Page 82 of The Runaway Bride of Blitzen Bay (Blitzen Bay)

She smiles and nods as I lean down and kiss her. She doesn’t kiss me back.

“This is about me and you,” I say, pulling her into a hug. “Not Izzy, not Kit, not Steve. Just me and you.”

“Okay,” she whispers.

I put my arm around her protectively as we walk into the kitchen. Sam and Gabi have started putting food on the table.

“Hey, will you help Sam finish with the table?” Gabi says, smiling at us. “I’ll go tear my wife away from Holly’s jewelry.”

By the time they get back, Sam, Elle, and I are seated at the table with plates of food steaming all around us. Elle’s sitting between Sam and me. I have my hand resting on her leg under the table.

“Do you mind if I say grace?” Sam smiles at us as he continues, “Thank you, God, for bringing this family together tonight. We thank you for old friends and praise you for bringing new friends into the fold. May our loved ones who are no longer with us bless this gathering with peace and fill it with their love and compassion. Amen.”

When I look up, Elle’s holding Sam’s hand.

“Peace and compassion,” she says, smiling at him. “That’s the perfect combination at Christmas.”

“‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.’” Sam says, smiling back at her.

“Right! That’s from Charlie Brown’s Christmas,” Elle exclaims.

Sam’s eyes light up. “Well, I think it was in the Bible first, but yes, Linus did an excellent job of reciting it. That was my kid’s favorite Christmas show—mine, too.”

“That’s the one we watched first every year at my grandma’s house. It’s my favorite memory of Christmas.”

“Is your grandma still with us?” Sam says as he starts dishing out paella onto the waiting plates.

“No, she died four years ago.” She pauses. I squeeze her leg gently. “All of my grandparents are gone.”

“Not all of them,” Sam says as he puts her plate in front of her. “I’ve been looking for another granddaughter if you’ll let me adopt you.”

She beams at him. “It would be my honor.”

I put my arm around her and squeeze her shoulder as I start digging into my meal.

“So Elle, you’re leaving tomorrow, right?” Gabi says, looking directly at me.

“Uh, yeah,” Elle says, jumping a little bit at the harsh tone in Gabi’s voice. “I need to get back to L.A. I start law school in a few weeks.”

“Oh no,” Sam says. “That makes me so sad. I’m not sure why I thought we got to keep you in Blitzen Bay. Will you promise to visit us? I don’t get down to L.A. anymore.”

Elle smiles and pats his hand. “Of course, I will visit you, but when I graduate, I want you to come to L.A. for my ceremony. I want all my favorite people there.”

“I wouldn’t miss it, Noelle. What kind of law will you be studying?”

“I’m starting with international law. My undergrad degree is in international studies. I guess I’ll see where that takes me.”

“Pepperdine, right?” Gabi looks at Elle this time. “Do you live close to campus?”

Elle takes a deep breath. “Uh, as of last week, I lived with Steve in an apartment near UCLA. I’m not sure where I’m going to live now.”

“Is he still living there?” Izzy looks at me.

“Could we maybe stop grilling her?” I say as I feel Elle’s leg tense up under my hand. Although, I’d like to know the answer to that last question, too.

“It’s fine,” Elle says, smiling at me. “I don’t know if he’s still living there. I guess I’ll find out tomorrow.”

“We’ll find out,” I say under my breath.

Elle looks up at me.

I continue quietly. “When I take you back there tomorrow. We’ll find out. If you need to move into a hotel or something temporarily, we can work it out.”

She smiles and nods, but her eyes are wide and hesitant. A wave of panic starts rising in my body again. For the rest of the meal, everyone’s telling stories about their Christmas traditions growing up. I force myself to tell the story about my family trips to a Christmas tree farm, but I’ve stopped paying attention to the conversation. The reality of Elle leaving tomorrow is hitting home and it’s hitting home hard.

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