Page 85 of The Naughty Elf

I rub her shoulders and neck until the small curtain on the makeshift stage flutters. It’s my signal to head back.

“I’m going to check on Gracie. You stay put, Momma Elf.”

She folds her arms across her chest, eyes narrowing on me like she knows I’m up to something.

I dash behind the stage and see all of the kids grinning at me. “Ready?”

Gracie’s fist rises in the air, and the kids follow in a silent declaration.

Sawyer hits play on the sound station, and the kids filter out past the curtain to begin with a small skit Gracie and Emily wrote together.

Emily is beside her dad, hand squeezing his before she pulls the ring boxes from her jacket pockets to hand to each of us. “Break a leg!”

Honestly, Emily has been a Godsend. She’s willing to tell us how wrong we are when it comes to taking care of Ginger. And by God, she’s usually right. How a teenager can know so much about romance is beside me, but I’ll take all the advice I can get.

I want this to last.

Slipping off my coat, I take the suit jacket Emily offers me. She smiles at the three of us.

“You approve?” Jackson asks.

“Very much. She’s going to be wowed. But I still can’t believe you let her come to this dressed as an elf.” Her hands plant themselves on her hips. It’s a mini-mom pose. Gracie does it, too. It’s Ginger’s signature move.

“We have our reasons,” Jackson says. And we do. She’s been our elf this whole time. It feels like it’s all come full circle.

Besides, she looks hot in those striped tights.

When the narrator mentions the three elves, that’s our cue. We step onto that small stage, surrounded by children in costume, and the crowd that is milling around stops moving.

Gracie is at Ginger’s side, prodding her to her feet, but Bennett is the one who helps her stand and walks her toward us. His anger has subsided. Most of his threats went with it.

The kids hop off the front of the stage and swarm her, drawing her in as we follow.

Her eyes glitter as she takes us in. The sun is just setting, making her hair come alive like fire. And when we drop to our knees before her, her hand shoots up to cover her ruby mouth.

We open our boxes in unison—this was my idea. I may have been watching lots of romantic comedies with Gracie.

Ginger’s mouth is pursed. She’s trying not to smile. Or cry. Or probably both. Her hormones are nuts right now. “The three elves, huh?”

I grin up at her. “What can we say? We’ve got a theme going here.”

A full smile finally blooms over her pretty mouth as she looks at the three rings. They’re really three parts of one ring. Sawyer designed and made them for us.

“One of Christmas magic and wishes coming true,” Jackson says, smooth as ever.

Her nose wrinkles, but she’s beaming.

“What do you say? Want to be ours forever?” My brows lift. It’s not the most romantic way to say it, but it fits us.

Sawyer elbows me, and Ginger laughs. It’s exactly the reaction I want.

The big guy plucks the three rings from our boxes and fits them together when she nods and holds out her hand. He slides it on her finger and kisses her knuckles.

Ginger lifts her hand to examines it with the biggest grin. “You’re all fools, but I love you.”

We stand as one, surrounding her.

“We’re taking that as a yes,” Jackson says, planting a chaste kiss on her mouth.

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