms. He’d never seen his best friend as happy as she’d been these past few weeks. She was a firecracker, and Isaiah seemed to handle all that personality with ease. It was like they were built for each other.
And Ash liked the idea that Holly’s magic had somehow brought them together, just like it had for the two of them.
Ash opened the back door across from the entrance to his apartment and glanced out at the forest. Holly had said she was taking Comet for a walk while he closed up, and he hoped to catch sight of them on their way back. He waited a few minutes then spotted his gorgeous woman emerging from the forest trail, Comet at her heels. Though it was dark, he thought he caught a worried expression on her face.
Has something gone wrong with Isaiah? Have there been some side effects she didn’t tell me about?
A frown creased his face. He never wanted Holly to be stressed. No matter what unintended consequences came from her magic and her being in Emerald Hollow, it was never her fault. But he was pretty sure from the look on her face that she disagreed.
Chapter Fifty-Six
