The Christmas Grinch - Rebel Hart Page 0,49

Chris.”

“There’s plenty for everyone,” I smiled, showing them all to the extra dishes and containers of food. “Let dinner, round two, begin!”

With more food reheated, we gathered around the table once again. I thought having my family together was great on its own, but having Hazel and her family around made it even better, no matter how chaotic it was. I realized I never really understood the warmth of family time the way people described it until that moment.

I looked to Hazel sitting beside me, looking as radiant as ever, and kissed her cheek as I held her hand tight. “Mission accomplished.”

“You finally got all of your family together for dinner,” she grinned. “And mine too. Very impressive.”

“Yeah...but that’s not the mission I was talking about.”

“Oh?”

“You did it, Hazel. You’ve officially made me love Christmas, and I’m quite certain you made me fall in love with you in the process.”

Her face lit up like the Christmas trees she loved so dearly as she threw her arms around my neck and kissed me right there in front of everyone. Even if my niece and nephew did start making gagging sounds.

It truly was the perfect Christmas, which it turns out...does exist.

Epilogue

Palmer Department store looked more magnificent than it ever had before with cascading string lights swirling from the floor, all the way up to the ceiling. Elegant white reindeer were suspended all around with their red velvet harnesses and jingle bell collars. The live tree in the center was decked out all the way up to the perfect glowing star on top. Just as I did when I was a little girl, I took it all in with my mouth and eyes open wide as I spun around in soft circles, feeling full to the brim with wonder and awe.

But my favorite part of the whole display was the strapping gentleman in the corner, looking dapper as ever in his Christmas tux. He smiled at me and came over, planting a big kiss on my lips.

“You’ve really outdone yourself this year, Palmer.”

“Couldn’t have done it without you,” he replied, holding me tight.

We both turned towards the cloaked doors and windows, knowing there was an anxious crowd waiting outside.

“It feels so weird to be on this side of things for the unveiling,” I squirmed with excitement. “If eight year old me could see this now, she’d never believe it.”

I walked from one end of the lobby to the other, studying the grand window display from behind. I could imagine exactly what it would look like from the street once it was unveiled, but this time the behind the scenes look did nothing to curb the magic of it all. If anything, it made it even better.

“It feels like you’re the king of some fantasy Christmas wonderland,” I laughed at Chris.

“And you, my dear, are my queen.”

I swelled with joy. “Again, my eight year old self is dying from excitement right now.”

“Well, I’ll be damned,” Jack Palmer entered from the back door, beaming with pride as he took it all in. “To think, this time last year we didn’t even know if we’d still be in business by now. And now look at us. The store’s doing better than ever, and the annual window display lives on. I’m proud of you, son.” He took Chris into his arms for a big hug. “You did it. You did everything I hoped you would and then some.”

“We owe quite a bit of credit to Hazel,” he admitted.

I wanted to be modest, but Chris wasn’t wrong. Certain connections of mine made the whole thing more cost effective. My dad was happy to provide trees from his farms in exchange for a little free advertising. Plus they had so many decorations laying around in storage, the display wasn’t nearly as expensive to put on as it had been in years past.

Not that the store was in nearly as bad financial shape as it was last year. With a little consulting from lifelong fans, such as myself and a number of NonPareil readers, we were able to guide Chris and his team on what exactly it was we valued about Palmers, and what we didn’t.

Much to his surprise, online shopping wasn’t something we wanted from them. We preferred the fantastic displays in store and all the age-old traditions. The verdict was to leave all the modern advances for other stores. Palmers was to remain classic and timeless. The feedback turned sales right around, starting with Valentine’s Day. Turns out