Page 65 of The Naughty Or Nice Clause

“That was the last thing on my mind,” she snapped. “I was thinking you were about to give me coal.”

He smirked. “I wouldn’t give you coal, though you’re definitely on the naughty list. Open it?”

Lyla hesitated, unsure of whether it would be a gift or a curse. He still hadn’t said anything in response to her admission, and it was killing her.

Mason rolled his eyes and undid the red ribbon. She followed his lead and opened the lid to find a silver bell inside.

“A bell?” she asked, picking it up and realising her initials were carved into the side:LS.

“I want you to come back with me. I spoke with the council and told them everything. Not about the contract, but about how much I need you. They agreed to your return. You had more than a few of the townspeople speak up for you,” he told her.

“You forgive me?” she said, her words catching in her throat.

“You can thank my family for forcing me to see sense – but even without them fighting your corner… As soon as you were gone, it wasn’t the same. You made a mistake, but I made a worse one letting you go.” He kissed her forehead, and she never wanted him to leave again.

But… leaving here? How can I?

“I… want to, more than anything, but I can’t leave the company. There’s no one else to run it,” she whispered. “I can’t disappear and put hundreds of people out of work.”

“There’s no need to worry about the company. I meant for you to come to Yule for New Year’s. We’ll be back in the office by the time everyone returns,” he promised, reaching for her.

She stepped back, remembering her conversation with Lou in the coffee shop. As much as she wanted his forgiveness, his love, she didn’t know if she could accept it.

“Staying in Yule is right for you, and as much as I’d love it, I don’t know if it’s right for me. I can’t be a Mrs Klaus. I want to be yours, but the role your mother plays… I don’t want to be a spare part – no disrespect to what your mother does,” she said, not wanting to insult the family who had clearly defended her.

“I’m sure she’d wash your mouth out with peppermint. Yule, and my father, wouldn’t have been able to function without her. But this is not about my parents’ relationship – this is about us!”

“How can there be an us when you’re Santa Claus?” Lyla didn’t want to argue, but she had to ask the hard questions.

“Because you’re going to run the company here, and I can come and go. My role is more figurative; I make sure everything in Yule is running smoothly. I’ll make it work – delegate. Frederick was more than happy to keep things running this evening so that I could be here. Though he isn’t all too pleased with my choice of Mrs Klaus, he was overjoyed at having my position for the night. Lou is going to continue running the workshops; she does it more efficiently than I do anyway. Kevin will start working with the reindeer next year, and Mum will keep the council in check. We’ll all lean on each other; I have everything covered.”

“Frederick? You spoke to the council, then, about me returning?” she asked, chewing her lower lip in contemplation.

“Once I told them I wouldn’t take the position without you, they were most understanding. Mum also convinced them. Your speech in the townhall might have helped soften their resolve.”

She was grateful for their forgiveness. It all made sense on paper, but in practice, she wasn’t so sure.

“What about managing the list?” she asked, needing all the facts before she decided.

“My mother wouldn’t have anyone touch the list but her,” he said, and she could see how much he wanted it to work. “Lou is even recruiting outside help from the village to help decrease the workload. The responsibility doesn’t have to all be on me.”

“But if you weren’t with me, you could stay in Yule indefinitely,” she protested.

He wrapped his arms around her and held her close, not letting her escape.

“I’d rather lose everything than lose you. All I want is you. That’s why I’m giving you this. The bell is yours to use – you can come and go as you please in a moment’s touch. There won’t be a night where you aren’t in my arms,” he said, taking her face in his hands. She so desperately wanted to believe him.

Before she lost herself in him, she took a step back. “Can I think about it? I need to think…” If he held her a moment longer, she would throw the company aside and stay with him forever – but she was responsible for the company as much as he was responsible for Yule.

“Alright,” he said, though she heard the anxiety in his voice. “I’ll wait for you by the clock tower in Yule at dawn. Ring the bell and think of me. If you come, I’ll know your answer, and if you don’t… then you won’t have to see me again.”

Lyla watched him leave, taking her heart with him. But she had to think properly about this. She wasn’t only changing the course of her life, but his as well.

Christmas Day

SITTING BY THE Christmas tree with a mug of tea, Lyla wondered what it would be like to be Mason’s girlfriend – wife. The split lives, the secrets; how she would never be able to tell her friends, her father, the truth.What if I agree and then it doesn’t work? What if losing him now is better than losing him later?

“I can’t,” she said to herself, wiping her eyes, trying not to smudge her mascara. She had already lost her mother; her father was a distant thought. She was comfortable alone. Having a long-distance relationship full of secrets was the last thing she wanted.

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