Chapter Four
VICTORIA
“ H e’s cute,” Avery says, pulling up a seat next to me at the check-in table.
“Who?” I say, smiling at a parent I don’t recognize as I hand them a basket for their toddler. “The path for Damion’s age group is over there, marked with the bunny ears. Once he’s found an egg from all four colours, come back, and we’ll give him his prize.”
“You know who,” she jokes as Damion and his family walk towards the toddler path.
“Damion? Yeah, he’s adorable.”
“Not Damion,” she says, rolling her eyes. “James.”
“Is he? I didn’t notice,” I say, not meeting her eyes.
Our conversation is halted as another family approaches, and I guide them toward their path decked out in their matching baskets.
“Are you really going to act like you didn’t notice?” Avery asks, moving her chair closer to mine.
“Avery,” I sigh, turning to face her. “What are you getting at? Even if I did find him attractive, what’s the point? He’s a professional hockey player who lives in Vancouver. I’m an elf, and I live in Gingerbread Grove. Even if there were a spark, which there isn’t, it wouldn’t matter. Our lives couldn’t be more different.”
“Oh, there was a spark,” she says, laughing.
“Look, I love that you’re happy, in love, and getting married, but not everyone’s story will work out like yours and Matthew’s.”
“I never said it was. I’m just calling it like I see it. Plus, you need to have some fun after that horrific disaster that happened with Dan.”
I groan. “You had to bring up the delivery guy.”
“Not everyone can say they attacked their date with a meatball,” she laughs.
“Ugh, you had to bring it up. And I didn’t attack him. It was an accident,” I say, covering my face with my hands. “I knew I shouldn’t have told you.”
“Look, you can’t expect me to never mention it again when you accidentally fling a meatball across the table and have it land in his drink.”
“I was so mortified. Believe me, I’ve learned my lesson about talking with my hands while I’m holding a fork.”
“I know. You hid every time his truck pulled into the parking lot.”
“Do you blame me?” I ask, lowering my hands.
“I think he still wanted a second date,” she laughs.
“Well, there’s no way that was going to happen. Are you kidding me?”
“Well, that's a good thing for you. I don’t think Gingerbread Grove is on his delivery route. And since you also have no intention of seeing Dan again, we can go back to talking about James.”
“There’s nothing to talk about.”
“Hmmm.” She eyes me skeptically before looking over my shoulder. “I think you should go over there and help with crowd control.”
I follow her gaze, looking over my shoulder. There’s a line of about twenty kids with their parents beside them, all waiting patiently for their turn to meet James. “Looks like everything is under control.”
“Well, you know, as event organizers, we should make sure our special guests have everything they need.”
I turn back to her, raising an eyebrow.
“As your boss, I think it’s the best assignment for you. I can handle the check-ins and hand out the goodie bags when they come back.”
“And if they all start coming back at once, what then?”
Avery gasps, holding her clutched hand to her chest. “Do you doubt my Head Elf abilities, Victoria?”
Now, that makes me laugh. “Certainly not. I would never doubt a head elf.”
“Then get over there and see if our hockey player needs anything. Go on now. Shoo .” She fans her hands at me, attempting to guide me away from the table.
“Fine, but only because you’re my boss.”
“I’ll take what I can get. Now, go.”
Shaking my head, I stand and smooth out my skirt. “Fine, but I expect there to be extra treats in my Easter basket by the end of this.”
“You can have all the mini eggs that are left over, now shoo .”
She knows my weakness. If I didn't need to pay rent and food, I would work for mini eggs as my salary—well, until Christmas. Then, I would work for just about any holiday treat.
Following the path to James’ table, he’s actively engaged in listening to an animated story by a boy about nine years old. His little hands fling to the side as he talks, his eyes wide.
“I couldn’t believe it when you scored that goal in the last game. It blew my mind how you made it bounce!” the boy exclaims, mimicking taking a shot with a stick.
“Yeah, I got lucky on that one. They don’t usually work my way.” He looks up and our eyes meet. The corner of his mouth ticks up in a smile, making my heart skip a beat.
Okay, maybe there’s a tiny spark.
He shoots me a wink before turning back to the boy, getting his name and signing a card for him.
Okay, maybe more than a tiny spark.
The boy runs off, and the next in line moves up with an awestruck look on his face.
“I want to thank everyone for waiting in this long line just to see me,” James says, raising his voice so everyone can hear him. “But I was hoping that maybe we can all give a big thank you to Victoria here for putting it all together. What do you say?”
The children and adults all applaud, with some of the children yelling a somewhat unified, “Thank you, Victoria.”
“You’re very welcome, but I didn’t do it alone. If you happen to see Elf Avery around, you should give her a big thank you, too.”
James says something to the boy before ruffling his hair and walking over to me.
“Did I mess up your official title?” he asks as he approaches, his voice low so only I can hear him. “Should I refer to you as Elf Victoria from now on?”
I giggle.
I actually giggle.
“No, just Victoria is fine. I just came over to see if you needed anything. Water? A break?”
“I don’t need a break. These kids have been waiting patiently; I don’t want to make them wait any longer than they need to. I wouldn’t say no to water, though.”
“You’ve got it.” I turn to get the water when his hand on my wrist stops me. His grip is light, but the connection makes me stop in my tracks. “Sorry, there’s just one thing I need to know before you leave.”
“Yeah?” My voice is a little more than a whisper.
He leans in close, the scent of spice and mint filling the space between us.
“Was what I did so bad that I needed to be next to the petting zoo? The animals are cute and all, but the alpaca keeps looking at me like he’s judging me. Like he just knows why I’m here.”
I can’t help but stare at him blankly for a moment before breaking out into laughter. Of all the things I thought he was going to say to me, that wasn’t on my radar.
“I’m serious. Why are they like that? It’s like they just stare into your soul.”
“Al Pacacino has that effect on people.”
“Did you just call him Al Pacacino?”
“Yes, that’s his name,” I say looking behind him at the pen, suddenly becoming aware that James’ hand is still on my wrist. “You’re lucky that they didn’t bring Llamelai Gilmore. She’s the judgemental one.”
“Where do you get these names?”
“There was a contest in town.”
“Of course there was,” he says, shaking his head.
We stand in the path with the spring sun shining down on us, his hand still warm on my skin, and about thirty pairs of eyes watching us from his tent.
“I should go get that water,” I say, not knowing what else to do. I don’t want this moment to end, but I’m suddenly very aware of how many people are watching us.
“Yeah, I should get back to the kids.”
Neither of us move.
“Victoria, thank goodness, there you are,” Rebecca, the owner of the GingerBrew Cafe, rushes up, her cheeks flushed. “I’m sorry to bother you, but I need your help. Cuddle Muffin is becoming territorial over my tent, and won’t let anyone near it. Not even if I try to bribe him with a lemon muffin.”
“Sorry, did you say Cuddle Muffin?”
“Yes, the town peacock,” I say.
“He doesn’t sound cuddly,” James says under his breath.
I bite my bottom lip, stifling a laugh. He’s not wrong. His name couldn’t be more ironic if it tried. “I’ll be right there. He hasn’t bitten anyone this time, has he?”
“You let a biting peacock just walk around? What’s happened to this town?” James asks.
“He doesn’t usually bite, just when he feels threatened. Rebecca, keep everyone away from him, and I’ll be right there. I knew there were too many people to just let him roam, but Trevor insisted…”
“You’ve got it,” she says. Her eyes dart down to where he’s holding my arm before meeting my eye again. She holds her hand up to block her mouth from his view before mouthing ‘nice’ and walking off.
I roll my eyes and turn to James. “I should go deal with that. Our mayor thought it was a good idea to have some of the animals just roam around.”
“There are so many questions I could ask you right now.”
“And I would love to answer all of them, but I really need to take care of this. I’ll bring you your water as soon as I can.”
I start to walk away, and he lets his hand drop from my arm, instantly causing me to miss the connection.
I rush as quickly as I can toward Rebecca’s tent, but I can’t help but overhear James as he returns to his tent.
“Is she your girlfriend?” a boy asks.
“Oh, I’m not cool enough for her, bud,” he says before I get too far away to hear anymore.
There’s no way that’s true, but his response leaves a smile plastered on my face for the rest of the day. Even a battle with Cuddle Muffin.