Page 36 of Donner

"It's not."

"But it's beautiful." The room also smelled of rain and growing things, and not like it came from a bottle.

"Okay, you both made it." Derek rested his head on Jax's shoulder from behind, and we both jumped. "I think my job here is done." He looked a little green around the edges.

"You're the friend who doesn't like being underground," I said, remembering the story Jax told me.

He nodded. "This is the first time I've been here, and it's really nice, Jax." He took a step backward toward the door. "I'm so sorry I can't stay."

"It's all right," Jax said. "Let's meet up for drinks later this week."

Jax gave Derek a quick hug, I shook his hand, and he scampered out of the room.

"Does he know where he's going?" I asked.

"The exits are well marked," Jax said. "He can't miss the elevators."

"This is a great apartment." I took a closer look. High ceilings. Projected images on every wall. The door Derek had just fled through looked like it was set in a garden wall with an arch over it. The carpet was a verdant green pile thick enough to feel like cool grass against my toes. I kicked off my flip-flops and stood on it. "I thought it would be cold, but it's not."

"Heated floors. It doesn't get too cold, thanks to the geothermal heating, but it's nice to walk around without shoes down here when everything is freezing up there."

Jax's phone buzzed. "We're being summoned to my Santa's office in Christmas Village. The next bus is in fifteen minutes. Let's find you something to wear."

Jax's bedroom was decorated like an ice castle. The walls shimmered like a snow globe, the flakes catching on invisible light and glowing as they fell to the floor. The white carpet and white bedding also sparkled with the projected images. Ice-blue drapes hung across the top of his four-poster bed. For a moment, I was grateful he came to Miami instead of going to Orlando with the rest of the Disney princesses.

"Here." He shoved me toward his closet. "If what Derek said is true about your house, you should be able to find something for you."

I opened the bifold doors to find my whole wardrobe already neatly hung and folded inside. My jeans were stacked in a cubby unit reminiscent of a department store, along with slots for my five pairs of shoes. My suit jackets and khakis from another time when I'd moonlighted as front desk security for a bank before I started bouncing were here, too. They were my nicest clothes that would fit, so I grabbed a navy pair and my warmest dress shirt, a plain green flannel.

"I think this is yours, too." Jax handed me a giant parka with a fur-lined hood. "I've never seen it before."

I hadn't seen it before, either, but it fit and would keep me warmer than the flannel shirt alone.

We both dressed in a hurry. Jax was anxious to meet with his Santa, and I was excited to see more of this new world. The ride up the elevator was shorter than it had been from the penthouse suite to the ground floor of the hotel, so I didn't get to kiss Jax long enough before it dragged to a stop. The temperature was noticeably colder at ground level, but we didn't go outside yet. Jax led me up a set of stairs to a small bus terminal. "The bus will be here in five."

Before I had studied my surroundings, the bus pulled up outside the thick glass windows. Jax held my hand as he led me outside. There was a thick frost on the ground. I wanted to think the cold didn't bother me, but it did, just a little. It would take some acclimation after Miami's heat and humidity.

The bus had posh seating fit for a limousine. Jax and I sat next to each other on a bench that rivaled the hotel's couch for comfort. I didn't have time to get too comfortable before we stopped and Jax led me into another bus terminal. The sun was so bright, I didn't get a good look at any of the buildings before I followed Jax up the marble stairs, which was impossible due to the weather. Real marble would have crumbled from the freezing and thawing.

"It's magic," Jax said. "Everything here is protected by the Santas' magic so it can withstand the cold. Busses run in the worst winter conditions, and the roads are always clear, no matter how much snow we have."

He dragged me into a stately building with dark wood paneling and an air of importance that reminded me of a courthouse until I saw the etchings in the wood paneling move. This had to be projected, or was it more magic? Suddenly, I questioned everything I'd seen in Jax's room, and everything that had happened since we arrived. Perhaps I had fallen in the hotel room back in Miami and hit my head, and this was my over-the-rainbow concussion dream.

Chapter 21

Jax

Unlike the last time I stood in this hallway, the door to my Santa's office stood open and Santa 30 himself leaned against the jamb, waiting for us.

"Welcome to the North Pole, Beau! How did you enjoy The Honeycomb?"

"What's that?" he whispered.

"My apartment building," I whispered back.

"It's delightful!" His voice was a little too heavy with false cheer. I hoped he liked it and was only overjoyed to see Santa, but I hadn't known him long enough to tell. Was this how Beau reacted when he was stressed?

"Wonderful," Santa said. "I have some details to work through with you on the sale of your home. Donner, could you excuse us?"

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