CHAPTER TEN #3
Their words spread like a balm across Avery’s heart, filling in the gaps and cracks left behind by grief.
The Christmas spirit that flowed through the veins of her grandmother and mother—the secret behind the warmth and joy she once thought was buried with them—it was alive and well, humming and dancing inside her.
She looked around at her companions, at her father. She felt the steady warmth of Louis’ hand behind her, and for the first time since burying her mother, she felt like she was home.
They raised their glasses and drank.
Avery took a quiet sip. She was drinking that golden, sparkling, diluted concoction of Christmas Magic that Louis had described. Instantly, she felt lighter.
“Does that make me a Claus?” She asked Santa with a small smile.
“You get to be whatever you want to be,” Santa said. “And you don’t have to decide tonight. You and I have a lot of catching up to do. And you deserve a little break, don’t you think?”
“Yeah, I think I do,” Avery laughed, wiping the remaining tears off her face.
“In that case,” Santa said, slapping his palms on his legs and standing up, bidding everyone to do the same, “I think it’s time we enjoy the party.”
Louis dematerialized the living room set, the group disbanded, and he grabbed Avery’s hand, pulling her away from the crowd.
“You have her back by curfew, young man,” Santa called after him.
Avery turned around and stuck out her tongue at her dad. She heard him laughing as she and Louis walked away, drinks in hand.
He found them a dark, private corner.
“For the record,” he said, “I was genuinely shocked when I received your message. He didn’t warn me.
Of course, I knew who you were—we all knew about you and your impressive career from Santa, who bragged about you endlessly after each visit.
But I’d never laid eyes on you until that first night at dinner.
I knew immediately I was—in over my head.
" He reached up and touched her cheek. “You’ve been through so much today. Are you okay?”
Avery downed the rest of her cocktail and whooshed out a long, loud breath.
“Well, I didn’t sleep last night. I learned I could wield magic.
I got caught snogging you in a supply closet, accidentally blacked out on Christmas drugs, had to put on a big show in court in front of a giant cat who looked like he wanted to eat me, found out my dad is Santa, and got offered his job.
So, yeah,” she said, taking his drink and finishing that off, too.
“Typical day for the Hoarfrost family, evidently.”
“You are truly miraculous,” Louis said, shaking his head.
“Are you okay?” Avery asked.
“I’ve never been so relieved in my long life,” Louis said.
“We all watched Santa fall in love with Betty. And when she realized she had to leave, and what that meant…we all watched him erase her memories. We tried to help him through it. But he never stopped loving her. I saw him spend his life watching her, watching you, from a distance. I thought about that happening to me, to us.” He pulled her into a hug and squeezed her tight, exhaling hard, before stepping back and putting his hands on her shoulders.
He looked her square in the eyes. “Avery, I love you,” he said firmly.
“You told me in court. I didn’t get a chance to say it back. ”
Avery closed her eyes, smiling, and took a slow breath, drinking in her final victory of the day. She willed her high heels to be just a little bit higher, to bring herself even with Louis’ lips.
“I know,” she said, before giving him a quick kiss and a grin.
“Oh really!” he laughed, spinning her around and pressing her back against the wall. “What gave me away?”
Avery glanced up at the mistletoe that had reappeared above Louis’ head.
“You’re not very good at hiding it,” she said.
Louis smiled, placed a hand on the wall above Avery’s shoulder, and leaned in.
The kiss he offered her was gentle but urgent, full of unfinished business—and a promise to finish it.
Avery put a hand on his cheek and pulled back far enough to see his eyes.
“If I stayed here. Would I live forever?” she asked.
“As long as you wanted to,” he replied.
“Would you live forever?”
He kissed her cheek. “I can do that, if I wish.”
“How do long-term relationships work in the North Pole?” Avery asked, sliding a hand down his side, resting it low on his hip.
“However you’d like,” he said, glancing down to where her thumb was grazing his waistband. “We can start slow. I know there are a lot of things here for you to adjust—”
“Do people get married?” she asked, cutting him off.
“Oh, yes,” he said, smiling broadly. “There’s nothing quite so magical as a North Pole wedding.”
“And hypothetically,” Avery said, continuing her examination, “if I were Santa, and we were married, what would that make you?”
“Infinitely happy,” Louis said with a sigh.
She laughed. “I mean, what would your title be?”
“Ah. Erm, Mister Hoarfrost-Claus, I suppose? I’m not sure how that would work. I don’t think there’s been a Mister Claus before.”
“Oh, I’m sure you can figure something out,” she said, wrapping her arms around his neck, pulling him close. “I believe in you."
THE END