“Hey, sweetheart,” he greeted her just like always. “How are you today?”
The background around his image bounced erratically, and she strained to see what was happening. “Where are you?”
“Cab,” he said with a grimace. “I hate to do this to you, but there’s an emergency in our office in Hong Kong—”
“Oh.” She tried to shield her disappointment, but the tears stinging her eyes clearly told her she’d failed. Willing herself not to let them fall, she fisted her hands until her nails dug into her palms.
This was so unfair. Rhys was supposed to come to her house for Christmas. His flight was scheduled to land in Newark…she glanced at the microwave’s clock…six hours from now. Later tonight, they’d been invited to an open house holiday celebration at the home of her neighbors, AJ and Mallory Miller. She had the next two weeks off from school and work, and besides, it was his turn. She’d spent both their birthdays in San Francisco with him, and he had promised to come to her for Christmas. She stared over the rim of her laptop screen at the beautifully decorated tree—her first real Christmas tree in her first real home. She’d spent the last two days baking cookies and preparing recipes that Agata had sent her. Now, he wouldn’t even be here?
“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” he said, and his face lurched on the screen as the cab apparently took another crazy turn. “I’m gonna need a few days to fix the glitches over there, but I’ll get to you as soon as I can. Obviously, I won’t get there for Christmas Eve, but with luck, I can be in New Jersey in three or four days, and we’ll celebrate a late Christmas together. Right? Who says we have to be conventional? Let’s buck the calendar and the world, and celebrate the holiday on whatever day works best for us.”
“Sure.” She pasted a smile on her face. “Imagine the discounts we’ll get on wrapping paper and decorations if we celebrate after everyone else.”
He laughed, a hollow sound that told her he was just as upset with this change in plans as she was. “That’s my practical girl.” His face sobered and enlarged on her screen. “I’m at the airport so I gotta go. I love you, Polina, and I swear I’ll make this up to you.”
“Uh-huh. I love you, too. Have a safe flight, Rhys. And get here as soon as you can, okay?”
The screen went black. On a sigh, she pushed away from her laptop. Merry Christmas…not.
For the next several hours, she moped. She tried to work on a project due for her mechatronics class in January, but her mind couldn’t focus.
Krakow, San Francisco, Hong Kong…
Rhys never planned to settle down; that was obvious to her now. She loved him, loved him with her whole heart, but she also loved the life she’d created for herself here. Her little house in Chester, a rental with an option to buy clause, her classes at the local university, her job at the theme park where she had access to the most cutting-edge rides ever created.
She was looking forward to getting her degree, getting approved for a mortgage, adopting a dog from the local shelter, having a family. The American dream: she wanted it all.
But she also wanted Rhys. She stared at her pretty Christmas tree, at the white fairy lights, the silver garland, the crackling fire in the marble hearth, and above the mantel, the framed photo of her and Rhys, all smiles and hugs, at Fisherman’s Wharf this past summer.
Either…or? She obviously couldn’t have them both.
No contest. A house was a house was a house. Rhys was her home. Had been from the moment he picked her up off the sidewalk in Krakow. So, if he needed to live untethered, able to fly at a moment’s notice, she’d give up her dreams for him. He meant more than a house or a Christmas tree, or even her job. He was her life.
It wasn’t like she’d never lived off the grid before. So, okay. Decision made, she had some things to take care of before tonight’s party, starting with a phone call to Chester Realty. After finding the number in her address book, she picked up the phone and called Devon.
“Chester Realty, let us help you find your dream home. Devon Reynolds speaking.”
“Devon? Hi, it’s Polina Kominski. I’m in the rental on Hillside Road?”
“Polina, hi!” Devon’s voice sounded enthusiastic, and Polina felt a twinge of guilt that she was about to burst the woman’s bubble. “What a coincidence. I was actually going to wait until after the holidays to call you.”
“Oh?” Suspicion wriggled down her spine.
“Yes. Umm…you see, we’ve received an offer on the property. I know, as the rental resident, you have the right to counter any offer made for purchase.” She uttered a number that might as well have been in the millions for Polina. Bye-bye, dream house.
“Take it,” she told the agent.
“I’m sorry?”
“Take the offer. I was actually calling to tell you I wouldn’t be renewing my lease when it ends in January.” Her heart cracked, but she stiffened her spine and pressed on. “I’m going to travel with my fiancé so…” She couldn’t finish the statement. Mourning wedged a block of tears in her throat.
“Oh, well, that’s very exciting. Good for you. So we’ll both get what we want. I’ll contact the buyer and let him know the house is his, and he can start the buying procedure after the New Year. Thanks for contacting me, Polina, and have a wonderful holiday.”
“You, too.” She hung up the phone and released a sigh. Pain seared her chest.
Rhys, she told herself. Think of Rhys. He’s what matters.
***
At seven p.m., with a tray of home-baked pastries and cookies in hand, Polina knocked on the Millers’ door. She’d toyed with forgoing the party altogether, but Mallory and AJ had been good to her since she’d moved into the house across the street. Mallory’s Christmas shop had provided most of her ornaments—at a deep discount—and AJ helped her string the lights on her house’s exterior.
Pretty little Lacey, dressed in a midnight blue dress with a rhinestone clip in her hair, answered the door. “Merry Christmas!”
“Merry Christmas, Lacey,” she replied with a wide smile. Such a beautiful girl, so polite and always so happy. “How are you?”
“Good. Mommy’s gonna have another baby!”
“Lacey!” Mallory’s voice came from deeper inside the house. “You do not have to tell everyone who comes to the door.”
“It’s not everyone,” Lacey said with a frown. “It’s Polina.”
“How about letting her in, pumpkin?” AJ suggested as he stepped into sight. “It’s rude to leave her on the doorstep.”
“Oops. Sorry.” The child pulled the door open wider and waved an arm. “Come on in.”
As Polina entered the house, she had to fight the urge to run a hand down the girl’s sleek, shining hair. Someday, she and Rhys would have a child: a little girl like Lacey or a rambunctious boy like Cyryl. Maybe one of each. “Thank you.”
“Merry Christmas, Polina.” AJ kissed her cheek. “Sorry about that.” He placed a hand on her shoulder. “Here. Let me take your coat.”
“Thanks.” Shifting the cookie tray from one hand to the other, she shrugged out of the coat and allowed AJ to fold the gray wool over his arm. “I’m afraid I can’t stay long, but I did want to drop by to wish you guys a Merry Christmas.”
“You won’t leave before AJ plays Santa, will you?” Lacey asked.
Confused, Polina looked at AJ for clarification. “I dressed up as Santa last year to surprise Mallory and the girls. Jenny and Lacey have requested a repeat performance.”
“Special things happen when AJ plays Santa,” Lacey announced with a wide grin.
“That’s enough, Lacey,” he said on an indulgent chuckle. “Go get Polina some punch.”
“Okay.”
After the girl skipped off, AJ added, “Mal and Jenny are in the kitchen. The other guests are in the den. You can bring that tray wherever it’ll disappear the fastest.”
Her feet itched, and she skidded one toe over the hardwood floor. This was a mistake. She shouldn’t have
come without Rhys. “What time is your Santa performance?”
“Now, that you’re here,” he said with a wink. “I’m guessing we’re just about ready to start.”
She skidded one index finger over the other in the age-old gesture of chastisement. “You are such a tease.”
“Only for my wife,” he said and strode off with her coat.
Shaking her head, she headed for the kitchen and found Mallory; her oldest daughter, Jenny; and sister, Dina fussing over half a dozen trays of the most delicious entrees Polina had seen—or smelled—since last Christmas Eve in Krakow.
“A very pretty birdie told me I should congratulate you,” she said to Mallory as she placed the sweets between the chocolate frosted Bundt cake and a tray of cookies dotted with colorful M&Ms.
Mallory looked up, a bright smile on her face. “I only found out for sure yesterday. I guess Lacey’s thrilled she’s no longer going to be the youngest in the house.”
With a loud harrumph, Jenny rolled her eyes. “I am not changing diapers.”
All three women laughed.
“Ho! Ho! Ho!” came from the living room.
“Ooh!” Mallory, already perky, perked up to the level of a Labrador puppy with a new ball. “I guess that’s our cue to join the crowd in the den. Come on. This is going to be so much fun.”
Wending her way around the butcher block, she kissed Polina’s cheek. “Merry Christmas and thanks for coming. Let’s go see Santa.”
As infectious as Mallory’s good cheer might be, she really wasn’t in the mood to spend the holiday without Rhys, and she held back. “I think I’m just gonna go home.”
“Oh, you can’t!” Mallory insisted, yanking hard on her hand. Meanwhile, Jenny pushed her from behind.
What on earth was wrong with these women? Honestly, what was the big deal? AJ was probably a fun Santa, but it wasn’t exactly the performance of a lifetime. Half-dragged, half-pushed, Polina found herself transported into the center of the beautifully decorated den, surrounded by a bunch of strangers and Santa.
“Ho! Ho! Ho!” Santa repeated and took her hand from Mallory, pulling her closer. “Here’s a beautiful lady who’s all alone.”
She bristled. “That’s not funny, AJ.”
“No, I’d say it’s a tragedy,” Santa replied. “Why don’t you have a special man here with you tonight?”
Tears stung her eyes, and she stubbornly sniffed them back. She was distinctly aware of someone in the corner filming this exchange. “Rhys had to go to Hong Kong on business,” she murmured with an enormous dose of self-pity.
Reaching into his breast pocket, Santa removed a black box and pushed a button on the box’s side. “Are you sure about that?”
Rhys. She’d know his voice anywhere, that distinctive smoky tone and British accent. She looked past the fake beard and silly red velvet hat and into hazel eyes she loved so much. “Rhys!” Flinging herself at him, she wrapped him in her arms. “You’re here!”
“Did you honestly believe I’d choose Hong Kong over you?” he asked as he pulled off the beard and hat.
“But how…when…?” she sputtered.
“Magic, of course. I got here on time today, and AJ was kind enough to pick me up at the airport.” He pointed behind her, and she turned to see AJ wave from behind the video camera. “He and Mallory helped me spring this surprise on you.”
“But what about Hong Kong?”
He shook his head. “No Hong Kong. Not now, maybe not ever.”
She pulled away to look at him. She still couldn’t believe he was here. And nothing he said made much sense. Or maybe she was still too stunned to understand. “What do you mean?”
“You’ll see.” He took her hand and led her toward the coffee table, which was draped in a white cloth with a round loaf of bread seated in the center. “AJ, would you do the honors, please?”
“You bet.” After handing the camera to Mallory, he plucked an embroidered red napkin from the fireplace mantel.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” Rhys announced to the crowd. “Last year, I met this extraordinary woman in Krakow, and she willingly pledged herself to me in marriage, according to the traditions of her mother’s homeland.” Stopping her at the edge of the table, he moved to stand across from her. Taking her hand again, he held their clasp directly over the loaf of bread. “Now, I ask you to join us as we follow this tradition to its natural end.”
AJ stepped up and wrapped the red cloth around their clasped hands, tying them together.
Polina sucked in a sharp breath. Oh, God. She knew where this was headed.
After clearing his throat, AJ put on his most serious face. “Rhys and Polina, do you come here willingly to marry, to share your lives and duties?”
“I do,” Rhys answered, loud and strong, then looked at her.
Polina looked down at her faded jeans and plain pink sweater and grimaced. “I would have liked to be wearing something a little fancier, but yes, I do, too.”
While the guests broke out into enthusiastic applause, AJ shouted to be heard over the noise, “Two hands joined together over a loaf of bread. This is the most beautiful sign of togetherness, this happy joining of two people who will now travel the same road. Two hands joined together until death do them part.” He leaned forward and said, “Rhys didn’t tell me if this was part of my speech, but I probably won’t ever get another chance to say it so, ‘You may now kiss your bride.’”
Rhys’s white-gloved hands cupped her face, and he pressed his mouth to hers. Grounded as their tied hands kept her, she flew over the moon. An overindulgence of love and happiness intoxicated her. Around them, the crowd went wild with cheers and hoots. Polina didn’t care. She had Rhys. Now and forever. Nothing else mattered.
When he finally released her, she told him, “I love you, Rhys. I’m ready to follow you anywhere.”
“You don’t have to follow me that far.” He jerked his head toward the windows behind them. “Just across the street.”
Her heart plummeted. Of all the rotten luck. “No. I mean, yes, but we can’t. My house has been sold.”
“I know.” He grinned. “I bought it.”
“You…” Her feeble brain couldn’t take anymore.
“I love you, Polina. I know I said I’d wait while you found yourself, but I guess I’m more selfish than I realized. I don’t want to wait to spend my life with you. And I have no right to make you change your dreams to fit my life when I could easily adapt my life to your dreams. I’ve spent the last ten years searching for my happiness, and when I finally found her, I left her to chase happiness in another state. You’re my happiness, Polina. I am never letting you get away again.”
“And you’re my home, Rhys. The only magic I’ll ever need.”
Contents
Title page
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
-o-filter: grayscale(100%); -ms-filter: grayscale(100%); filter: grayscale(100%); " class="sharethis-inline-share-buttons">share
Mistletoe and Magic Page 21