by Susan Hatler
The drawing was of a snow scene drawn in chalk on black paper, the chalk smudged, lending it an almost misty quality. I looked at Adam. “It’s cute.”
He gestured to the paper. “Look again. What do you see?”
“It’s a house, with smoke coming out of the chimney, and a tray of cookies cooling on the window sill?”
He nodded, and handed me another picture.
“And this is what looks like a toyshop?”
He put another drawing in my hand.
“And this one is bigger, with what looks like . . .” I squinted. “An open fire? I can see it through the windows, oh, and Santa standing in the doorway.”
Adam took the drawings and laid them in a circle with the Santa picture in the middle.
I gasped. “Oh! That looks exactly like…”
“Santa’s Grotto, Cookie’s Kitchen, and the Elves’ Workshop.” He turned the pictures over one by one so I could read what was written on the back.
“Santa’s Village in the Forest, Adam Kline, age seven.”
I stared at Adam, my eyes going wide. “After you left for New York, your dad brought your drawings to life. That’s incredible.”
He handed me another drawing of an arrow nailed to a tree, and the words “Santa’s Grotto” were written on it. “That’s the sign I told you to get repainted that first day. And this?” He handed me another drawing. “This is Santa’s sleigh. And this was also in the box.”
I lifted the silver baby rattle, with Adam’s name, weight, and birthdate on it. “Silver Bells!” I exclaimed. “He built this entire business for you.”
“Yeah, it took me long enough to get it.” He shook his head, the corners of his mouth twitching. “I used to tell Mom and Dad stories every night in the run up to Christmas. As soon as December First arrived, bedtime stories would be replaced with my Christmas ones, where I’d describe all of the goings on at Santa’s Grotto. Dad would join in and we’d describe this magical world filled with elves and reindeer, and Santa, and then as I started to get sleepy, my parents would read me ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas until I fell asleep.”
Adam smiled tearfully, but I was suddenly furious.
“You realized this last night and you still came in here this morning with Viles, who is so very vile. I’m sorry but Harmony’s right that he’s vile and you signed the contract anyway? He put his heart and soul into Silver Bells for you, the part of you that you’d somehow forgotten. How can you let something that special go to a man who uses mud gravel to clean his face?”
“Faith . . .” He took my hands again and leaned close. “I didn’t sign. I decided last night to sell my Manhattan apartment instead. I’m moving back to Christmas Mountain.”
I blinked. “You are?”
“Yes, I’m going to keep Silver Bells exactly the way my dad intended.” He handed me back the letter that had been sitting on his desk. “Of course, Miles had a raging fit, ranting about how small town folk couldn’t be trusted to run a real business, anyway.” Adam grinned. “So I told him It’s. Just. A. Small. Change. Miles.”
My mouth opened. “You did?”
He nodded, looking at me hopefully. “Will you manage the place for me?”
It was so much to take in. “I’m thrilled Silver Bells isn’t going anywhere. Thank you so much for the offer, but I have to decline.”
He frowned. “What?”
“I’ve accepted Bernice’s job offer at It’s All Downhill From Here. I start as soon as I can leave here and I’m excited about it. Silver Bells has been my comfort blanket. It’s about time I stood on my own two feet. But,” I said, looking behind me down the hall in the direction of Harmony’s desk. “I know someone who would be great at running the place, although the tissue company will sure miss her bulk orders.”
“I understand and support you.”
Of course he did. That’s the kind of guy he was. “Everyone needs to do what’s right for them. I should’ve supported you from the beginning, too.”
He handed me a sheet of paper. “Read this, but before you do, you should know that the first time we kissed changed everything for me. I had come here to sell a business, not to fall in love, but I did. You’ve been all I can think about, Faith.”
My eyes watered again.
“When that thing happened with Connor, of course I was hurt, but it was more than that, I realize now. I think it was an excuse for me to be angry with you to make going back to Manhattan easier. Because walking away from you would be an impossible thing for me to do, Faith. That kiss changed my life.”
I opened out the sheet of paper, and began to read.
Twas the kiss before Christmas, when it all began,
Under old mistletoe, one woman, one man.
The tinsel was hung, the tree looking fine,
And all he had was her on his mind.
The couple was nestled in each other’s arms,
As Adam began falling for Faith’s lovely charms.
But little did he know that was only the start,
That mistletoe kiss that captured his heart.
The sleigh rides they shared, the reindeer they found,
Just brought the pair closer, how it made his heart pound.
She brought him along to The Sharing Tree one night,
She made him see how he’d completely lost sight.
But try as he might, he couldn’t help but fall,
Even when he was mad at the Silver Bells ball.
It was just an excuse, to stop his heart breaking,
Because he’d lose her for sure with the choice he was making.
So he made a decision, he’d live out the dream,
That he’d had as a child, which his father had seen.
Say it’s not too late, that there could be a way,
For you to be mine if I promise to stay.
I didn’t even try to stop the tears from streaming down my cheeks. I threw myself into his arms and he held me tight, so much tighter than I’d ever been held, as if everything we felt for each other was in that hug. Adam was staying in Christmas Mountain. I could hardly believe it as I buried my face in his chest, his red sweater tickling my skin. I laughed.
He cupped my cheeks. “I love you, Faith.”
“I love you, too, Adam,” I whispered.
And then we kissed beside the desk and from somewhere outside I heard a faint but familiar ho-ho-ho, which made me pull back from Adam. I looked up into his icy blue eyes that were lit in astonishment, making me wonder if he’d heard it, too. But we didn’t say anything, he just smiled and kissed me again, with silver bells jingling in the distance.
Epilogue
Being the boss’s girlfriend had certain privileges like not having to give two weeks notice at Silver Bells. Adam promptly promoted Harmony, who vacillated between crying that I was leaving and squealing that she’d received a promotion. As sad as I was about leaving, I was really excited to be starting at It’s All Downhill From Here.
I looked around my new office and smiled. Unlike my small (but much loved) Silver Bells office, this one was big and airy, and had the most magnificent view from the mountain, and of course, more room meant more space for Christmas decorations, even though it was already Christmas morning.
I danced along as I put the final touches on my tree, singing happily, “Santa Claus is coming to town.” I smiled, remembering the last time I’d heard that song, which seemed like an eternity ago. So much had changed since then.
It turned out that Adam was Santa Claus. He’d saved Silver Bells, and subsequently me. It had taken me a while to realize that I didn’t need saving at all. I carried Melody King and Larry Kline in my heart, but I could stand on my own two feet.
I stood back to examine my handiwork. It had taken the best part of the morning to sort it all out, but now that I had my desk and all of my own belongings in here, as well as the decorations, it finally looked like my office.
I heard a cough behind me, and turned around. �
�Adam Kline, do you hang around in every girl’s doorway at Christmas?” I asked.
He stood at the open door, looking relaxed and happy. He was back in a suit, but gone was the New York style tie and in its place a candy cane-striped version. I walked over to him and straightened it, before standing on tiptoes and kissing him on the cheek.
He smiled at me. “Are you all set?”
I looked around my office, and nodded. “I think so, yes, although I have to say I’m glad it’s Christmas Day, because I’m exhausted.”
“Not too tired for Christmas dinner, I hope?”
I shook my head. “Definitely not. I can’t wait for The Christmas Extravaganza, too.”
Adam was taking me to dinner at Silver Bells and it would be the first time I set foot inside it as a visitor and not as an employee. I was excited to be seeing it from a different perspective, and happy that I was still a part of the place that had played such an important role in my life.
“Good, because people are waiting for you.” He held my coat out for me to put on, and then wrapped my scarf around my neck. “Your stepfather’s flight just landed, so he’ll be there soon with your mom. Morgan and Dallas have said they’re dropping by, along with her brother, and so is Ruby. Harmony’s boyfriend is meeting her there, although she asked me to tell you they’re arguing again.”
“They are?”
He raised his hands. “I don’t want to know any more.”
I rolled my eyes. “You really don’t.”
He looked serious as he slipped his arms around me. “Thank you, Faith.”
I smiled up at him. “For what?”
“For everything,” he said, looking into my eyes.
Without any more words, I knew exactly what he meant. “It was my pleasure.”
He kissed the top of my head. “I was thinking about the Johnsons again today.”
“Oh? Between driving all of my stuff here?”
He nodded. “They had the right idea. I’d like our children, and one day our grandchildren, to take over Silver Bells.”
My eyes filled as I nodded, too touched to say more.
“Ooh, before I forget . . .” He pulled something from his pocket, picked up the hammer and one of the nails I’d been using earlier to hang up pictures. He went to the doorway and placed our old sprig of mistletoe above the door, hammering it in gently, its leaves still bent and creased, and its berries still squashed.
I laughed. “It’s looking a bit worse for wear, isn’t it?”
Adam pulled me under the mistletoe with him and wrapped his arms around me. “No matter how big the challenges, some things are just meant to survive.”
And then he lowered his lips to mine and we shared a long, lingering kiss that promised our future would be merry and bright.
The End
If you enjoyed spending time with these characters,
be sure to read Emma’s story in
One Complicated Christmas
(Christmas Mountain Clean Romance Series, Book 5)
About the Author
SUSAN HATLER is a New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author, who writes humorous and emotional contemporary romance and young adult novels. Many of Susan’s books have been translated into German, Spanish, French, and Italian. A natural optimist, she believes life is amazing, people are fascinating, and imagination is endless. She loves spending time with her characters and hopes you do, too.
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Titles by Susan Hatler
Do-Over Date Series
Million Dollar Date
The Double Date Disaster
The Date Next Door
Date to the Rescue
Fashionably Date
Once Upon a Date
The Wedding Whisperer Series
The Wedding Charm
The Wedding Catch
My Wedding Date
The Wedding Bet
Kissed by the Bay Series
Every Little Kiss
The Perfect Kiss
Just One Kiss
The Sweetest Kiss
A Christmas Kiss
All About That Kiss
Forever in a Kiss
A Kiss for Santa
Christmas Mountain Clean Romance Series
The Christmas Compromise
'Twas the Kiss Before Christmas
A Sugar Plum Christmas
Better Date than Never Series
Love at First Date
Truth or Date
My Last Blind Date
Save the Date
A Twist of Date
License to Date
Driven to Date
Up to Date
Déjà Date
Date and Dash
Treasured Dreams Series
An Unexpected Date
An Unexpected Kiss
An Unexpected Love
An Unexpected Proposal
An Unexpected Wedding
An Unexpected Joy
An Unexpected Baby
Young Adult Novels
Shaken
Linked
See Me
The Crush Dilemma
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