Page 31 of Santa Daddies
Emily
I managed to avoid Kristoffer the rest of the day by working in my room but when I went to meet everyone at the horse-drawn sleighs, only one sleigh was left with an open spot for me. And it was the one he was occupying.
Everyone was coupled up, bundled under blankets, cups of cider or hot chocolate in their mittened hands. Puffy clouds of breath billowed up along with the steam from their cups. My eyes followed the path of sleighs until it landed on the last one, drawn by a beautiful appaloosa horse, where Kristoffer sat. Gulp. And he was wearing a Santa hat, rather than toques like everyone else.
He waved me over, and with no other choice, I tossed my scarf over my shoulder and went to join him. I could do this. It wasn’t as if my Santa fantasy controlled me, right? I wasn’t going to burst into a puddle and jump his bones…
I swallowed. Right?
“Where’s Hilary? Will she be joining us?” I asked as he moved the beautiful faux-fur sable blanket aside for me to getin. Sliding into the sleigh next to Kristoffer, I looked at the other sleighs for the only other person that didn’t have a plus one besides Kristoffer and me.
Kristoffer pointed to the sleigh ahead of ours where Hilary was tucked against her partner looking cozy. “Her date arrived.”
“Oh.”
“It’s just you and me now, Little Red.”
“How’d we get a sleigh all to ourselves?” Besides the bride and groom, whose sled only accommodated two, the rest of the sleighs held four. Our sleigh could accommodate another couple but there weren’t any left but us.
I glanced at the front of the line. My brother and Charlotte were in the first sleigh, currently twisted at the waist looking back at all of us. I waved and they both waved back. They were too far ahead for me to see their expressions, but I noticed they put their heads together afterward. My gut twisted.
In the second sleigh, my sister and Blake sat in the backward-facing seat which meant they were facing us. But they weren’t bothering to look at anyone, not the couple across from them, and definitely not us. Even after twenty-four years and two kids, three if you counted the time they’d spent raising me, they only had eyes for each other.
“So, how are your knees?” Kristoffer asked, pulling my attention back to him. “Will you be able to come skiing with us tomorrow?” Kristoffer handed me a cup of something steamy and spicy.
I looked down at the cup and breathed in deeply. “What is this? It smells amazing.”
“Apple cider mixed with green tea, honey, orange rind, and cinnamon.”
“Ohh.” I went to take a sip.
“Careful, Little Red, it’s hot.”
I stopped and breathed in the aroma instead. “Mm, smells amazing.” I looked at the cup in his hands. “Are you drinking the same?”
“No, this is Norwegian gløgg.” His mouth pulled up on one side. “I have a carafe of it, if you’d like that instead. You’re welcome to it.”
“What’s in it?”
He took the lid off his cup and showed me the dark liquid. A deep spicy aroma filled my nose.
“It’s a warm mulled wine with spices. The chef prepares it every year at Christmas. A way to celebrate my heritage.”
I breathed in the rich aroma again, smelling notes of citrus, cinnamon, clove, and maybe cardamom.
“It smells lovely.”
“The chef prepared yours too. I asked him to make something tea-like and Christmasy for you in case you didn’t want the alcohol. There’s a whole carafe of that too.” He moved the blanket to show me the two carafes sitting on a little wooden box between our feet.
“You didn’t have to have something special made for me. But thank you.” I carefully sipped my tea, smiling. “It’s delicious.” I blew on it. “Now what did you ask me again?”
“Skiing? Are your knees up to it?”
“Oh, right. Why? Are you worried I’m going to break my neck after my daring display of athleticism today?” I chewed the inside of my cheek and then quickly took another sip of the tea to hide my mildly concerned expression.
He winked at me, another smirk tightening the one side of his mouth. “Maybe.”
“Well, you can stop worrying,” I said with a confidence I didn’t feel. “I’m a much better skier than I am skater.” It was technically true. I cross-country skied whenever I got the chanceand it was like riding a bike. My downhill skiing, however, wasn’t all that great, but it was a lot better than my abysmal skating.
