Chapter Fifteen

Santa was a huge hit with everyone—except the woman he had come here to see.

Nick noticed how careful Lyssa was to move to another part of the room the minute he took a step in her direction. He saw how often she managed to miss meeting his eyes.

It was the party at Michael’s lodge all over again.

It was a repeat of the day she’d dumped him at the end of the summer.

Then, he had accepted her decision to end their relationship and had let her go. He had always felt more comfortable dealing with work issues than personal ones and, from that day on, he had assured himself he didn’t have time for a relationship, anyhow. He wasn’t willing to do that now. Not without some tough negotiation on his part first.

How could he have expected Lyssa to meet him halfway when he hadn’t really given their relationship a chance? When he hadn’t thrown all his cards on the bargaining table…or put his heart on the line?

Across the room, he saw Callie and Amber talking with each other. When Callie looked his way, he caught her gaze. He nodded in Lyssa’s direction and, immediately, Callie understood. She said something to Amber, and the two of them turned to cross the room, splitting up to close in on Lyssa from different directions.

With her attention diverted, he was able to work his way through the crowd and come up behind her. Both her sisters looked on, mischief gleaming in their eyes, as he tapped Lyssa on the shoulder. Her back went rigid. Then, slowly, she turned to face him.

“Ho, ho, ho! Look who we have here. Lyssa Barnett, have you been good this year? Because if you have, Santa has something for you.”

“I’ve been wonderful, Santa.” Her tone sounded sweet, but unlike her sisters’, her eyes glittered coldly.

He wouldn’t let that bother him. “You left something behind on the kitchen counter. I thought you might want it.” Smiling, he reached into the pocket of his costume and presented her with the ring Tommy had made for her.

“Thank you for making the delivery. Now your job is done, there’s no need for you to stay.”

“Well, yes, there is. Callie invited me to the party, and Amber was nice enough to come and pick me up.”

“I see.”

Evidently, the crowd around them had noticed something, too, because the loud chatter had turned into a low murmur that spread throughout the room.

“Is that an engagement ring?” Amber asked loudly.

He heard a few gasps from the crowd.

“It’s anything Lyssa wants it to be,” he said. “I’ll let you know her decision after we’re done negotiating.” He took Lyssa’s hand and began to lead her toward the staircase, figuring the only place they might be able to talk privately would be on another floor of the house. The crowd parted in front of him, making their progress easier than he had hoped.

Now, if only his negotiations would move along as smoothly.

Lyssa didn’t attempt to pull away, which he took as a good sign. Still, he held her hand more firmly just in case the idea of running occurred to her. And to be honest, he needed to steady his grip because his hand had suddenly begun to shake.

These were going to be the most important negotiations he’d ever entered into. One way or the other, the outcome would change his life forever.

They made their way past the folks sitting on the staircase. Lyssa led him silently to a room down the hall. She stepped inside and waited just long enough for him to follow before closing the door. He couldn’t help but be encouraged by the fact she had led him into a bedroom and shut them alone inside.

Then she crossed the room and sat on the edge of the bed, and he saw the baby lying inside a small crib set against one wall.

He removed his Santa hat and beard and tossed them onto the bed. “Is that the arbitrator?” he asked, frowning.

“The witness,” she replied.

“Do you think we’ll need one?”

“I don’t know.” She turned to him. “It depends on what you’re trying to pull.”

“I’m not trying to pull anything. I just want to talk.”

“I’m listening.”

She sounded grudging, but it was a start. “I’m taking a vacation,” he said abruptly. “Here, in Snowflake Valley.”

“What happened to your client?”

He took her interest as another good sign. “He and I had a candid discussion. Then I had another one, with Michael DeFranco. Now, that man did pull something, and he pulled it on me. Since he’d set me up to play Santa again this year, I figured he owed me a favor. And he paid up.”

“How?”

“He agreed to float a loan for my client.”

“The one who doesn’t like banks or bankers?”

“Yeah. And my client agreed to accept the terms. Michael will get a nice return on his investment, and my client will keep himself out of bankruptcy.”

“And you’ll save the business that has been passed down for generations,” she said softly. A small smile curved her lips.

“Yes.” He smiled, too. Considering her love of tradition and family, he should have realized how much she would appreciate that aspect. “As far as I’m concerned,” he said honestly, “that’s the best part of the deal.”

“Well, I can see why you have something to celebrate. But why would the man who never takes vacations suddenly have a desire for one?”

“Because,” he said solemnly, “I have a desire for you.”

Her eyes widened, but she didn’t move or say a word.

He took a seat on the bed beside her, then held the clay ring up for her to see. “You know, I’ve told you my theory of gift-giving, that you give what you can afford. When I first thought of presenting something like this to you, the idea made me break out in a sweat. But it occurred to me that giving it to you would be a test.”

“Of me?”

“No, of me.” He hesitated for a minute, trying to find the best way to explain. “My mom never would have been happy with a gift this insignificant, and maybe that’s had something to do with the value systems I established while I was growing up. Then I met you. And maybe all along I was sure if she’d reject something without much worth, you would reject it—and by extension, reject me—too.”

He shook his head. “You know, when we were dating, I guess everything I did backfired. You saw the nice gifts and the front-row theater tickets and the dinners at five-star restaurants as my attempts to impress you with my status. But that wasn’t it at all. I just wanted to take you to some of my favorite places and to treat you the way you deserve to be treated. And as I’ve got the income, it really never occurs to me to think about the cost of these things.”

“And I’m just the opposite. But I told you, money was usually tight in my family.”

“Callie said the same thing.”

“Really?” she said coolly. “My sisters seem to have done a lot more talking than they should have lately. What else did Callie tell you?”

“That when you were all kids, your mom got sick.”

“Oh.” Suddenly, her eyes glistened. “That was a very tough time.”

“Tell me about it.”

She hesitated. He could see her wanting to pull away. Maybe this was her test. He held his breath, hoping she would go on.

Finally, she said, “Callie, Amber, and I are the oldest in the family. Then our twin sisters came along, and after that, our only two brothers. Not to stereotype, but I guess with the three oldest of us being girls and born a few years ahead of the rest, my dad tended to tell us more than he did the other kids about what was happening. And then since he was always working, we also tended to step up to do more around the house.”

“Callie said she went away to school.”

“She did.”

“And then a lot of the responsibility fell on Amber and you. But especially on you.”

“Just how much did Callie tell you?”

“That was about it. I want to hear the rest from you.”

She hesitated, as if she didn’t feel the need to tell him about her past.

He needed to have her share her story. Yet he said nothing.

In negotiations he conducted for his clients, he knew the value of silence at the bargaining table. Now, he didn’t so much remain silent as sit there holding his breath. Though Lyssa wasn’t one of his clients, he was bargaining his future on getting her to trust him. So, he waited.

Finally, she said, “When my mom was sick, Amber and I did what we had to, whatever we could to take care of the house and the kids.” She shrugged. “But sometimes the stress gave Amber migraines, so I tried to handle everything on my own as much as I could. I did the grocery shopping, paid the bills. I tried to cut down on costs by doing things like making homemade bread and sewing some of our clothes.”

“That was a heck of a load for you to take on. You were, what—sixteen?”

“Sixteen, seventeen, around there. But what else could I do? They’re my family,” she said simply. “Besides, I don’t mean to make it sound like it was all just work. I love cooking and baking and sewing.”

“And then on top of that, you had to take a job.”

“And I loved working at Holidaze. I still do.” Her cheeks turned pink, but she smiled. “You know, this afternoon, I thought about the fact you’re always so wrapped up in your work. I guess I am, too, but in a different way. When we’d talked once before, I’d said that caring is about giving people what suits them and what they want. What makes them happy. But people need to do things to make themselves happy, too. And for me, that’s my job at Holidaze.”

He nodded. “And what about me?”

Her smile dimmed. “I really do understand that your life is right for you—but it’s not for me. And I’ve learned to accept that we just come from two different worlds.”

“Maybe not as different as you think. You say your job makes you happy. So does mine. I’m happy to earn a living as a troubleshooter. And yeah, I’m glad it brings in a good bundle of cash. But that’s not what interests me most.”

“It isn’t?”

The hopeful note in her voice gave him renewed hope, too. “No, it isn’t. I happen to like handling worst-case scenarios, where I can jump into a disaster and do damage control. I like dealing with problems. To me, fixing a problem is like solving a puzzle.” He smiled. “And I think I’ve just solved a major puzzle of my own. Now you’ve told me what you and your family went through, it’s made me understand why you’d be conscious of how much I spend.”

He laughed softly and shook his head. “The thing was, when I’d given you gifts and you didn’t seem overjoyed to receive them, I thought, like with my mom, I just needed to give you something bigger and better.”

“That’s not what I wanted at all.”

“I know. Believe me, I finally have figured that out. And before it’s too late, I hope.” He shifted on the bed to see her face more clearly. “I meant it when I said I thought if I could give you this ring without breaking into a sweat, I could pass the test. I could understand what you believe—that for some people, the ‘best’ really doesn’t matter. And I do get it now.” He took her hand. “You heard me telling Tommy why I’m like Santa Claus, didn’t you?”

She nodded. “Because you love giving gifts to people. And when you buy someone a gift, it shows how much you care about them.”

“Right. But buy or make, it’s all the same. Because I know, for you, it’s not the gift itself that’s important. It’s not even the fact you prefer things that are homemade. The point is, it’s the giving that matters, isn’t it? It’s the feelings and the love behind a gift.”

“Yes, it is.” Her eyes gleamed with sudden tears, and he knew he really had figured things out.

“Well, then, there you have it. We’re a perfect match. I’m logical and practical. You believe in magic and Christmas miracles. We balance each other, like two halves making a perfect whole. And when it comes to giving gifts, we both agree. There’s something else we agree on, too, I think.” He squeezed her hand. “A minute ago, you said your job made you happy, and I said ‘What about me?’ I wasn’t talking about my job.” Lowering his voice, he said, “I meant, can I make you happy?”

At the tone of Nick’s voice and the look in his eyes, Lyssa’s heart skipped a few beats. She had resigned herself to the fact they would never have a future together. Yet a small part of her—the part that believed in magic and Christmas miracles—had held out hope they could somehow work things out. And now that small part of her dared to believe a miracle was about to happen.

“What about it, Lyssa?” he asked.

“Can you make me happy?” she repeated, her voice breaking. “What you mean is, can we meet in the middle?”

He nodded.

“I think so. Now I know how you feel about giving gifts to people and that you understand how I feel, I think we can make a deal.” She smiled. “And once in a while, I think it just might be possible for me to enjoy parts of your life, too.”

“And still stay true to your principles?”

She laughed. “You were right. Our principles aren’t so far apart, after all. I can see that now, too. I’m sorry for jumping to conclusions.”

“Apology accepted. And I’m sorry I dragged my heels over making stockings and ornaments. As for what I said to the kids about going shopping, I’m sure in your eyes it seemed I was focused on the commercialism of Christmas, and that’s not what I intended at all.”

“I know that now.”

What he had said to Tommy about Santa told her he did know what the holiday was all about. What he had said to her tonight proved they agreed on the purpose of giving gifts. What more could she ask from him?

“You told me you loved me,” he said. As if she needed the reminder. “You haven’t reneged on that, have you?”

“That depends.” Fighting a smile, she pointed to his other hand. “What exactly is that meant to be?”

He held up the clay ring. “An engagement ring. A promise ring. Heck, a friendship ring, if that’s all you’ll accept from me right now. But whatever you decide, I’ve decided to vacation in Snowflake Valley because this is where you are. And where you are is where I belong.”

“You must be a very good troubleshooter. You cover all the bases.”

“I try. And I want you to know all those dinners and flowers and theater tickets were my way of showing how much I care. I love you, Lyssa. And I won’t give up until you’re mine.”

For a moment, she couldn’t respond. Then she said, “Now you’re telling me what I want to hear?”

He laughed. “Of course. That’s the way it works.” He slipped his arm around her and held her close. “I told you once, you deserved all the world has to offer. But together, we can have the best of both worlds. What do you say to that?”

“I say, it sounds like a win-win.”

“And that’s exactly what I like to hear. I have to confess, though, I won’t be satisfied until I give you a real ring.”

She tilted her head, pretending to consider his words. “Well…since you’ve told me how much pleasure you get from giving gifts, I suppose I could agree to accept a replacement ring.”

“Is that a compromise?”

“It does sound like we’ve found a middle ground.”

“And come to an understanding.”

“Yes.” She smiled. “And I think we can both agree those are the best gifts of all.”