on? It was just so…perfect.
It’s the way he sees you.
“Because, you see, sweetheart…I love you,” Bashful read, and every godmother there—even Grunhilda—sighed happily.
“It’s like something out of a storybook,” whispered Dorcas.
Helga slapped her arm, “That’s because it is dearie. It’s a fairy tale.”
A fairy tale. Yes. Yes, that’s what it was, wasn’t it?
Slowly, Christa looked up and, holding her breath, met Doc’s gaze.
Behind her glasses, the old woman winked. “Well then, this means Christmas needs a godmother, doesn’t it?”
And Christa’s heart began to pound in excitement.
I love you.
She was going to the Christmas Ball, dressed as a princess, and surrounded by not one, but six godmothers. She loved Andrew, and he loved her, and soon, they’d announce their feelings for one another.
Was it possible, after so many years, she was the main character in a love story?
In that case, she’d better prepare to receive her Happily Ever After.
“I’ve never seen you so nervous,” Max commented, his usual cheerful expression dour as he handed Andrew a cup of punch. “Christmas cheer got you down?”
Staring down at the punch, Andrew knew his hands were shaking too badly to try to drink it. He’d likely spill it all over his starched shirt and fine waistcoat. This was the type of event—both the celebration and what he hoped would happen—where a man wanted to wear his best. And although the rest of Everland considered their “best” to be a suit and clean boots, Andrew had pulled out his New York wardrobe, aware the cost of the tuxedo he now wore was probably equal to the profits from Max’s ranch.
And he knew, when Christa arrived, she’d wow everyone as well.
He carefully placed the cup down on the nearby windowsill and resisted the urge to shove his hands in his pockets. Instead, he clasped them behind his back and gave his friend his full attention, hoping for a distraction. “Me?” He eyed Max. “You look particularly dour for Christmas Eve.”
Max shrugged, then downed his punch. Staring into the now-empty cup, he confessed, “Dmitri and I had a chat. Some things you said the other day, during that poker game…” He shook his head. “All of my friends are finding love and getting married, even you. You—or that Chris O’Hare, I guess—joked about me needing a godfather, but…”
Despite his own nerves, Andrew took pity on his young friend. “You’re ready to find love?”
“I’ve been ready.” Max’s expression was bleak as he looked around the room, his gaze lingering on Gordy and Briar MacKinnon, who were laughing as they fed one another bites from the dessert table, and on Skip and Marina King, who were exuberantly whirling around the dance floor. “I’ve been ready for a long time.”
“And you don’t think you’ll find it here in Everland?”
Max shrugged again and slid his hands into the pockets of his hand-me-down suit. “That’s what I was talking to Dmitri about. He doesn’t need me here, not really, not anymore. So I’m thinking about…I dunno…starting over somewhere.”
An idea was starting to form in the back of Andrew’s mind. “Where will you go?” he cautiously asked.
“I dunno,” his friend repeated. “Someplace far away from here. I’ll miss my friends, but I’ve been in my brother’s shadow for so long, it might be nice to go somewhere they’ve never heard of him, or my father.”
Andrew could help with that. “Someplace like—"
His offer was cut off by a collective gasp from the people around him. He and Max both whirled to see the source of the interruption, and as they did, Andrew’s smile bloomed.
She was here. She was here, and she was wearing the gown.
And she looked just as beautiful as he’d known she would.
Christa stood in the entrance, surrounded by six strange women. Andrew felt as if he’d seen a few of them before, but every time he tried to remember where, the memory would skitter off, and he’d come back to staring, bemused, at the woman he loved. And since that’s all he wanted to do anyhow, he decided to ignore her companions.
Dimly, he was aware of Max saying something, but Andrew couldn’t be bothered to try to listen. Instead, he took a step toward Christa, then another. She did the same, and they met in the middle of the church hall, as everyone else on the floor backed away to give them space.
All except Max, who’d followed him, and the six women who were trailing Christa.
But Andrew had eyes only for her, and when he held out his hands, she smiled