'Tis the Season for Love: A Charity Box Set

by Maggie Dallen

  “Hmm.” Breck shook the cards by his head like he was shaking a bell. “I could have sworn … There is it again. Hold out your hands.”

  The boy did as he was told, and Breck sprayed his hands with the cards. When he was done, a toy drum had appeared. The boy jumped in surprise. The crowd clapped wildly.

  “Can I have it?”

  Breck nodded, and the kid scampered back to his mom’s side, where she hugged him. The smile on her face was worth twelve drummers drumming. When the attention swiveled back to Breck, he made a white handkerchief appear. “Of course, it wouldn’t be the holidays without snow, now would it?”

  Eager faces leaned closer.

  “Will you please inspect this to see if there’s any snow inside?” He handed the cloth to Harmony.

  “Help me out, guys.” She turned it front and back for everyone to see, holding it up high for the people in the back. Then she shook it out, wadded it up, and laid it flat. “No snow. Agreed?” she asked the crowd.

  They nodded and hollered their confirmation of her inspection.

  She handed the handkerchief back to him. His fingers brushed hers as he took it, and warmth shot up her arm. The temperature hit her cheeks like ice as they flooded with heat.

  “Do you like snow, Harmony?” he asked, the show suddenly narrowing down to just the two of them. His gray eyes swirled like clouds that were heavy with days of happy snowmen.

  “I do.” The words felt like a premonition—like one day she’d be standing before a preacher and saying them again. She blushed deeper. Those kinds of thoughts were what had gotten her into a marriage that she should have run away from instead of jumping into it.

  “I hope so.” He made a fist and stuffed the handkerchief inside, sticking his tongue out one corner of his mouth like he was concentrating really hard. It was adorable and sweet and heart-melting. “Well, I’m not Jack Frost, so my snow won’t be good for snowballs, but I hope it fills all of you with the Magic of Christmas.”

  Once there wasn’t any white handkerchief showing, he asked Harmony to blow on his hand. She did, feeling like they were the only two people in the park. All sounds had disappeared. All the people faded to the background and might as well have been trees for all she knew. His marble-gray eyes were so intent on her, she felt like he was looking at the real her—a woman she hadn’t seen for quite some time.

  Breck tossed his fist into the air, and white and silver confetti rained from his open hand, shooting up, up, and then floating down over all of them. There was so much more than he could have held in his palm.

  Harmony held out her hand, tipped up her chin, and let it fall on her cheeks. It was soft and happy. She glanced over and found Breck watching her with an odd look in his eye—one she hadn’t seen before but found that she liked.

  Children squealed. Ron let out a hearty, “There you go, son!”

  Breck bowed, then motioned for her to do the same. She did, although she hadn’t done much of anything to earn applause. Still, it was fun to take a bow, and it brought a real sense of accomplishment with it.

  Several kids ran up to the table and began asking Breck questions about his show. He didn’t give away any secrets, but he handed out magic coins, which earned him two hugs and a whole lot of knuckles before moms and dads pulled their children away. The adults cleared out faster, a few of them shook Breck’s hand, and she saw him pocket money. That was nice. He hadn’t asked for tips.

  Once everyone cleared out, he grabbed her up in a hug and then set her down quickly. The whole thing was over faster than she had time to register the fact that she’d been in his arms.

  “Did you have fun?” he asked, his eyes full of hope.

  “I did. Who knew I was such an attention hound?” She laughed at herself, feeling almost giddy. This must be a performer’s high.

  He winked. “Careful, this is addicting. Next thing you know, you’ll be checking our views every twenty minutes to see if they’ve gone up.”

  She laughed. “I hadn’t thought of it, but now that you said that, I’m going to have to.” She helped gather up the tinsel around his table and fold the tablecloth while he took down the cameras. She checked her phone. She had twelve minutes to get back to work. “So what’s next?”

  He hooked his elbow around her neck. “Funny you should ask.”

  “Why?” She eyed him playfully, ready to deliver an elbow to his ribs if he was joshing her.

  “Because I’d like to cut you in half.”

  She released her elbow.

  He grunted and rubbed his side. “Come on! I’ll buy you dinner tonight and explain.”

  “If you’re going to cut me in half, you’d better buy me dessert too.”

  His whole face lit up like the North Pole on Christmas Eve. “Deal.”

  She smiled all goofily at him for ten seconds longer than was appropriate, but she didn’t even care. It felt good to let this warmth in her heart come out. She’d been trying to hold it back for so long, trying to protect herself from being hurt again, that she ached. Her phone alarm went off, and she jolted. “That’s my warning that I’d better be on my way back to work.”

  He motioned for her to walk.

  “Thanks, Breck. This was … fun.” She ducked her head and took off at a brisk pace. Saying that much felt like she’d bared part of her soul. But she did have a good time. The kids in the crowd were genuinely astonished and amazed, and the adults smiled and laughed. They’d brought the Christmas spirit to quite a few people in the park, and once the video was up, they’d spread it even more.

  Maybe that was why she was so light and airy—because she’d done something out of her wheelhouse, or because she had a hidden performer waiting to jump out.

  Or maybe it was Breck.

  Chapter 7

  Breck

  Later that night, Breck hunched over the computer, putting the final touches on his post before uploading the video. He kept getting caught up in the sound of Harmony’s laughter. It pealed through the air like silver bells and made all heads turn her direction. Well, all male heads. He’d watched the video enough times to know that the men in the audience were drawn to her. Her head tipped back, slightly, and then the bells rang, and every guy in the crowd swiveled her direction. He hadn’t noticed while they were performing because he’d been so caught up in her.

  He hit the back button to start the video from the top. The beginning was just him doing an introduction. He lifted his eyes from the screen and studied the round ball he’d cut the top and bottom off of. That would be the main body of the snowman costume Harmony would wear during their next performance. He’d studied many ways to cut someone in half, but they were always lying down. He had to find a way to keep the box vertical, or in this case, the snowman—er, snowwoman—standing upright. The logistics were thrilling and kept his mind turning so fast it was hard to fall asleep at night. He hadn’t told Harmony anything about the trick except that he wanted to saw her in half because he wanted the snowman part to be a surprise.

  He wanted to see her eyes light up. That moment when they sparkled with wonder was the best. It filled his chest with this warmth that tingled and made him want to do crazy things like kiss her beautiful lips.

  He leaned over to check the ball next to it that would be the next part of the snowman. He was halfway in, checking to see if the epoxy had dried, when someone knocked on the outside, startling him. He jerked and scraped his neck on the plastic on the way out.

  “What?” He glared at his roommate, John, as he rubbed the soreness away. The guy wasn’t ever here, but when he was, he did his best to make Breck’s life miserable.

  “What’s that?” John pointed a finger at what looked like a snowman homicide scene in the kitchen/living room. Three large balls, wires, weights, a soldering iron, bits of wire and scraps of papers with plans were scattered about.

  “Just a prop.” Every magician kept their secrets close, and Breck wasn’t any different. Everything about John, from the colle
ge football jerseys he insisted were business casual to the guy’s constant mockery of all things magic, told Breck to never reveal so much as a card trick. If this hadn’t been the only apartment available …

  John scratched his nose. “Weird.”

  Harmony’s laughter rang out, causing both of them to turn their attention to the screen.

  “Who’s the babe?” asked John, his eyes bugging out like a cartoon character.

  Breck had a choice to make. He could hide Harmony from this guy, or he could flaunt her in front of him. And perhaps it wasn’t the smartest move, but there was a part of Breck that was dying to one-up John in something. So, for all the times John had made fun of Breck for liking magic, for all the comments about him never getting a woman because he was a magic geek, for the moments when he’d bring a woman back to the apartment and dismiss Breck as if he were a piece of the furniture—Breck smiled knowingly and said, “My new assistant.”

  “Lucky dog!” John offered him a fist bump. “What’s wrong with her?”

  “What do you mean?” He sat taller. Harmony was perfect, and any man who said otherwise was going to get his butt kicked.

  “I mean, if she’s that gorgeous, why is she wasting her time with magic? She should be modeling.”

  “Maybe she likes magic.”

  John lifted his chin slightly. “Oooh. You guys are a thing.”

  “No. We … I …” Breck hated that he couldn’t find the right words to explain that he liked her and he thought she might like him but she was closed off. “She’s not available right now.”

  John pounded him on the back before making his way to the coat rack. “That’s what a woman says when she’d not interested in you. I guarantee, if the right guy came along, she’d be all over him.” He clipped his keys off the hook by the door. “Don’t wait up.”

  Breck held his ground until the door slammed shut before he deflated. John probably knew what he was talking about. While Breck spent high school playing with cards, John was wooing the captain of the cheer squad. He was eons ahead of Breck when it came to understanding women.

  “Stick to magic,” he muttered to himself. If he wasn’t the right guy for Harmony, there was nothing he could do about it, no matter how much his heart told him otherwise. Even now, as he uploaded the video, he felt a whisper that there was something for him and Harmony, something more than a few magic tricks and a paycheck.

  The problem was that if she didn’t see it too, then he would be left standing alone under the mistletoe come Christmas Eve when she left town.

  Chapter 8

  December 12

  Harmony

  Twelve days until Christmas Eve, the streets were filled with mothers dragging their children from store to store and children dragging their mothers to see Santa. The difference between the two was easy to see. Children going to see Santa were dressed up, their hair curled or combed, their mittens coordinating with their caps. Children out for a quick shopping trip were in mismatched outerwear and had faces smeared with hot chocolate bought as a bribe to keep them quiet about what was in the store bags draped over Mom’s arm.

  Harmony had happy memories of her childhood Christmases spent giggling over surprises and eating too much homemade taffy. Her heart ached to go back to that little girl who trusted and loved with everything inside of her—and without fear.

  Fear wasn’t a companion she’d invited into her life. It had been thrust there by the actions of her ex-husband. As unfair as that was, now she lived with the little elf who popped up in the strangest places. Like between her and a certain magician.

  Breck was … unexpected. He had a childlike happiness about him when he performed, but there was also this feeling that he was all man. The kind of man her father would respect and her mother would feed until he had a hard time getting up from his chair. She could see them all around the table, playing a game of Christmas Monopoly that lasted most of the afternoon, snacking on spiced nuts, and waiting for the turkey to brown. The image was so clear and hopeful that it caused her chest to seize like the fear elf had taken up residence in her rib cage.

  She stopped mid-step and got rear-ended by a couple holding hands that must have been too wrapped up in one another to notice her abrupt halt. “Sorry,” she mumbled.

  “Oh, no, we’re so sorry,” said the man.

  Boyfriend? Newlywed? There was no way to tell with his gloves covering his hands. The way he pulled the woman closer to his side and nuzzled her ear as they left had her thinking boyfriend. Did husbands ever do that to their wives? For her, the transition to wife had meant a shield of frost settling between her and Sam.

  She pressed both hands over her chest and sucked in air in an effort to relieve the weight that had settled there. What she needed was to step back and gain some perspective, because all she could do was project Sam’s sins onto the situation with Breck, and that wasn’t healthy. At least Sam hadn’t driven her completely mad. Recognizing that her feelings were crazy meant she wasn’t actually crazy, right?

  She needed an outside opinion. Dialing her friend, she pressed her glove to her lips and blew out in an effort to thaw them. It wasn’t snowing yet, but the weatherman said they were in for a good storm later tonight.

  “Hey,” Jenny answered. “How’s magic practice?”

  “It’s not. I mean, it’s not yet.” Harmony willed her feet to move in the direction of Breck’s apartment where they’d be practicing tonight, but they wouldn’t go. Darn that icy elf! “I can’t go over there.”

  “Why not, honey?” Jenny’s voice was soothing a wild animal soft.

  “It’s just … he makes me feel all jittery.”

  “Like you’re afraid of him?”

  “No. Yes. No. Not afraid for my safety.”

  “But afraid for your heart?” she said softly.

  “Maybe,” Harmony squeaked. She pressed her gloved hand to her forehead. “Why am I so broken?”

  “Because you have a right to be.”

  “I don’t want this.” She threw her hand out to the side and hit a chubby guy in a puffy coat. Sorry! she mouthed. He ignored her and walked on. “I don’t want to be the loner who can’t let a man get close to her—even if all he wants is friendship.”

  “Is that all Breck wants?”

  She bit her lip. “I think so. I mean, if he wanted more, I kind of squished it.”

  “So go be his friend. From what you told me about his efforts to build his channel, he could use one.”

  Harmony hadn’t divulged too much to Jenny during their shift, just that Breck was working to make his channel a success and magic was his dream. The things he’d told her about his grandpa were … private … and they felt like a gift he’d shared. She didn’t think he told everyone that story.

  “I can do that. I can be his friend.” Her feet began to scoot forward. The more she walked, the easier it became.

  “But let me ask you one question,” Jenny said.

  “Go right ahead. Although I think I’m going to regret this.”

  “What if you get jittery because you like him?”

  Her eyebrows climbed up under her hat. “Like, like him like him?”

  “Yeah, like that.”

  “That’s—” Her tongue grew thick. “That’s not even a possibility. My heart has been shattered. It doesn’t even work that way anymore.”

  “Okay, but just keep it in mind?”

  “Yeah, because now that you said that, it’s all I can think about. Thanks so much.”

  Jenny laughed. “You’re welcome. Merry Christmas.”

  Harmony said goodbye to Jenny and put her phone in her pocket. She’d said that she would think about like-liking Breck, but she just couldn’t, not if she was going to get through this evening with him. So she shoved the thought to the far recesses of her mind and hurried the rest of the way to his apartment.

  The building was nice, as far as middle-class apartments went. The mailboxes in the lobby were tarnished with age, but that
only added to the overall nostalgic feeling created by the hotel-like red carpet with gold swirls, with the colors faded but no other signs of wear. Her grandfather used to say that they didn’t make things like they used to as he’d turn on his blender that weighed more than she did. That thing would crush ice better than the fancy blender her parents got for their juicing diet stage, even though it was as ugly as sin. Her grandma used a mustard-yellow stand mixer to knead bread dough, and it came out fluffy and perfect every time. She ran her fingers over the embossed wallpaper, practically smelling Grandma’s bread cooking.

  Several floors up, she passed a door with a holiday wreath, one with a Menorah, one with a flag, and two blank ones until she came to Breck’s. Stripping off her gloves, she rapped on the door.

  The door swung back and Breck beckoned her inside. “Close your eyes!”

  His excitement was instantly contagious. She stuffed her gloves in her purse and put her hands over her eyes. “What’s happening?”

  “I want to surprise you.”

  “You’re not going to cut me in half right now, are you?”

  He chuckled. “No. But give me five minutes and you’ll be in two pieces.”

  “That’s not all that comforting.”

  “Don’t you trust me?”

  “That’s a … loaded request.”

  “I promise it’s not going to hurt a bit.”

  “Says the man hiding a giant saw somewhere.”

  This time he laughed, all warm and delicious as he took her wrists to tug her into the apartment. Her skin crackled at his touch.

  With her sight gone, her other senses went on high alert. His apartment smelled like cologne, but not the type he wore. This one made her nose wrinkle, it was so strong. “Do you have a roommate?”

  “Yeah. He’s working late.”

  She wrinkled her nose. This was after the roommate was gone all day. He must be one of those guys who inflicts his scent on the entire office.