Page 18 of Mistletoe Magic

“We always stand here. There’s Papa!” He spots a man who bends down with open arms. Ava walks over and hugs the man. He laughs at something she says to him. This must be her dad. I decide to walk over and introduce myself to him.

“Daddy, I’d like you to meet Hunter King.”

“Nice to meet you, sir.” I hold out my hand to him. He shakes it.

“The pleasure is mine. Thank you for having my babygirl’s back, especially for this wedding. We both don’t want to go but are forced to. I hate Matthew. I love my daughter Michele but hate her actions. Family always has each other’s back.”

“Any chance to spend time with this beautiful woman, I’m good.” Ava blushes.

“Now, Timmy, no keeping Papa up late. You know he needs his beauty rest,” Ava teases them both. Her dad scoffs, and the two walk away, muttering about all the fun they have planned for tonight. It’s the only time they eat all the candy without getting in trouble.

“Who is ready to drink?” Lyssa comes up behind us, draping her arms around Ava and me. “Since Dad is staying all night at my place, Jack hooked me up with a room.”

“Let’s go then. We’re meeting at the hotel then walking?” Ava asks.

“We need to go to your place to grab a change of clothes. You’re staying with me,” I remind her, and we head back to her apartment.

“I’ll need to be up early since it is the pageant. I have to finish painting some decorations for the set and decorate the rink. It’s a very hectic day. What do you have planned for tomorrow?”

“Jack, Tony, Brad, and I are helping bring the decorations over since he has a truck. Plus, I need to finish up some last-minute Christmas shopping. Chrissy is excited to help paint and be around kids. She hates summer vacation.”

“You can tell she’s passionate about her job. I don’t think I could do anything other than the rink. I love being able to teach kids to skate, coach hockey, and help up-and-coming ice skater hopefuls.”

Once we’re in her apartment, I notice there is still no tree, but she’ll be celebrating with us. Next year, we’ll have a tree. It’ll be our first official Christmastogether. I smile, staring out the window while she’s in her room packing a bag.

“Don’t forget to grab the dress you’re wearing for the wedding,” I yell. She swears, which makes me chuckle. I let out a sigh of happiness. My life feels complete with Ava, but how do I bring it up to her?

After about thirty minutes of her gathering everything, we’re back to the hotel. We made plans to meet in the lobby because Ava wanted to put her stuff in my room and change. She was a little dressed up for the bar, but I talked her out of changing.

I love being able to kiss her shoulders and play connect the dots with her freckles. We talk about the pageant since we’re the first ones in the lobby when Ava hides behind a pillar. I gaze around the room, and stop on Michele. I’m assuming the older woman, who could be Michele’s twin, is her mom standing there staring at me. I wave, making them turn away.

“Get out from behind the pillar. You shouldn’t hide from them. They won’t be ruining our night. I won’t let them.” I tug on her hand once I grab a hold of it. She struggles at first, then falls into my arm. “I enjoy being the one to catch you when you fall.”

“Are you always going to be there?” she asks in a quiet tone.

“Always,” I whisper back, kissing the top of her head. It was a simple gesture, but my heart swells up like it’s about to burst out of my chest.

“Hey, you two. Are you ready?” Chrissy says as she joins us.

“Yes! Let’s go to Joes!” Lyssa says.

We walk out, talking loudly while Ava forgets about her mother. She’s laughing, holding my hand, and enjoying life right now. I hope I can keep her mind off them.

How canI make the wedding carefree for her?

Ava

I foundthis bar by accident when I was a student at the University of Florida. I thought it was a coffeehouse. When I hear a business with the name Joe’s, I think coffee, you know, a cup of joe, but I was wrong. What I found was a new hangout and a part-time job on weekends.

“You’re going to love this place. It caters to the college crowd, but with it being a holiday, a lot of locals are going to be here. I worked here during college when I couldn’t make it back to the rink. Denny would let me work on holiday breaks but made me stay in Orlando. He and my dad paid for everything school-wise, but for food, I needed to find a job,” I tell Hunter.

We walk in, and they’ve decorated it like the North Pole exploded. There is tinsel everywhere, Christmas lights that they have up year-round since Joe’s is close to Celebration. He likes the idea of keeping Christmas alive three hundred sixty-five days a year. He has drink specials that are holiday-themed as well.

“Ava!” someone yells from across the room. I look up to find the person, and Micah, the owner, is smiling.

“Micah!” I walk over to him, and we embrace. “The place looks great. I love the new upgrades of the dance floor and seating. Did you open the outside too?”

“Yes. I took your suggestion and opened it up year-round until hurricane season. People love being able to drink outside. I installed a bar out there too. I have two bartenders and two waitresses to make sure no one is letting people in that shouldn’t be here.”

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