Page 3 of Christmas Wishes
She stepped once, twice, and her heel caught on the edge of the display platform. Rand’s arms shot out again, but instead of catching boxes of cookies, he caught Blix as she grasped for purchase where there was none.
“How have you survived without me?” he asked, lightly, with a chuckle at the end of his question.
“I’m kind of wondering the same thing.”
Rand eased her down the front of his body and held onto her a little longer than he should have. When he finally let go, she spun to face him. “You okay?” He brushed hair from her face, behind her delicately pointed ear. Rubies hung from her earlobes.
“I am. I’m not usually this clumsy. I am so sorry.”
“I don’t mind at all. I’m glad I was here to catch you.”
She smiled up at him and Rand’s heart stopped in his chest. The little elf had no idea what she did to him. “Admit it. You’re evenmoreglad you saved the cookies from crashing to the ground.”
She was teasing him and oh, how he adored it. “That’s a definite perk. I mean, I can eat cracked and even crumbled cookies, but I’d rather eat whole ones. Even better if I could share a box with someone.”
“Oh. Of course. Why wouldn’t you want to? I’m sure she, ah… What I meant was… Your, ah…” Blix closed her mouth, pressed her lips into a tight, thin line, and blushed scarlet. He’d never heard her stammer like that. She stepped around him, grabbing the box from the top of his pyramid. “Take these. On the house. For helping to save them. I’m sure your date will love them.”
“Blix, I don’t —”
But she didn’t give him a chance to finish his sentence. She scurried back into the kitchen and out of sight, leaving him staring after her, with a box of chocolate cookies in his hands. He shook his head, certain confusion was written all over his face. “Elves.”
* * * * *
Blix hid behind the swinging door like the coward she was. She wasn’t proud of herself, but she’d embarrassed herself enough for one day.
Running from Rand was pathetic, she knew that, but He didn’t see her the way she saw him. He didn’t think of her as anything more than another elf to flirt with. And falling into his arms today, not once, but twice…? She’d been on the verge of leaning in for a kiss, of losing herself in his hold.
To her, Rand was everything.
Leader of the sleigh team.
Santa’s son and heir.
Her secret crush.
She wasn’t even in the same league as the elves he normally dated and she’d tried to talk herself out of her desire for him, but it had never worked. Her goofy little heart had settled itself on Rand and it didn’t appear as though it was going to budge.
She looked through the small, decorative cut-outs in the door to see him leaving the bakery. He glanced back, confusion written on his handsome face, then shook his head and disappeared. She, just like every other elf in the North Pole, enjoyed seeing Rand come or go. He was gorgeous. Tall, broad, dark brown hair, spicy, whiskey eyes. And marked. Not that she’d seen it.
Everyone had a mark of some sort. Elves had glitter. Sparkly vampires had nothing on the North Pole elves. Different glitter for different types. Her’s was multi-color, like sprinkles on a cookie. It classified her as a baker of treats. It was what she’d been born to and she loved it.
Reindeers had tattoos. They could shift from animal to near human, though they sported the pointy ears of an elf. It was rumored that the mark was on Rand’s chest. She’d never get close enough to know if the rumors were true, but that didn’t dull her fantasies.
She leaned against the wall and huffed out a breath. Unrequited love, or lust, stunk. Many females and even some males had set their sights on Rand and one day he’d have to pick someone to be his mate.
“Blix? Sweetie, are you okay?”
“I am.” She pushed away from the wall, grabbed her apron from the hook on the other side of the door, and tied it around her waist.
“Uh huh. Fibber.”
“Pixie, really. I’m fine.” And if she said fine in that tone again, Pixie would know for sure that Blix was lying.
Pixie was Blix’s oldest friend. Hundreds of years and hundreds of secrets shared had kept them close, along with thousands of batches of treats. Pixie’s specialty was cake. She could make the most decadent cake out of any ingredient combination. And her peppermint buttercream frosting? Blix completely blamed the width of her hips on all the nights they taste tested frosting recipes.
Then again, Pixie’s hips were the by-product of pounds of dough as Blix perfected her now famous Christmas cookies.
“I saw who was in here,” Pixie said with a sympathetic smile.
