by Caroline Lee
“They’re perfect, Queenie. Thank you.”
She blushed even pinker, but smiled. “They reminded me of the way you danced yesterday.”
He dropped another kiss to her lips, quick and sweet. “I love them and I’ll keep them forever.” He straightened. “And now, how about your ornament?”
She bounced a little in place. When she clapped, he thought she looked like a kid on Christmas morning.
With a flourish, he whipped out her ornament and presented it to her. It had taken him awhile—time that would’ve been better spent making nick-nacks for the tourists—but it was totally worth it to see the way her eyes widened and she sucked in a reverent breath.
He’d fashioned two miniature bells, complete with tiny clappers, and hung them from a ring. If he’d had more time, he would’ve punched a Christmas-y design on the outside for decoration, but he was pretty pleased with them as they were. And judging from her expression, so was she.
“Bells for Belle…get it? Sorry they’re not silver.” When she glanced up at him, he rolled his eyes at his own dumb joke. “I know, not terribly original, but honestly, I was thinking of Tootles when I made them.”
She blinked. “My pig? You were thinking of my pig when you made me a Christmas ornament?”
“Yep.” He grinned, then explained. “I made them for you, Belle…but with a sturdy ring with a latch, see?” He pointed out the part of the ornament he meant, and liked the way she lifted it to peer at his delicate work. “I thought that when Christmas was over, you might want to attach it to a collar for Tootles. I thought he might like that.”
“You made a Christmas present for my pig. You really are incredible, you know that?” She gave them a little shake so the two different tones jingled in the cold air. “These things are amazing.”
Embarrassed by her praise, he rubbed a gloved hand across the back of his neck. “They’re not much…”
“They’re exquisite,” she breathed,
He used one finger to lift her chin until she met his eyes. Not caring how corny he sounded, he said, “Not as exquisite as you.”
Was it his imagination, or did her eyes get a little watery? “Oh, Elf…”
Tell her you love her.
She took the decision from him by throwing herself into his arms for another kiss, and far be it for him to deny a lady her desires. He gladly wrapped his arms around her and returned the kiss.
And as Andrew lit up the tree, among the snowflakes and the ahhs from the gathered crowd, Elf knew it was the most perfect Christmas Eve he could ever imagine.
Later, he and Belle waited their turn to hang their new ornaments up on the tree. He held her hand tightly, feeling the tingle of her touch even through their gloves. I love you, his heart seemed to be pounding out, over and over. He didn’t say it aloud, but from the way she smiled back at him, he imagined she could hear it.
When they reached the tree, he looked for an empty branch, but every branch within reach was full of ornaments. By stretching, he could just reach a spot above his head, and he hooked his red cowboy boots way up there.
“Here,” Belle said, handing him her bells. “Hang mine beside it.”
But Elf didn’t take it. “No way. You do it.”
She squealed when he wrapped his hands around her waist and lifted her up. Locking one hand tight on his forearm, she stretched up and hooked her bells beside his boots.
And maybe he took a few extra seconds to enjoy the feel of her before he let her slide to the ground. And maybe his hands lingered on her waist a bit longer than necessary. But he didn’t see anything wrong with it.
“Hey, Belle!”
The new voice caused both of them to start, and when Elf looked up to see Mr. Kalani standing nearby—the older man’s dark face flushed even darker with suppressed laughter—he dropped his hands to his side and cleared his throat. “Merry Christmas, sir.”
“I’m not going to wish you two Merry Christmas, because now I see why my daughter’s been walking around with her head in the clouds all week.”
Belle giggled. “Sorry, Daddy.”
“Oh, a‘ole pilikia, sweetheart.” The older man waved away her words. “But how about you help me find a place to hang this beautiful ornament you made me, before I freeze to death?” He held up a snowflake fashioned from wood and glitter, the twinkle in his eyes clearly telling them that he was enjoying himself.
Belle squeezed Elf’s arm one more time, then slipped out of his embrace. “Coming, Daddy!” She smiled back at Elf, and he knew she’d be back.
He stepped away from the large tree, just far enough so another couple could take his place in looking for a branch, but not so far that he couldn’t see Belle and her father. Watching the two of them together, he could see where Belle got her grace. Mr. Kalani seemed to move with the same ease, the same fluidity, as his oldest daughter. Maybe it was a Hawaiian thing. During their online chat that afternoon, Belle had told him that the Kalani family had moved back to her mother’s native Idaho when Belle was a young girl, but that she and her father had returned to the islands as often as they could. Unlike her two siblings, who seemed perfectly content on the snowy slopes, Belle missed Hawaii.
Of course, after hearing all about Maui from her, Elf could see why.
“Hey! Congratulations man.”
Andrew’s comment jerked Elf out of his reverie, and he whipped around to find his friend grinning at him. “Huh?”
The engineer was wearing his knit cap pulled low, but Elf could still see the glint in his eyes. “I saw you kissing Belle. Last night at Christmas karaoke.”
Elf blinked, not sure what he was supposed to say.
Andrew huffed impatiently. “Friday. Last night was Friday.” When Elf didn’t respond to his expectant look, the other man let out a bark of laughter. “The bet, man!”
The bet? Oh, the bet. Elf rolled his eyes. “I’d forgotten all about that.”
“Really? ‘Cause it looked like you were trying real hard to win it last night and just now.”
Andrew’s tone when he referred to that last kiss made Elf snort, but apparently that wasn’t the answer the engineer had been looking for.
“I’m happy for you though. Really.” Andrew shrugged, his hands deep in his pockets. “I gotta be honest with you. I saw the way women were always falling over themselves to chat you up, and I figured you were one of those guys who just dated women, you know…casually.” He shrugged again. “It’s nice to know that I was wrong.”
There wasn’t a lot to say in response to something like that. “Um…thanks.”
“I made that bet with you, because I figured it’d either be easy money, or you’d settle down with someone and finally leave some of the ladies for me.”
Elf had to chuckle at that. His friend hadn’t known how badly he’d been ready to settle down, so they’d both won.
“I’m pretty darn happy with the way things turned out.”
“Me too,” Andrew nodded. “Maybe now I’ll convince someone to go out on a second date with me.”
Elf winced theatrically. He knew his friend had managed several first dates with single ladies around the ranch, but so far he hadn’t had much luck long-term. It was kinda funny to find out that was why he’d made that stupid bet.
“Yeah, well. I got a kiss from Belle by the deadline, so I won the bet. You owe me a hundred bucks.”
“What?” The strangled whisper came from behind him.
But it wasn’t until Elf saw Andrew’s worried expression, that he understood what it meant. He whirled around to see Belle staring at him with a stricken look on her face.
A deep hole opened up in his chest. How much had she heard? What was she thinking? “Belle, I…”
But she just shook her head and took a stumbling step backwards, her graceful gloved hand coming up to rest against her lips. Her expression turned horrified, and he cursed under his breath. He took a step towards her, thinking that if only he could reach her, hold her, he could f
ind the words to explain the stupid bet…but she took another step backwards, and then another.
“Belle, honey, I didn’t mean—”
“A bet, Elf? That’s what I was? You kissed me because of a bet?”
“No!” How to make her understand? “Not even at the beginning. You have to believe me, Belle! I didn’t—”
He clamped down on his words when she straightened and dropped her hand. She looked so regal and wounded, Elf’s heart ached for her. “Well, I hope your ‘hundred bucks’ is worth it, mister blacksmith. Because that’s all you’ve got.”
She took another step backwards. “Merry Christmas,” she choked out with a bitterness to the words he couldn’t stand. Then she turned and fled into the darkness. Away from the tree. Away from her family and the gathered revelers.
Away from him.
And Elf just stood there, watching her go. How could he be so stupid? He should’ve told her about the bet at the very beginning. They could’ve laughed about it, and then he wouldn’t be in this position.
Instead though, he’d just watched whatever regard she felt for him die a fiery death because of an overheard, joking comment. Worse, the comment had been the truth. He couldn’t even claim that it wasn’t.
How was he supposed to make her understand? How could he make her see that the bet hadn’t meant a darned thing? How to explain that he’d completely forgotten about it?
He loved her, and he’d just lost her.
So much for Christmas miracles.
CHAPTER NINE
“Mele Kalikimaka, sweetheart.”
Her father’s greeting snapped Belle out of the reverie she’d fallen into, while staring at the logs snapping and crackling in the fireplace. “Oh. Hi Daddy.” She uncrossed her arms to take the mug of hot cocoa he offered her. “Mele Kalikimaka to you too. And thank you.”
“Sure.” He settled himself on the couch beside her. “Your mother makes the best hot cocoa known to man. She’d have to, I guess, being raised up here in the snowy north.”
Belle tried to grin, but took a hearty gulp of the chocolatey treat to hide the failed attempt. Daddy liked to complain about the cold, and it certainly was different from his native Hawaii, but she knew he actually enjoyed all the pleasures the snow brought. And since he’d loved his wife enough to move with her to Idaho, he embraced everything Mom loved about the state. Including hot cocoa on a snowy Christmas evening.
The rest of the family—including Tootles, who’d figured out that Faith was in a better mood to give behind-the-ear-scratchies than Belle was at the moment—was in the other room, watching Christmas movies and groaning about how full they were after the traditional Christmas feast they’d helped host for the River’s End Ranch employees. But not Belle. Not this year. This year, she wasn’t feeling at all festive, and the sappy movies that she usually loved so much just grated on her nerves.
So she’d left, and apparently Daddy had come after her. “Sorry I’ve been a downer today.”
He didn’t say anything for a long moment, but then, out of the corner of her eye, she watched him lift his mug to take a sip.
“I’m sorry too, sweetheart. I’m sorry you’re feeling down. On Christmas, nonetheless.”
“Yeah.” She sighed, focusing once more on the fireplace. “He could’ve picked a better time to break my heart.”
Not that she had wanted Elf to break her heart. But if he was going to do it, Christmas Eve was a crummy time. Of course, he hadn’t picked the date or the circumstance either. If she hadn’t overheard his comment to his friend, she would’ve never had her heart broken. Would’ve never known that he’d only dated her—only kissed her!—because of a bet. A bet!
Men had only ever wanted to date her because of what she looked like…and that’s what she’d assumed about Elf in the beginning. But then he’d said those beautiful things to her last week on the snowmobile, and she’d thought he was different and had wanted to get to know the real her. But now, to discover that nope, she’d been right all along, and he’d only said those sweet words because he was trying to convince her to kiss him, so he could win a hundred dollars.
Yeah, her heart was broken alright.
“Did he?”
Daddy’s question made her start. She’d forgotten about him in her moping. “What?”
“Did he break your heart? For real? I mean, you seemed to really enjoy being with him, and you two certainly looked happy together…but in order to have a broken heart, you had to love him. Did you love him?”
Did she love him? She’d only known him for a bit longer than a week. She couldn’t fall in love so quickly, could she?
But no, she’d known him much longer. She’d known—and been friends with—Hunk for months. Hunk and Elf were the same person…so yes. Yes, she did love him.
But she didn’t want to.
She sighed, hesitant to admit the truth. “Yes.”
Daddy grunted and took another sip of the hot cocoa. He seemed to hear her unspoken claim that she wasn’t pleased about being in love with Elf. Her heart wouldn’t have been broken quite so badly if she’d just liked him.
They sat in the silent camaraderie they’d gotten used to over the years. They knew each other well enough to know when to let the other one be.
When the log in the fireplace burned all the way through and knocked against the bottom of the fireplace with a crack, both of them jumped.
Desperate for some way to distract herself, and afraid that she’d start crying again—surely she’d used up all of her tears last night?—Belle gulped some more hot cocoa. “Thanks for coming to keep me company. Even if I’m miserable at it.”
Daddy snorted a little. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. We’re all entitled to a little misery once in a while. Sometimes crying helps.”
“Yeah,” she sniffed.
He didn’t say anything for a long minute. Then, finally, he leaned forward and put his mug on the coffee table. “You know, when I met your mother, she was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. That’s what I noticed first about her. But then I got to know her, and I fell in love with how driven she was. She didn’t let anything stand in her way when she wanted something.”
Belle nodded, knowing exactly how driven her mother could be. There was absolutely no stopping Mom when she was determined. She was the one who’d pushed Belle through the local beauty pageants and into the state-level ones. She was the one who’d driven the twins to their five a.m. ski practice before school for all those years. And she was the one who pulled the family back to Idaho when she was offered that job with the Orofino law firm.
“I know that you don’t always see your mother’s zeal as a positive thing, but to a boy like me—raised with the island a‘ole pilikia—it was invigorating. I thought that she could do anything. And she was gorgeous to boot.”
Gorgeous. Elf called me that too.
“And then you were born.” Daddy scooted a little closer and put one arm around her shoulders. “And I changed my mind. Your mother was no longer the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen…you were.”
Belle sniffed. “Really?”
She felt him nod, and she snuggled a little deeper into his embrace. She’d always known that Daddy loved and supported her for who her heart said that she was…but it was sweet to hear him compliment her. Here, at least, was a man who she was sure loved her.
“I was in awe of you, sweetheart. And then you grew up, and I became even more in awe of you.”
“Because I got prettier.” She didn’t bother keeping the bitterness from her voice.
“Because you are more like your mother than you imagine.”
That was unexpected. Belle twisted to look up at him.
“It’s true.” He nodded encouragingly. “You can do anything you set your mind to. I’ve seen it. I know that you think Mom was the one who pushed you through those pageants all those years, but she wouldn’t have done that if you hadn’t enjoyed them. She knew that you liked them and were good
at them…so she pushed you to be the best that you could be. And you were. I’ve watched you focus and apply yourself, and do everything that you set your mind to.”
Was that true? Did she accomplish all that on her own? Belle tried to sort through her memories, wondering why she’d always given her mother the credit, but her head was pounding too much to make any sense of it.
“Really, Daddy?”
He kissed her forehead. “Really, sweetheart. You can do anything you set your mind and your heart to.” Then, taking a deep breath, he squeezed her shoulders once. “And if you love Elf Redfern, then your mind and heart have already been set. Whatever happened between the two of you, I know it’s not stronger than you when you decide to make something happen. And you shouldn’t let it.”
Wow. Belle sat still while Daddy’s words echoed in her head. Was she stronger than this? Could she keep Elf’s stupid bet from ruining whatever it was that they had?
No, a voice in her head whispered. It was his fault. You might love him, but he made it pretty clear that he didn’t love you. He wouldn’t have made that bet otherwise.
But an even quieter voice whispered, He made that bet before he met you.
She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “I don’t know.”
“I do.” He squeezed her again. “You’re like your mother in that way. You think I would’ve moved to Idaho for any other malihini?”
She knew he was trying to make her laugh, so she gave a half-hearted chuckle for his sake.
“Sweetheart, I can’t tell you what to do, but I do know that you’re smart and strong and brave and determined. I don’t want you to start loving another man besides me” —he chuckled slightly— “but I don’t want you to be miserable, either.”
“I love you, Daddy.”
“I love you too.”
Belle took a deep breath, then slowly blew it out, releasing some of the tension she’d been carrying around in her chest for the last twenty-four hours. Daddy loved her and believed in her. But was it enough?