The 5th Christmas Kiss

by Wendy Knight

  That smile soothed every raw nerve in his body.

  “Well, look who finally decided to get out of bed.” His grandmother, Jackie, clucked her tongue and shook her head. She’d never been one for laziness.

  “He was up for almost twenty-four hours,” Azura said. “Or I’m sure he would have gotten up to go to the gym hours ago. Can’t lose those gains.” She grinned at him.

  Jackie had no idea what gains were, as far as Crew knew, but she laughed anyway, handing Azura more orange juice. “We saved you some pancakes.”

  Some was an understatement. There were still at least twenty steaming in the center of the table. Eggs, bacon, the works.

  It was heaven. Pure heaven.

  He sat down across from Azura, next to Kat. His sister leaned close, hissing, “You slept in today? Of all days? We’ve got so much to do!”

  “It was an accident,” he hissed back. They’d had this same conversation too many times growing up. Every other time, though, it hadn’t involved making anyone fall in love with him.

  It had for Garrett, once. But never Crew.

  “Any word on Carter?” he asked as his mom ruffled his hair and his grandma piled food on his plate. “Do we know where he is today?”

  “He’s practicing for the Christmas eve play at the little theater downtown. I called his mother as soon as I heard about the curse.”

  Azura poked at her own pancakes, watching in delight as syrup oozed around her fork. “Your whole family knew about the curse. All believers.” She looked up and smiled at him. “All of them.”

  “Silly thing has never heard of the Mistletoe Curse. This is why we need to have an article detailing your experiences. People need to be warned,” Lila said. “It’s really a matter of national security.”

  “I refused kisses that night too, though,” Kat mused as she dished up another helping of eggs. “I wasn’t hit with the worst luck ever.”

  “But,” Garrett pointed his fork at her, flinging syrup everywhere. “You actually have Christmas spirit to protect your—what do you call it, Azura?”

  “Your luck organ.” Crew winked at Azura and she grinned.

  “Yeah, your luck organ. Azura has no such protection.”

  “Interesting,” Ruben mused. “A luck organ.”

  “Explain to me this luck organ.” Lila propped her chin on her palm, watching Azura with sparkling eyes.

  Crew tried not to be quite so obvious, glancing up at her between bites as Azura explained her luck organ theory. A few more hours of this and she’d have his entire family wrapped around her little finger.

  The way he was.

  “So,” Kat said when there was a lull in the conversation. “What’s our plan today?”

  “I have to go shopping,” Crew said. “Azura, you want to come? It is Christmas shopping, I’ll just warn you now.”

  She popped a piece of bacon in her mouth and sighed, eyes rolling back in her head. “This bacon is amazing. I don’t even like bacon. I just took some to be polite. Now I’m addicted.”

  Crew raised an eyebrow, watching her in amusement.

  She blinked and her cheeks tinged pink. “Yes. I’d love to come. And hopefully I won’t crash your cart or burn the mall down. Or something else less horrific.”

  “Perfect. You go shopping and we’ll meet you at the theater around one? Curse will be broken, we can come home and have dinner and play all day tomorrow.” Katrina pushed her chair back and picked up her dishes. “Garrett, are you coming?”

  “Yeah. Last time got dicey. You might need backup.”

  They continued making their plans, but all Crew heard was Azura saying she’d go Christmas shopping with him. The anti-Christmas green-eyed Grinch had agreed to a Christmas activity.

  Maybe Christmas miracles did exist.

  “I have some shopping I need to do,” Jackie said. “I’ll come with you.”

  His grandpa, Andrew, nudged her under the table, nearly unearthing her from her chair. She scowled as everyone except Azura stared back at her with wide, annoyed eyes.

  Subtle.

  “Oh. I see. I’m not invited to go shopping. Fine.” She sat back, pushing her plate away. “None of you are getting Christmas presents this year.”

  “Of course, you can come with us,” Azura said, crushing Crew’s very soul under her gentle words. “You don’t mind, do you, Crew?”

  Well, he’d planned to spend the day charming Azura with everything he had left in his arsenal, but apparently that idea was done. “No, not at all. You’re welcome to come, Grandma.”

  “Well,” his mama interrupted. “You need to go soon because that storm is supposed to start up again. Mom, you can’t be ready to go in a few minutes, can you?”

  Mama to the rescue.

  “Yes, I can. Besides, they’re going to be out until at least one, anyway. That’s when they’re going to find that Carter boy that caused so much trouble.”

  Well, his mama tried.

  “Actually, if that storm is coming back in, maybe we should meet earlier. How fast can you shop, Crew?” Katrina breezed back into the room.

  Crew sighed. Not at all what he’d been hoping for, but there seemed to be no way out of it now. Running a hand through his hair, he went through his plan for the morning, trying to figure out where to cut corners. “I don’t know. An hour? Two? I’d planned for three or four but if we hurry...”

  “No,” Azura interrupted. “No, we can’t rush something like this. It’s their Christmas. We need to make it right. If Carter has to wait until tomorrow, then so be it.”

  Crew met her fierce green eyes as she practically dared him to argue. He couldn’t. He had no words.

  She was risking her curse to make sure another family’s Christmas surprise wasn’t rushed.

  “Okay then. Three or four hours it is. It’s almost ten now. We can plan tentatively for one and see how it goes?” Kat glanced down at her watch and then back up, a wicked sly smile curling her lips. “Grandma, can you really go shopping for three to four hours? That’s a really long time.”

  “Three to four hours?” Jackie gasped. “My feet can’t do three to four hours. What do you have to buy? The whole store?”

  “A family’s whole Christmas, Mom.” Lila snuck Crew a thumb’s up. “But it’s fine. I’ll take you myself and we’ll only go for as long as your feet can stand.”

  His family was the best. They had no equals.

  “Okay then. Should we go? I just have to grab my coat.” Azura stood, stretching. Crew wondered how long she’d been sitting there, entertaining his entire family. Hours, by the looks of it.

  “I’m ready.” He stood too, snatching another piece of bacon off the plate and popping it into his mouth.

  Day saved.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  “Okay,” Azura said as they stood in front of the mall in the light snow, “What are our targets?”

  “Targets?” Crew dug his list out of his pocket. “You mean the family members?”

  “This is a serious mission, Crew. These are our targets now.” She nodded smartly, pulling him by the wrist into the store. “Tell me everything.”

  Crew stared at her, baffled, for several long seconds before he wordlessly handed her the list. She took it, reading through quickly. “There are only two kids.”

  “Yes...”

  “I figured there would be more. I can spend $500 on four people in a half-hour flat, Crew. I expected more of a challenge.”

  He narrowed his eyes, frowning. “You’re scaring me a little bit right now.”

  Laughing, Azura pulled him toward the toy store. “Holly comes home all the time with families who can’t afford Christmas.”

  He stumbled behind her, his confusion making his steps clumsier than normal. For once, she was the graceful one. “And you—you help her? You, the anti-elf?”

  “Anti-elf. I like that.” Azura grinned over her shoulder at him. “Yes, I help. Just because I hate Christmas doesn’t mean those little kids
should suffer too. Holly makes minimum wage and only works fifteen hours a week at Christmas time. She can’t do it alone.”

  “Wow,” Crew breathed. “I did not see that coming.”

  She paused in the threshold to the giant store, scanning the aisles. “You have a girl and a boy on your list but they’re both little. Little ones are the easiest to shop for. Which you know. This isn’t your first rodeo.” She bit the inside of her cheek. “Did you have any ideas?”

  “A few, but it’s been a while since I was a kid, and I’ve never been a little girl, so I’m open to suggestions.”

  She still had his wrist clutched in her hand and she turned toward him, studying his face. Flawless, as always, and he looked much healthier this morning than he had the night before. “You’re adorable.”

  He grinned.

  She hadn’t meant to say it. For some reason, she had the hardest time not blurting out random compliments whenever he was around.

  “You blush every time you do that,” he drawled. “Is it because you secretly love me and just can’t admit it, Butterfly?”

  “I blush because the wind burned my cheeks. That’s all. Why do you call me Butterfly, anyway? I’m not orange. Or colorful. I also can’t fly. Butterflies are graceful... which is the opposite of me right now. Frankly, it doesn’t make sense,” she snapped half-heartedly. “Come on.”

  Dragging him through the store was a good way to abruptly change the subject, although he didn’t offer an answer to her question either. She had to admit, secretly, that she didn’t mind the Butterfly nickname. It could be worse. He could have named her grasshopper instead. Or moth.

  She shuddered at the thought.

  They spent hours going over the toys, filling the cart. At one point, she told Crew they had gone over their $500 budget.

  He shrugged and kept shopping.

  It was nearly three when they finished, and that was only because Kat called, frantic. Crew put her on speaker while they wheeled toward the front of the store. “The show starts at five and Carter is in rehearsal until then. He takes his role very seriously and said he can’t come out to greet his fans until after showtime. Mama said we have mandatory family movie night tonight.”

  Azura bit the inside of her cheek. They’d stayed way too long and messed everything up. But it had been heaven, and she hadn’t wanted to leave.

  Stupid. Stupid heaven.

  “Tell Mama that—”

  “Mama says get your tail home before eight, Crew. This is non-negotiable. I’m old and tired and set in my ways,” Lila said.

  Kat must have had them on speaker phone as well.

  “Mama,” Crew sucked in a long breath, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “We’ll be okay. We’ll watch the play and find Carter and still be home in time for movie night.”

  “Do you promise, Crew? Because Kat told me you almost didn’t come home for Christmas and I don’t understand why you would do that.”

  Crew swore. Azura looked at him in surprise. Why on earth would he not want to come home to this? She didn’t even like Christmas, and she wouldn’t have missed it for the world. “I promise, Mama. We’ll be home by eight or you can ground me for a week.”

  Lila muttered something Azura couldn’t catch and Kat laughed as she said, “So, we won’t make it to the fourth kiss, but we’ll see you tonight!”

  “Sorry.” Crew shoved his phone back in his pocket. “We should go. Wanna grab dinner before we head over?”

  Azura smiled. Sounds perfect. “Sure, I could eat.”

  THEY took too long at dinner and by the time they made it to the play, it had already started. The theater was nothing like Azura had been expecting. It was outdoors, surrounded by vendors selling all kinds of Christmas treats and gifts and huge heaters at every aisle junction. Crew bought her hot chocolate and they wandered up and down the aisles, pausing every so often to watch the play. It was called A Christmas Carol and while Azura had heard of it and probably seen it when she was little, she couldn’t remember much. Sipping her hot chocolate, holding the cup so tightly her hands ached because she didn’t want to dump it down the front of her, she watched with tentative curiosity. “Who are these people?”

  Crew shook his head. “Your Christmas cluelessness knows no bounds. That’s Ebenezer Scrooge. Sound familiar? He’s visited by three ghosts—Christmas past, Christmas present and Christmas future.”

  Azura’s lips twitched to the side and she studied the actors. “I thought Scrooge was male.”

  Crew shrugged, blowing on his hot chocolate. “They like to mix things up here.”

  “Okay, I’ll give you Scrooge and that’s—who? Bob Cratchit? And Cratchit’s poverty-stricken kids, obviously.” She watched the actors for several more seconds, her nose wrinkled in confusion. “But who is that supposed to be?”

  He leaned closer and his gaze followed her pointed finger. “That’s Tiny Tim.”

  She peeked at him dubiously. “He’s not very tiny.”

  “Well, he’s a grownup.”

  “He’s a grownup playing Tiny Tim?”

  “Yes. They had kids audition. He was better. We call him Tiny Tyler. I’ll introduce you after the show.”

  She tipped her head, her gloved hands running lightly over the railing in front of her. “He looks familiar.”

  Crew nodded toward Tiny Tyler. “He was there. The day of the accident. He helped pull you out of the ditch.”

  “What? Seriously?”

  Crew nodded. “You may have sworn at him, I can’t remember. There was so much Christmas cursing that day.” He winked down at her, sending butterflies careening through her stomach even as she blushed. She had been partially monstrous that day. “And that over there is Carter. Your last Christmas kiss.”

  Azura studied him. He was vaguely familiar. Close-cropped brown hair, light brown eyes. He wasn’t unattractive, but he didn’t have Crew’s dramatic features—the nearly black eyes and the dark brown hair against his tan skin. He wasn’t as big, either, probably barely taller than Azura. “Not bad,” she mused. “I’ve kissed worse.”

  Crew, instead of laughing like she’d expected, shifted on his feet and looked away. “Yeah, he’s a nice guy.”

  She wandered closer, blowing on her hot chocolate. “Do they do this every year?”

  Crew fell into step next to her. “What?”

  “This whole festival. The play. The vendors. The decorations. It’s cute.”

  “Cute?” Crew stumbled backward as if she’d pierced his heart with a knife. “Cute? Azura. Seriously. You say that any louder and these people will cut you.”

  She snickered, shaking her head.

  “Yeah, they do this every year. It’s not cute. It’s a freaking Christmas miracle. The magazine is one of the sponsors,” he continued.

  Of course, it was. The magazine had more claws in Christmas than Santa did.

  “So...Kat works for the magazine. Your parents run the magazine. Everyone in the country loves the magazine. Why don’t you work there?”

  Crew stretched his neck, studying the stars for so long she thought maybe he wasn’t going to answer. “My parents ask me the same question on a regular basis.” He tipped his head sideways to look at her. The aisles were packed and people streamed around him, and if he hadn’t been so big, he probably would have been trampled. “I want to make it on my own. Maybe one day I’ll go back to the magazine, but for now, I want to prove that I can find my own path. I have nothing but love for that whole world, but—”

  “But you have to find your own way. I get it. That’s very brave.” She tucked her hand through the crook of his elbow as they approached ice, almost without thinking.

  “I am brave.” He nodded. “I’m glad you realize that. Tell me again why we’re not together when I’m so brave?”

  She laughed. “Because it’s Christmastime and everyone makes weird decisions at Christmas time.”

  “So...after New Years then?”

  She nudged him with her shoulde
r, her small frame nearly knocking him over, which she enjoyed. “Galahad was celibate.”

  Crew threw up one hand in disgust, groaning. Several people watched him, enthralled, and she didn’t blame them. He was beautiful. Every movement had a fluidity that was like watching art. He didn’t have a clumsy bone in his body. “I’m on the verge of demanding another nickname.”

  She smirked. “It’s too late. It’s stuck now.”

  Crew started to respond, but they’d reached the stage where the actors were just exiting. Azura hadn’t even realized the play had ended, she’d been so caught up in Crew.

  “Tiny Tyler!” Crew released Azura so he could hug Tyler in one of those weird boy-hugs she’d never understood. Tyler was a bear of a man, with a thick beard and kind eyes. Now that they were closer, she did kind of remember him from the day of the accident. He’d been the one laughing when she’d sworn at the EMTs while they’d tried to load her into the ambulance. She was seventy-four percent positive she had not sworn at him though. “This is Azura. Azura, Tyler.”

  “Hi,” she waved. “Thanks for helping me out of that ditch.”

  Tyler laughed. “Right, I remember you. You hate Christmas.”

  That seemed to be her thing with these Christmas enthusiasts. “It’s not my favorite.”

  “Fair enough. What are you guys doing here? Enjoying the play?”

  Out of the corner of her eye, Azura caught something flashing toward her—something white and blurred. She turned toward it—stupidly, in retrospect—and the snowball slammed into her face. She gasped against the cold, her hot chocolate slipping from her fingers. Crew and Tyler spun, looking for the culprit, while she wiped snow and ice from her face. Tyler disappeared into the crowd, but Crew turned back to her, his warm fingers gentle against her skin. “Damn. That was an ice ball. Your cheek is swelling.” He winced, laying his knuckles against the welt she could already feel. “That’s going to be a nasty bruise.”

  Her boots and the lower half of her jeans were splattered with hot chocolate, and everyone around them was still staring in horror.