Page 3 of Blame It On The Reindeer

“It is, but it doesn’t have to be if you would just look in that icy cold heart of yours and do the right thing.”

I arched an eyebrow, wondering how all that sass could come out of something so small. I was intrigued, to say the least, but now wasn’t the time to entertain this. I had stuff to get done, and she was wasting my time on this nonsense.

“I hate to break it to you, but nothing will ever thaw my ice-cold heart. It’s probably better that you accept that now. Thanks for stopping by, but my answer is no.”

I watched her chest rise and fall heavily as she stared at me with defeat before I closed the door. I didn’t want to be a dick, but I wasn’t here to make friends. The less I got involved with the people of Sugarplum Falls, the better off I would be.

Three

Jasmin

“How did it go?” Andi asked as I sat at the end of the counter and stuffed another truffle in my mouth.

“It’s ten o’clock in the morning, and I’ve eaten all of the samples you guys have out. How do you think it went?” I replied around a mouthful of delicious chocolate and coconut. “These are amazing, by the way. Tell Zach he really outdid himself.”

“I’ll let him know when he’s done making the current batch.” She stacked boxes of pre-packaged chocolates on the table by the register, arranging them accordingly before stepping back and looking at them.

“It looks great. I think those will sell fast,” I commented, already eyeing which ones would be going home with me. Not that I needed more chocolate given the amount I’d already consumed this morning, but it was the holiday season and nothing saidhappy holidayslike a stockpile of sweets.

“Thanks. We sold out of the fudge and dark chocolate truffles yesterday, so I’m trying to anticipate what our bestsellers are going to be for Frosty Fest. Last year, we sold out midday. I don’t want that to happen again.”

“Well, let’s see if we even have a Frosty Fest this year,” I replied sarcastically around another bite.

“We will,” she assured me. “Even if we don’t have the reindeer, we can still make the festival happen.”

“How?” I crumpled up the napkin I had been using and tossed it in the trash. “People come from neighboring towns because we have reindeer and Santa and Mrs. Claus—which, by the way—I’m about to fire a few elves. But that’s a whole other story. My point is that people comeherebecause they want that Christmas feeling. They bring their kids because our Santa looks so much like the real thing, it adds that magic into the holidays for them. If we don’t have the reindeer for the kids to feed, then they don’t have a reason to come see us. You can’t have Christmas in Sugarplum Falls without the reindeer.”

“I know. But maybe we just have to embrace the change and move forward.”

She smiled softly at me, but it did nothing to lessen the vise grip that was squeezing my heart at the thought of the local town kids who would be disappointed this year as well. It wasn’t just the out-of-town business that we needed for our event to thrive; it was the happiness that you could feel when walking Main Street or visiting with the locals while being encompassed in holiday bliss.

“I have the next batch ready,” Zach said as he came through the doors that led to the kitchen. He stopped short when he saw me, a panicked look on his face.

“Don’t worry, I won’t touch those.” I held my hands in front of me and smiled. “I’m going to grab a few things and then get out of here. I need to go find my zen so I can clear my mind and get back to planning.”

“Well, if you need any help, you know where to go,” Andi replied softly, taking the tray of truffles from Zach and lining them up on the sample plate by the register.

“Sugar Faced Bar?” I teased.

She placed her hands on her hips and tilted her head as she pinned me with a look.

“What? Aiden makes a killer dirty snowman.”

“I don’t even want to know.” Andi shook her head but I noticed the corners of her lips tilting up into a smile.

“Trust me, it’s just a drink. If you don’t like that, he also makes a fantastic mistletoe margarita. Ooh, or a gingerbread martini!”

“I think you’re spending way too much time at the bar,” she teased.

“Or perhaps you’re not spending enough time there. I’m just saying I see Sam in the morning for my holiday latte to start my day and Aiden when I’m wrapping up for the day and need a holiday cocktail to wind down. Between both of them, I have everything I could need in life.” I smiled and shrugged my shoulders.

“Except for reindeer,” Zach said with a cheeky smile, ducking as Andi tossed the towel he brought out at his head. “What? It’s true.”

“And see, this depressing news is why I’m heading over to see Aiden.” I sighed heavily as I grabbed my stuff—along with three boxes of chocolates I needed to buy.

“It’s not even noon,” Andi objected, her head shaking as she rang me up.

“No. But it’s five o’clock somewhere.”

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