Marrying Miss Kringle: Lux

by McConnell, Lucy

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  Read on to discover more sweet romances from

  bestselling author Lucy McConnell.

  Billionaire Marriage Brokers

  The Academic Bride

  The Organized Bride

  The Professional Bride

  The Country Bride

  The Protective Groom

  The Resilient Bride

  The Athletic Groom

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  Dating Mr. Baseball

  Delay of Game

  Caught Looking

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  Texas Titans Romances

  The Miracle Groom

  The Warrior Groom

  The Guardian Groom

  Or get all three football romances at a great price and FREE on KU

  Lucy’s Football Collection

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  The Trouble with Dating an Actor

  Sweet twists on some of your favorite chick flicks.

  A Blockbuster Proposal

  Reforming Atlanta’s Rogue

  Falling for a Starlet

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  The Trouble with Dating an Actor Collection

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  The Snow Valley Series

  Welcome to Snow Valley, Montana, where romance is always in season.

  Blue Christmas

  Love in Light and Shadow

  Romancing Her Husband

  Wedding Fever

  One Date Deal

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  Echo Ridge Romances

  For a small town in Up-state New York, Echo Ridge has a great big heart.

  The Candy Counter Heiress

  The Lion, the Witch, and the Library

  A Brand New Second Chance

  While You Were Skiing

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  Echo Ridge Romance Collection

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  The Destination Billionaire Romance Series

  Beautiful locations, handsome heroes, and romance.

  The Reclusive Billionaire

  Royal Distraction

  * * *

  Marrying Miss Kringle

  Ginger

  Lux

  * * *

  Collections

  Great for binge reading!

  Sports Romance Collection

  Billionaire Romance Series Sampler

  Billionaire Marriage Brokers Brides Collection

  Sneak Peek—Ginger

  Ginger Marie Kringle snuck into the quiet toy production office. The overhead lights were off, leaving her favorite sister, Stella, in a shadowy outline created by the computer screen’s muted glow. The short pixie haircut accentuated her long and graceful neck. Ginger smoothed a hand down her long, auburn ponytail. How two girls from the same set of genes could look so different was beyond her.

  All five of the Kringle girls had a distinct appearance; none of them had the same color of eyes, hair, or skin. And yet, there were similarities—their smile for one, their love for all things Christmas for two …

  Beyond Stella’s desk was a large window overlooking the largest of their manufacturing facilities. Even with the call for name-brand electronics, there was a large demand for stuffed animals, bicycles, dollhouses, and other classic childhood wishes. Stella, with her extreme organizational skills, oversaw the production of toys. Ginger, on the other hand, was over list management. She’d inherited her father’s naughty/nice radar, which annoyed her four sisters to no end.

  Honestly, if you’re going to sneak around, at least lock the door. Ginger grinned as she crept forward. Stella shared the space with several elves. But since elves hated paperwork, Stella had the place to herself most of the time. Whatever she was up to, it had to be good. None of her other sisters sent out naughty beacons like Stella did.

  Robyn, the oldest, managed elf resources, ensuring that the elves were happy, healthy, and took their required two weeks of vacation—which many of them resented her for, but what could she do? Even a Christmas elf needed a break now and then.

  Lux, the second oldest, worked in IT. Five years ago she’d updated and streamlined the whole system, making it possible to view everything from the child’s letter to the fulfillment receipt on the same software. If anyone deserved a vacation, it was Lux. That girl worked like an elf, happily hiding from the world behind her big glasses and hard drives.

  Ginger came next in birth order, followed by Stella and the surprise baby, Frost. Frost organized the mail room. She read every letter and often brought her work to the dinner table. She and Ginger worked closely to ensure that those on the good list had their letters expedited through the system.

  But Ginger wasn’t thinking about letters or elf relations or production numbers. She’d gotten close enough to absorb the image on Stella’s computer screen. A handsome man on horseback, framed by a purple heart, rode along a railroad tie fence. He was cute, in a way that set off her naughty list alarm. The phrase Country Guys and Gals Online Dating danced across the top of the screen in a horrid bright pink. Next to the man’s profile picture was a messaging screen. Can we meet? Ginger read.

  Oh, yeah. Like that would go over well. Let me just park the sleigh on the roof and I’ll pop down the restaurant’s chimney. The cook would love that.

  Unlike her mother, who embraced Christmas Magic and all it entailed, Ginger liked to keep her Kringle-ness under wraps, preferring to blend in with the rest of the world as much as possible. She’d fit in quite nicely at UC Santa Barbara and had enjoyed living a “normal” life. One day … one day she’d move to Mexico to be near her Grandpa and Grandma Kringle, but for now, her family needed her. Case in point: someone had to keep Stella out of trouble.

  The cursor blinked, waiting for a reply to the stranger’s invitation.

  “Ho ho ho,” Ginger whispered in Stella’s ear.

  Her sister jumped out of her seat, her eyes wild. “Ginger!”

  Ginger wiggled her fingers hello.

  Falling back into her chair, Stella glared. “I thought you were Dad!”

  Sliding easily onto the desk next to the laptop, her long skirt gathering around her longer legs, Ginger smirked. “If I were Dad, you’d be halfway to the South Pole.”

  Stella leaned back in her chair, a challenge in her chestnut eyes. “Halfway to the South Pole wouldn’t be all that bad. Beaches, tan lines, and surfers are a few of my favorite things.”

  “You can wave as the sleigh goes by,” Ginger replied dryly.

  Ignoring her, Stella said goodbye to her mystery man and closed the screen. The lights in the work room below them flickered before returning at half power. Both Ginger and Stella pressed their hands to the cool glass and held their breath. Ginger’s worry over Stella’s dating life was pushed aside. At this point in the year, they should be cranking out the toys, not running at half capacity.

  “That’s the second time this morning.” Stella picked up her phone and hit the press to call button. “Talk to me, Robbie.”

  Robbie, Stella’s right-hand elf, waved from the work floor. His green hat bobbed as he spoke. “The crafty cooking section is down, and we’ve got a clog in the stuffing station.”

  Ginger waved back to him. The damage was minimal compared to the brownout last week. Ginger’s department had just finished entering the previously hand-kept list into the system when the power dimmed. Thankfully, Lux had been able to retrieve the files. She really was a genius.

  Stella’s machinery had gone down too, sending the elves back to hand stitching and carving. They loved it. The Kringles? Not so much. Something was brewing at the North Pole. Lux, the resident nerd, practically slept in the computer room. She and Dad spent hours poring over charts and graphs and schematics Ginger couldn’t make heads or tails of.

/>   “Has Lux figured out why this is happening?” Stella demanded as she rebooted her computer.

  Ginger blinked. “Not that I’ve heard. It’s driving her nuts.”

  “The rest of us, too.”

  Feeling useless in toy production, Ginger decided she’d best get back to what she was best at: checking the list. “I’m headed to the lib—” Ginger let out a startled cry and grabbed her wrist. Searing light burned from her arm. Tiny snowflakes danced like lightning bugs around the sisters. The sound of sleigh bells filled her ears. With a splendiferous whoosh of frosty wind, Ginger’s skirts wrapped around her and then flared out, her hair lifting off her back. Knowledge jumped to her consciousness. Images of children at play and work and crying and laughing and running and jumping and caring flickered before her eyes like DVR on fast forward. She knew them. Knew their names. Knew their hearts. The good and the bad. A crash of cymbals reminded her to breathe. She gasped, and everything disappeared, leaving the room in semidarkness once again.

  “What the holly-jolly was that?” Stella flipped on the lights.

  Ginger, holding her forearm, stared at the two-inch snowflake outlined in exquisite detail in the skin below her wrist. It shimmered silver in the light.

  Stella grabbed her hand. “Holy holly.” Their eyes met. “Robyn’s going to kill you.”

  Ginger’s mouth had gone dry, keeping her from replying.

  For generations, Santa and his missus had had one child, a male, who took over the Christmas operation at age thirty. Imagine the surprise when Robyn—a girl!—was born, and the unprecedented surprise when Lux—a second girl!—came along. By the time Ginger burst onto the scene, all bets were off, and her parents had accepted that life at the North Pole and Christmas Magic were changing. For obvious reasons, they homeschooled their girls. At age eighteen, they were off to college, each choosing a different focus of study. Once they had their degrees, they came home and took their place in the Christmas process.

  Despite all the changes, the family believed Robyn would be chosen to take up the role of Santa when she came of age—in less than six months. Christmas Magic had different ideas, evident by the mark on Ginger’s arm that matched the one of her dad’s wrist. Oh, and her grandpa’s wrist. And her great-grandpa’s …

  Stella’s grip tightened. “We’ve got tell Dad.”

  “No.” Ginger yanked her hand away and held her arm to her chest. “Are you crazy? Dad’s gonna freak. I’m only twenty-five!”

  “What’s he going to do about it?”

  Stella was right. It’s not like any of them really had a choice in this. Being born into the Kringle family came with a host of blessings and a sleigh-load of responsibility. Christmas was their destiny. Becoming Santa wasn’t supposed to be Ginger’s destiny—the honor should have fallen to Robyn, who was almost thirty, dating a sweet guy from Philadelphia, and ready to settle down. Not to Ginger, who was too young, single as could be, and planning her next vacation to Mexico. “He’ll feed me to a polar bear.”

  Stella shook her head. “Give the guy a little credit.”

  “Fine, you tell him about your online cowboy, and then I’ll show him this.” She waved her tinsel tattoo in front of Stella’s face.

  Stella shoved her arm away. “Leave Mitch out of this.”

  Ginger grinned. “Mitch, eh?”

  “I swear, Ginger …”

  Pressing her lips tightly together, Ginger contemplated her sister. She’d spiked her short hair today, just to show a little attitude. She had large, sparkling brown eyes with ebony flecks. Regular ice-climbing trips kept them both in excellent shape, and Stella looked good in the khaki hiking pants and tight red sweater. “Why are you online dating, anyway?” Whenever they took forays into the outside world, men flocked to Stella. She flirted and sometimes kissed, and then left them behind without a backward glance.

  “I want what Mom and Dad have, okay?” Stella fidgeted with her Bluetooth. “It’s lonely here.”

  “You’re only twenty-three,” Ginger began, wanting to list the reasons Stella was not ready for a lifetime commitment.

  Most of those reasons were the same things she told herself. At twenty-five, she was well aware of her innocence in the ways of the world. Movies and television were fictionalized versions of life, and while their home was a place of peace and happiness, she couldn’t believe that bringing an outsider to the North Pole wouldn’t upset her fairy-tale life. Besides, her time away at school had shown her that her family life was pretty much the ideal. There was a lot of pain and heartache out there in the world.

  Stella’s eyes hooded over, stopping Ginger’s diatribe before it began. Instead, she wrapped her sister up in a hug. “Your secret is safe—for now.”

  “Thanks.” Stella broke away. “But yours is about to blow up.” She hit the instant connect button on her phone. “Emergency Kringle meeting in the living room—now.”

  “Copy that,” said Frost.

  “On my way,” replied Robyn.

  “We’re already here, dear,” said Mom.

  “Can it wait? I’m up to my glasses in code,” asked Lux.

  Stella folded her arms. “Sorry, girl—this is important.”

  “Fine,” she groaned.

  “I’m bringing Ginger.” Stella pulled her by her sleeve into the hallway.

  “You stink, you know that?” Ginger adjusted her shirt.

  Stella grinned. “I know—like dark chocolate with a twist of lemon. Come on. This is supposed to be a good thing.”

  They hastened through the many corridors of their ice-encased home. Ginger loved the white and blue walls; they were sturdy and beautiful in an exotic way. What little girl wouldn’t love growing up in an ice castle? Not that the house suggested an ice castle from the outside. The exterior said “ice cave” while the interior said “palace.”

  Ginger didn’t really have time to contemplate the natural grace around her as Stella propelled her forward.

  Stella spoke quickly. “Lux was worried that the magic was fading—you know, because we’re girls instead of boys and the power has flickered for months and the elves are slowing down. I think even Dad’s worried, but you know him, he’d never say anything.”

  Ginger nodded. This was why she loved Stella, despite her penchant for finding trouble. She didn’t believe in sugarcoating; she was brave. As they made their way down the Hall of Santas Past, which connected the workshop to their living quarters, Ginger felt the eyes of the paintings follow her. Santas’ images, captured by talented artists throughout the ages, lined both walls. The weight of their legacy bore into her as sharply as the tinsel tattoo had just moments before.

  At the end of the hallway was a large, wooden door carved with the Kringle family crest. Ginger paused, wishing for a fraction of Stella’s bravery as she stepped forward to break her oldest sister’s heart and upset the First Family of Christmas like never before.

  About the Author

  Lucy McConnell loves romance. She is the author of the Billionaire Marriage Broker Anthology and contributes to the Snow Valley Anthology and the Echo Ridge Anthology.

  Her short fiction has been published in Women’s World Magazine, and she has written for Parents’ Magazine and The Deseret News. Besides fiction, Lucy also writes cookbooks. You can find her award-winning recipes under the name Christina Dymock.

  When she’s not writing, you can find Lucy volunteering at the elementary school or church, shuttling kids to basketball or rodeos, skiing with her family, wakeboarding, running, cycling, baking, or curled up with a good book.

  You can get a free gift from Lucy by clicking here, or check out her blog at lucymcconnell.wordpress.com.

  LucyMcConnell.wordpress.com

 

 

 
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