'Tis the Season for Love: A Charity Box Set

by Maggie Dallen

  “For what?”

  “You’re the big star. I shouldn’t be hogging the attention.”

  He shook his head. “You deserve it. Besides, who wants my autograph when they can have a winter princess’s?”

  She swatted playfully at him in response.

  He winked, even though his heart was sinking to his shoes. She would leave for Christmas and not come back. She’d said she needed to find herself again, to immerse herself in home and family and heal.

  What did he have to offer to keep her here, anyway? A half-baked MyHeartChannel and a bag full of magic tricks.

  And his heart. Maybe. He liked her so much, but he wasn’t sure he loved her. He barely knew her, and yet he’d already memorized the way her lips dipped in the middle and her nose turned slightly up. He knew she preferred her hot chocolate without whipped cream but with a shot of hazelnut, and that she’d played the flute in junior high but gave it up because she wanted to take a literature class that was taught at the same time.

  She was going to find herself; maybe it was time he did the same. He glanced down at the props they’d used to set the stage and pondered what he’d done with his time this week. Nothing the world would deem productive. He scoured secondhand stores for cheap items he could use for their next show. He edited video. Maybe he could get a job doing that somewhere.

  “You look so sad; what’s the matter?” Harmony bumped him with her shoulder. She had added a pair of gloves to her jacket. Her legs had to be ice pops by now. He needed to get her inside where it was warm.

  “This has been a lot of fun. I didn’t think I’d ever do more than card tricks. You’ve made a huge difference in my show this year. Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome. But why the long face?” She put the last bit of tinsel in a rubber tote they used to carry everything to his car.

  “Because Christmas is almost here and the magic will end.” He released a huge sigh.

  “End? But your channel is just getting going. And your street performance permit is for two more months.”

  He shook his head. Part of him wanted to tell her that without her, the channel would not succeed. He’d done it before. Tried other angles. Nothing had broken over 250 views. But he couldn’t put that on her shoulders. It wasn’t her fault she was amazing, that the camera loved her and his viewers did too. She added wide-eyed innocence into the potion he created with his illusions and card tricks, and without it, there was no fizz, pop, or sparkle. Their next show would be their last show together.

  “It’s time to hang up my magic hat and grow up.” He managed a grin, as if the idea of leaving this behind—saying goodbye to her—wasn’t tearing him up inside. He grabbed the tote and hefted it up as he walked toward car.

  She held the card table. “Making people happy is a grown-up job. Tons of people do it for a living.”

  “Name one.”

  “Walt Disney.”

  “He’s dead.”

  “Okay—everyone who works for Disney.”

  He chuckled. “Maybe they need a videographer.”

  “You can do this! I know you can. I’ve seen it in the way you grab an audience. Look around. There are half a dozen other street performers in this city, and no one gets the crowds like you do. Heck, we can’t even put up the sign until right before we start or it’s too crowded to set up.”

  “You’re great, you know that?” He set the tote down by the back door and fished his keys out of his pocket. Becoming the top street performer in the city wasn’t his goal. He wanted a top 200 MyHeartChannel.

  “Don’t give up,” she half whispered. “You’re going to make it.”

  “I won’t do anything drastic today, okay?”

  She broke into a grin. “Okay.” She popped up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek before sliding the card table into the back seat.

  Something small and prickly nettled Breck’s thoughts as he and Harmony stowed their supplies and he helped stuff her and her dress into the front seat to drive her home. The sound of the car door shutting rang like a gong, signaling the end of one thing and the emptiness that would remain after she left. He just couldn’t believe she was leaving the city—leaving him. They had one more performance before Christmas, and it was going to be great. He thought she enjoyed performing as much as he did. But he’d heard her mom through the phone the other night, telling her that she’d set a place for her at Christmas Eve dinner. One place. Not two.

  As much as he wanted a successful channel, as hard as he’d worked to make it happen, he’d give it up in a heartbeat for Harmony. There was no getting around it. Everything about her spoke to him, from the way she worked with the children to the flirty lowering of her lashes when she was thinking about kissing him. This woman was meant for him, and he’d spend the rest of his life doing his best to bring magic into her every day if only she’d give him a chance.

  She had plans to leave for Christmas, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t come back. He’d ask her to come back, to be his girlfriend, to give them a try. He just needed to find the right time, and with a real job, he’d have something he could offer her.

  Chapter 12

  December 21

  Harmony

  “I hate shopping this close to Christmas. The stores are a mess.”

  Harmony smiled across the rack of ugly Christmas sweaters. Jenny scowled as she picked up a shirt and folded it, setting it on top of the pile before getting another one.

  “You don’t work here, you know that, right?” Harmony teased. The energy in the department store was contagious. “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas” crooned through the speakers. Jingle bells rang as shoppers went in and out of the nearby doors, the chilly night air clinging to their coats. Mistletoe hung over the clothing racks, and Santa sat atop his throne, a line of eager children ready to whisper wishes into his ear.

  “I should. They need me,” quipped Jenny.

  Harmony held up a sweater. The Grinch smiled evilly at all who dared have a holly jolly Christmas. She shook her head. Breck wouldn’t wear such a grumpy sweater. He had quite the collection of them going, and she wanted to add to it. Other gifts had come to mind, but the idea of giving him something he could wear … well, it made her feel closer to him. A sweater was personal—as long as the giver took time to find the perfect one.

  She reached for a candy-cane-striped option.

  “Harmony?”

  She glanced up to find the very person she shopped for smiling at her. Breck’s voice floated over her like the steam off a cup of minty hot chocolate. It sent lovely shivers across her skin and warmed her from the inside out. “Breck,” she said, mortified that her voice was all breathy and seductive. Sure, they kissed—a lot, and deeply—but that didn’t mean they were an item. They hadn’t talked about taking their relationship to the next level. Which was a good thing, because her stomach dropped out at the very thought. Breck could think she was wonderful on the short-term level, but if they tried to have a real relationship, he’d see she was messed up—not marriage material for sure.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked.

  He leaned against the sweater rack. “Christmas shopping.”

  “Hello—who’s this?” Jenny sidled up and stuck out her hand. “I’m Jenny.”

  Breck introduced himself, and they shook hands. Harmony watched to see if his gaze roamed over Jenny’s hourglass shape or glued to her makeup-model perfect eyes. As soon as their hands dropped and pleasantries were exchanged, he focused right back on her.

  “So, this is the magician?” asked Jenny.

  Harmony’s ears burned. Of course Jenny would have to make it sound like she’d talked about Breck. He tried to stifle the smile that popped up, but he only did a half job. Harmony rolled her eyes. “Yes, this is the famous MyHeartChannel star.”

  He scoffed. “Says the woman who gets asked for autographs after the show.”

  “What?” screeched Jenny. “You didn’t tell me about that.”

 
“Because it was three little girls. It’s not like I have fans or anything.”

  “I beg to differ.” Breck took his phone out of the inside pocket of his coat and unlocked it. He scrolled a bit and then handed it to her. “You’re getting a lot of fan comments.”

  Harmony maintained eye contact with him just a little longer than necessary, letting the attraction between them tickle her butterflies. She finally looked down and began to read.

  Your assistant stole the show.

  The Winter Princess is gorgeous—make one appear at my house. I’ll provide the snow.

  Jenny tugged the phone toward her. “The assistant makes the channel. We need a name—I want to start a fan page.” She stared at Harmony. “You are a superstar.”

  Harmony rolled her eyes. “And you should be on soap operas with that drama.”

  “Speaking of drama …” Breck reached for his phone. “There’s a 12-hour sale on shaving kits, and one of them has my dad’s name on it. I’ll see you tomorrow for practice?” He ran his hand down her arm and gave her fingers a squeeze.

  Harmony’s heart thudded. “I’ll be there.”

  He grinned and headed to the men’s grooming and odd gift section, where they had shower radios and fuzzy slippers in the shape of elk heads. Harmony sighed. The view of Breck walking away was just as pretty as him coming.

  “Okay—you lit up for that man.” Jenny waved her hand in front of Harmony’s face.

  Harmony blinked. “He makes me feel happy.” She lifted a shoulder and grabbed the candy cane sweater. It had the head of a reindeer on the front and the end of a reindeer on the back. It was perfect. She tucked it under her arm.

  “Then you should date him.” Jenny shook her arm.

  “There’s no point. I’m leaving in three days.” She moved over to a rack of flannel shirts. Her dad would be in heaven with new flannel since her mom refused to buy him any more, claiming she’d laundered enough flannel in her life to dress the whole North Pole.

  “So?”

  She shook her head. “I’m damaged goods.”

  “You are not!” Jenny was outraged. “Sam was the issue—not you.”

  She rubbed her slightly chapped lips together and then began digging in her purse for some ChapStick. “It takes two.”

  “Not to ruin a marriage. Trust me—a determined man can do it all on his own.” She snapped her fingers. In the case of Jenny’s dad, one man could ruin a marriage. He was the type of man that inspired girl-power country songs involving shotguns and scorned women.

  Harmony smeared coconut-flavored ChapStick across her lips. “I guess.” Sure, one person could mess things up, but really, there had to be a reason Sam had wanted out, gotten bored of her. She just wasn’t the kind who could keep a man’s attention. Not Sam’s—and, she was afraid, not Breck’s. He was all illusions and magic, and she was plain black clothing and a ponytail. His job was showmanship, and he’d realize that he wanted a woman who sparkled 24/7.

  Jenny went back to compulsively folding shirts and straightening hangers.

  Harmony continued to silently argue with her friend. The marriage counselor she’d made an appointment with in a desperate attempt to save her marriage had told her that she needed to own the parts of herself that led her to such a destructive relationship with a man who was emotionally unavailable. She’d only seen him the one time, because it was Sam’s insurance that covered the visit and he’d removed her from the policy. But she’d gotten the message loud and clear—she was broken.

  No matter how many futures she pictured with Breck—and how happy they seemed—she wasn’t marriage material. He’d be better off once she left town and he could find another assistant.

  She hugged the sweater to her chest. She had to go home. Home had been her watch cry since she’d found out Sam had run off. Home was the place where she’d laugh again.

  Except she’d laughed with Sam. Lots. She stared at nothing while the memories rushed through her mind.

  “Excuse me.” A teenager bumped into her. He’d been looking at his phone.

  She righted herself. “No worries.” As if being bowled over by a six-foot-two toothpick wasn’t enough to clear her thoughts, she shook her head. No matter how good things seemed now, she’d be a fool to believe they’d turn out any different with Breck than they had with Sam. She was going home, so she’d better get her shopping done.

  Chapter 13

  December 22

  Breck

  “Springtime!” Breck waved his hands, and the flash pot filled the tiny living room with smoke. When it cleared, Harmony stood there—half in and half out of the newest snowman costume, her face red. They were practicing for their last show together. Every time he thought about this being their last anything, he cringed inside.

  “I can’t get out of it fast enough.” She growled at herself and shook her leg to try and free it from the small hole.

  Breck squatted down, taking her calf in one hand and the costume in the other. He pulled them apart, careful not to tear the inside of the costume. The fabric on the floor was the same as the fabric inside the snowman. The idea was to get Harmony out, have her flip the costume inside out, and then have her disappear and reappear at the back of the crowd, leaving behind a stunned audience.

  The idea was easier to think up than it was to execute. “We’ll get the timing down. Don’t worry.” As long as Harmony was there, everything would work out perfectly.

  “Sorry.” She pressed her palm to her forehead. “I’m so frazzled.”

  He smiled and pecked a kiss to her nose. “You’re cute when you’re frazzled.”

  “Yeah, that’s what you say now,” she mumbled.

  He saw no reason to change his mind. There were other things he wanted to discuss, but he couldn’t figure out how to step into the conversation with finesse. “How do you fight?” he asked out of the blue. He remembered his mom telling a friend once—years ago, so it was funny the memory came up now—that the key to a happy life together was having the same fighting style. He’d asked his mom later what that meant. She said that people who yell and scream aren’t offended by yelling and screaming, and people who give the silent treatment understand the need for emotional space. But if you put a yeller with someone who gives the silent treatment, then you had major problems.

  Harmony dropped her hand. “What?”

  “How do you fight with someone? Are you aggressive, or do you retreat?”

  She looked up at the ceiling, and a whole host of memories ran across her face. It was like watching the Ghost of Christmas Past haunt her. He was sorry he asked, because there was some pain in there too. He was about to tell her not to worry about it when she answered.

  “I’m aggressive. I want to find the problem and fix it. You?”

  He smiled. “I like to tackle the hard issues.” He hated having silence—so much so that even discussing uncomfortable issues was preferred. Her answer gave him the courage he needed to say what was in his heart. “it’s good that we agree, because there’s something I’ve been wanting to talk to you about.”

  Her hand flew to her cheek. “You’re firing me, aren’t you?”

  Her look of horror was so sincere and unexpected that he laughed right out loud. “No.” He put his arm around her shoulder and guided her to the couch, sitting beside her. He picked up her hand and threaded their fingers together. “It’s quite the opposite.”

  She tipped her head in curiosity and his heart grew another size.

  “I know you plan to go home for Christmas.”

  She nodded.

  “But I’d like you to come back.”

  “To be on your channel?”

  “Yes. I mean, no.” His thoughts were running faster than he could process—like watching a movie in fast forward and only getting glimpses of what was happening. “If you want to be on the channel again, that’s great. But I’d like you to come back—” Swallow. “—for me—us. For us.”

  Wow, he really sold that o
ne.

  She jumped up. “Breck.” His name was a warning. “I told you I have to go.”

  “Right. But you don’t have to leave.”

  “I’m recently divorced. I—I have nothing to give.”

  He gathered her hands in his and pulled them to his chest. “You’re wrong.”

  She jerked her head back and tried to pull her hands away.

  “You have so much to offer. You have a warm and loving heart, a kindness that draws others to you, and an excitement for life that’s contagious. My viewers can see that in just a few minutes. Why can’t you?”

  “I-I’m broken.” She yanked again, and he let her go. Her eyes were big, like a deer’s. “I don’t think I can help you anymore.”

  “Harmony—wait.” He reached for her, begging her to stay so he could convince her that she was so lovable.

  She paused at the door, and his heart lifted with hope. “I’m sorry, Breck. If it was going to be anyone, it would have been you.” She wrenched the door and ran through, leaving it hanging halfway open.

  He stared at it for a while—a good, long while—before he finally walked across the room and slowly shut the door.

  Chapter 14

  December 23rd

  Harmony

  “Just pick something—your train leaves in an hour.”

  Harmony stared at the bottle of perfume, not able to focus on any one of them. They all blurred together in a sea of pink, purple, opal, and blue. Harmony’s mom had mentioned wanting to try a new scent for New Year’s, but for the life of her, she couldn’t pick one. Jenny was losing her patience.

  “I’ll take the pink one.” Harmony reached for the box, knocking over several others in the process. A saleswoman in a professional dress trotted over, tsking her tongue.