Chapter 5
Chloe
When he’d opened the door, I couldn’t believe it was him.
What were the chances that I’d be sent to his place for the gig?
It really is fate.
But I stared up at him in confusion.
“You remember my name?”
The smile on his face faltered. “Uh, yeah. I do. I guess you… made an impression.”
My heart skittered around in my chest.
Maybe Astrid had been right.
“Well, let me make a bigger impression. Do you mind if I sing my song for you? If I don’t complete the job I don’t get paid.”
His eyes drifted back down to my breasts again, then to the wide swell of my hips. “So you weren’t kidding? You really are a singing telegram?”
“Yeah.”
He grinned again, then subtly adjusted his pants, a quick hand grab I couldn’t miss. Which made me look down. His jeans seemed to be bulging a little.
Is he hard for me? Just like that?
But then it was like something shut down in him. His smile disappeared, and the same controlled expression he’d had during the sleigh ride landed on his face. The one that hinted at pain in the depths of his heart.
His brow furrowed. “Well, what are the chances of that?”
“Pretty astronomical.”
He looked past me out into the snowy woods. “And you drove in this weather, all the way from Fernwood?”
I shrugged. “The Merry Elf Company isn’t local. They’re nationwide. They don’t know about weather conditions around here. If I don’t do the gig, I stop getting booked. Timeliness is important to them.”
His face hardened further. “The roads are getting bad.”
“I know.” In the time it had taken me to get to his cabin, the roads had started to ice up further. The weak winter sun was hidden behind a wall of gray, and there was no warmth hitting the asphalt any longer.
He rubbed the back of his neck. “And who sent you here again? Not the elf company, but who paid for this?”
“Um…” I checked the app on my phone. “I’m supposed to sing Santa Baby by Eartha Kitt. It’s an old classic. Then say Merry Christmas, you old, surly… uh… cunt. Love from your besties, Rock, Hard and… Dick.”
He grimaced and ran a hand through his hair. “Sorry about that. This has to be some of my friends playing a joke on me. They know I hate Christmas. Their message was crass. You shouldn’t have to deal with asinine fools like them.”
“Well, I am a singing telegram dressed like an elf, wearing candy cane thigh-highs. So, I’ve gotten used to people laughing when I show up on their doorstep.”
It didn’t bother me as long as I got a hundred dollars in my pocket.
He shook his head, then said, “Sing for me then. If that’s what you’re here for.”
Everything about him seemed shut down. It was like his mask had slipped when he’d answered the door, but now he was remote like an iceberg, similar to how he’d been during the sleigh ride.
I shivered, wishing I had my winter coat on. But I’d left it in the car. Something about a faded North Face jacket took away from the costume’s effect.
I started singing, but not Santa Baby. I knew this man wouldn’t report me for going off script. And that song was too flirty. So I sang Jingle Bells instead.
It felt more appropriate given the circumstances of how we’d met. I could see him fighting to keep the smile off his lips each time I got to the line about a one-horse open sleigh.
At the end of the song, I gave a little hip shimmy and said, “Thank you from the Merry Elf Company. We wish you a merry Christmas from our hearth to yours.”
His brow furrowed tight. “You have a beaut—a really good voice.”
“Thank you.”
“I guess they couldn’t hire an elf who couldn’t sing. That wouldn’t make sense.”
“They make you do a virtual audition for quality control purposes. I’ve always liked singing.”
“Well, you’re good at it. It’s nice that you get to do something that you’re good at.”
I thought about my job at the diner. Being a waitress at a greasy spoon was my actual calling in life. There was nothing inspiring about that job.
“This is just a side gig. Your friends helped pay my electric bill for the month by booking me. It was worth the long drive for that.”
He looked past me again, out into the snow. It was coming down harder now.
“You came all the way from Fernwood in that little sedan?”
I nodded.
His eyes scraped across my face. “You look cold.”
I nodded again as a tiny shiver rolled through me. The heat didn’t work in my car, so the drive here had been chilly.
“Why don’t you come inside and warm up for a minute while we check the weather report?” He looked back out at the snowy forest again. “I don’t like the idea of you out on these roads tonight. It will be dark before you make it home.”
My Santa grump wanted to invite me inside? It might not have been the first date I’d hoped for with him, but it was something. And the world was getting colder by the minute.
“All right. It would be nice to warm up before I drive home. Let me grab my coat from my car.”