Breck moved around her and placed his hands on her shoulders, turning her to the left. “Okay, you can look.”
She lowered her hands and blinked several times. “It’s a snowman.”
The snowman was three inches taller than her and had a big plaid scarf tied around his neck, three coal buttons running down his stomach, and a top hat. He looked just like the old cartoon version of Frosty the Snowman.
“Do you like him?” The hope in Breck’s voice reminded her of hearing a child ask Santa for a puppy.
“He’s adorable.” She reached out to touch it and her fingers met plastic. It didn’t look like plastic. It looked like an actual snowball. She peered closer to find a texture had been applied to the surface. “You made this?”
He ducked his head. “Yeah. I’ve been thinking about how to make this possible ever since you made that joke at the coffee shop. It just sort of came to me. Watch.” He pushed the top two sections over. The bottom section appeared to be a solid ball, but when he hit a button, the top slid down and aligned with the wall. “All the sections do the same thing. So when you’re hiding in one of them, no one will be able to tell. It will look like the snowman is cut in half.”
“It’s brilliant.”
“Let me show you how to do all this from the inside. When we perform, it will be up to you to make sure everything is closed off.”
She nodded. “I’m so impressed. It really looks like a solid ball.”
He glowed under her praise. “Let’s get you inside and we can try it out.” He reached for her coat, sliding it gently off her shoulders. Goose bumps appeared on her arms—they were delightful in a strange new way. He slid the top two sections over and revealed a hollow cavity inside.
He’d asked her to wear all black, tight clothes, and she felt supremely aware of the little paunch she’d developed over Halloween when candy was so adorable and available in five-pound bags. Then, of course, there was Thanksgiving, and that always involved pie. Lots and lots of pie on her part. The truth was, she’d taken herself out of the dating game and didn’t care what she looked like.
She cared now, standing so close to Breck, her hand on his shoulder, and noticing how nicely round it was under her palm. But Breck’s eyes didn’t linger on the extra inches around her hips. His hands did linger on her side as he helped her into his contraption, and she had to fight the sudden and embarrassing urge to fake imbalance and fall into him.
Once she was in, he went to work, assessing the space and her. “Okay, so we’ll have you walk over, but during the trick, the snowman will rest on the bottom ball. If you press down with your foot on this lever, it will set a weight of sorts that will keep it balanced. Can you get low and crouch into a ball so I can close this off?”
“I’ll try.” She squatted down. It really wasn’t that hard to fit into the space. It was a sphere, after all. She had plenty of room for her Thanksgiving turkey behind.
He pushed the button and the top closed. It opened immediately, and his handsome grin shone down on her. “You’re not claustrophobic in there, are you?”
“Not at all.”
“Okay, you’re going to have to do these parts without my help.”
“Without giving away my movements.” She winked, getting into the fun. The anxiety that had almost stopped her from coming evaporated in the joy of magic, performance, and awe at Breck’s ingenuity.
“I-I’ll watch while you try.” He tore his eyes off her and went to stand across the room, about as far away as their audience would be when they revealed Frosty.
Harmony got inside and managed to slide the top half of the snowman over so she could stand. Then she crouched down and set the counterweight that would allow Breck to push over the top two sections without tumbling the snowman to the side. When she was done, she opened the trapdoor and brushed her hair off her face; it had gone staticky, and she could imagine it standing out around her head. “How was that?” She smoothed her hair down once and then again, gathering it on the side of her neck in a low ponytail. She’d have to braid it for the performance.
“I filmed it.” Breck leaned close so she could see the screen.
She caught a whiff of his scent. “Did you have gingersnaps today?” As soon as the words were out of her mouth, her cheek burned.
“Yeah.” He turned, his brow wrinkled in question.
“Oh shoot!” She pointed at the screen, desperate to change the subject, her heart hammering away like Santa’s helpers in mid-December. “I totally jiggled the head.”
He stared at her a moment longer. Butterflies filled her stomach. She was so aware of him that she felt when he breathed in and she breathed out, like they were a set of bellows working in sync. She’d never felt this connection with Sam. Not when they were dating. Not when they were engaged. And certainly not when they were married. The fact that she had married him in the first place now astounded her.
But what did it all mean for her and Breck?
She licked her lips. It could mean one amazing kiss. Because if they were this in sync with air between them, they could do some pretty amazing things with their lips locked together. Hmm. She’d have to think about that when she was tucked under covers and not when Breck was so close she could smell tantalizing ginger and spice on his skin.
Heaven help her, now she was imagining what he tasted like. Her bedtime story would be sweet tonight.
Chapter 9
December 16
Beck
Beck smiled at onlookers as they gave him curious looks. Of course, standing in the middle of the park with a curtain square wasn’t normal and would attract attention. That’s what he’d been counting on. Harmony had drawn a snowman instead of an elf on the chalkboard sign this time. She had a lot of artistic talent—meaning that not only could he tell that she’d drawn a snowman, but she’d made him look alive.
“Maybe you have a future in art,” he’d said after admiring her work.
She’d swatted the idea away. “I passed classes in high school, but I don’t love it.”
“What do you love?” He folded his arms and rested his chin on his fist, gazing at the back of her hand as letters appeared, all swoopy and Christmasy.
“I’m not exactly sure anymore. I think that’s why I want to go home for Christmas. I want to reconnect with the parts of me I lost in the big city.” She’d stood up and brushed the chalk dust from her hands, not even knowing she’d broken off a piece of his heart with those words. The way she’d spoken about leaving, as if she wouldn’t miss him at all, wouldn’t miss their magic act, was normal. It wasn’t like they’d become best friends over the last four nights as they practiced. But he’d gotten used to having her around.
Who was he kidding? He waited on bated breath for her to get off work and come over. The moment she walked through his door was the brightest spot in his day.
Now, she was inside the curtain, waiting for the signal to climb into Frosty. He was waiting for anyone who had seen her around to move on. The trick only worked if the audience didn’t know there was someone inside the snowman moving its parts.
When the last mother took her toddler twins home for a much-needed nap, he clapped his hands three times, letting Harmony know that he would start in five minutes. She snapped her fingers in response, telling him she would be ready. He checked the cameras on his phone once more. They were all up and running. He hit record, counted to three, and lifted his arms in the air.
“Ladies and gentlemen, gather ’round for a truly magical Christmas show.” He stepped on a lever, and two confetti cannons went off on the sides of the curtain box.
The whump got attention. One woman grabbed at her heart and gave him a dirty look. Oops. She moved on, but others stayed.
“May I borrow your hat, sir?” He proceeded to pull a poinsettia out of the man’s hat and hand them to the woman standing beside him. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to ruin the surprise. He was probably saving those for when you got home.”
She twittered behind her fingers and smacked at his arm.
He grinned. His mind wandered to what Harmony would do if he gave her flowers. Maybe he could send some to her office tomorrow, as a thank-you for giving up her weekend to perform. He jerked his thoughts back. Usually, when he was in front of a crowd, he was uber focused on what he needed to do. He couldn’t let his mind wander like that.
The man gave him a thumbs-up. “Can I have my hat back?”
“Uh.” He glanced inside. “I think there’s something else in here. Should we see what he’s hiding?” he asked the growing crowd.
They murmured their agreement.
He stuck his hand in, hit the release lever inside his jacket sleeve with his finger, and out fell a handful of chocolate gold coins. He pulled them out and tossed them in the air. “Well, I’ll be.” He smiled. Kids dived for the coins, laughing as they held them up. He handed one of them to the woman too. “Chocolate and flowers. You got yourself a real romantic man.”
She smiled and tucked her arm through his. “He’s a gem.”
Now that he had their attention, he was ready to move on to the real reason they’d come. “I’ll bet you’re all wondering what’s behind the curtain.”
“Yeah!” yelled a kid.
He smiled. Kids were the best. That was going to look amazing on the video. “Why don’t you come and pull this gold rope and we’ll find out?”
The boy ran forward, grabbed the rope with both hands, and pulled with all he was worth. The PVC shuddered under his excitement. The curtain fell away, revealing Frosty, and Breck let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. The prop was so still, he prayed Harmony was really inside of it. Since he hadn’t worked with an assistant before, he didn’t understand the anxiety that came from having to lean on someone else in order for an illusion to succeed.
“Thank you, young man.” He patted him on the head, letting several more coins fall out of his sleeve as he did so.
The boy snagged them and rushed back to his mom, holding the chocolate in the air like a prize.
“Just so no one thinks I’m trying to pull something over on them—” He picked up the PVC framework and scooted it backwards. “—let’s get this out of the way.” With that, he circled the snowman to show that there were no wires holding it up. “You know, when I was a kid, I loved to build snowmen. How many of you like to build snowmen?”
A few hands went up. Kids bounced on their toes.
“Right. In the spirit of Jack Frost and his magical pranks, I’m going to cut this snowman right in half.”
“Noooo!” yelled a small girl. Her big eyes were full of horror.
“Hmmm.” He tapped his lips. “What if I promise to put it back together when I’m done—by Christmas magic?” He set off a smoking snap that crackled and fizzed all around him.
The crowd was silent. He hadn’t really expected an answer. Even the girl seemed curious instead of fearful.
As he circled the snowman, more to show that there weren’t any wires aiding him in his illusion, he pictured Harmony inside, getting ready for him to push the top two snowballs out of place with his invisible force field. He picked up a cookie sheet that was wide enough to fit between the two pieces, waved it in the air, smacked it to show it was solid, and then carefully positioned it to slide between the two bottom pieces. With a smile for the crowd and a pause to build suspense, he shoved the cookie sheet in place. Several gasps rose from the group.
He wiggled his fingers, stretched out his arms, planted his feet and said, “Count down with me. Three. Two. One!” Hopefully, Harmony could hear the crowd. She’d been unable to hear just him counting in the apartment, and there was a lot more background noise here. He grunted, and the top two snowballs began to slide away from him. He kept pushing the air like a mime, working the crowd with his exaggeration.
When the two balls were out of place, levitating to the side of the biggest snowball, he threw his hands in the air and took a bow. Applause surrounded them. Harmony had done amazing, even pausing on the right beats. They were both counting from the crowd yelling “one” so that when he pulled his arms back to mime “getting a better grip,” she stopped moving. Frosty had been cut in half. He walked to the other side and waved his hands under the suspended pieces. Then he went around and waved them over the bottom piece to show that there was nothing but magic holding them up.
“All right. Let’s put this snowman back together!” He pulled and pulled in the air, but nothing moved. He wiggled his fingers. “I think I’m a little low on Christmas spirit. Does anyone have some they can share?”
The little girl raised her hand. “Me! Me!”
He pointed his finger around the semicircle and then landed on her. “Come on up.”
She bounded forward and stood in front of him.
He turned her around. “What’s your name?”
“Kenni.”
“Well, Kenni, do you think you have enough Christmas magic in you to put my snowman back together?”
She lifted her shoulders and made a face.
“Here’s what I need you to do,” Breck said, adding drama to his tone. “I need you to close your eyes real tight.” She squeezed them so hard, her whole face got in on the action. “And now I need you to think of Santa Claus and flying reindeer and elves and mistletoe.”
Mistletoe? He wouldn’t mind getting caught under the mistletoe with a certain magician’s assistant.
“Okay. I got it.” Kenni’s squeaky excited voice brought him back to the illusion.
“Okay, count to three with me, really loud, and we’re going to pull together. Ready?”
She nodded so big, the pom-pom on her head bounced back and forth. They counted, and then they pulled together. He turned, as if pulling a rope over his shoulder, and leaned into it. Kenni used the hand-over-hand method, and the snowman slid back into place. When they were done, he gave Kenni a high five.
He stared at his palm. “Kenni! I can feel that Christmas magic in my hand. You’re just full of it today.”
She giggled.
He looked at the snowman. “In fact, there’s so much that I think I can do this.” He snapped his fingers, and the head slid to the side in one second. He snapped again, and the hat lifted several inches in the air. He had to keep the count going in his head. This part of the act was choreographed precisely.
The crowd clapped. He made his fingers into the inch sign and snapped his finger and thumb together, and the hat landed in place. He flicked his wrist, and the head went back on the body. “Thanks so much, Kenni!” He patted her on the back as the crowd clapped like crazy. “Thank you!” He did his normal end-of-routine plug for his channel and then bowed once more.
Several children approached, their moms wanting pictures with him and Frosty. He managed to work it so his sign was in the frame too. He caught some people snapping pics of it. Hopefully, they’d look him up.
He kept thinking about Harmony inside the snowman. She couldn’t be that warm—all she’d worn was a pair of leggings and a long-sleeved shirt. He’d given her a hand warmer to keep in there, but it was 35 degrees today. She had to be freezing. He needed to get in there and warm her up.
It took ten minutes for the crowd to disperse before he could rehang the curtains. Once he was safely inside and sure no one would run over to peek, he knocked twice on the base and released the latch to let her out.
She unfolded from the bottom, a huge grin on her beautiful face. “How’d it go?”
Her ears and nose were red with cold, and her first question was about the show. This woman was more than he could have ever hoped for in an assistant. In fact, she was more than he’d ever thought he’d find in a woman. “Perfect. You did amazing.”
“Eee!” She threw her arms around his neck. His pulse picked up speed, and the world shrank to the two of them inside the red velvet curtains. “I knew you could do it.”
Her confidence set him over the edge. He couldn’t hold back the dire n
eed to kiss her any longer. He framed her face with his hands and went for it.
It wasn’t until his warm lips felt her cold ones that he realized what he’d done. By then his eyes were closed and his hands were on her lower back, pulling her body flush with his.
For a moment, time stood still. Sound died away. Their breath mingled in the space around them. And then she tilted her head and her lips began to move against his, and he was lost in the pure magic that flowed through his veins. It was all sorts of smoke and sparkles and trapdoors and thrills.
She suddenly pulled back, her eyes full of questions and doubts. “I’m so sorry.”
“What for?”
She peeled herself off of him, leaving behind a body print he’d feel for the rest of his life. “I shouldn’t lead you on. I’m leaving town. I—it’s unfair to you to allow you to think that I can give something I’m not able to give.” Her fingers went to her lips, and he wondered if they tingled like his. Her words said one thing, but her kiss had said something completely different. Her kiss told him to hold tight, to pour himself into her and she would give right back and more. She was absolutely amazing, and she was telling him to let her go.
He nodded. “I understand.” He puffed out a breath of air, obscuring the vision of her for just a moment—enough time that he managed to pull himself together. Now that was the true magic trick of the day, because kissing Harmony had unraveled his very heart.
Chapter 10
December 17
Harmony
The next evening, Harmony found herself in Breck’s apartment for practice once again. She had looked forward to it all day. Ambia, her boss, had even mentioned that her aura was beginning to clear. Strangely enough, she could feel the dark cloud evaporating from her life. The more time she spent with Breck, the lighter she felt.
'Tis the Season for Love: A Charity Box Set Page 66