Cooped Up for Christmas - Sabrina York Page 0,34

my simple question set him off. “Mon dieu, Victoria! ’Ow am I to do zis? A vegan Christmas for Tania? ’Ow am I to make Christmas vegan? Zere is no fatted goose, no roast beef, no Yorkshire pudding?”

“How about something with kale?” I like to consider myself helpful, but apparently he didn’t appreciate it. He merely sniffed and headed back to his desperate scrolling.

I stayed with him throughout dinner prep and it was astonishing how many times he nearly broke down. Darcy’s name was mentioned more than once.

I knew I couldn’t complete this dinner without him, so I rode him like a pony, whispering encouragement and things like “Oublie-la. Elle est une vipère pour ton âme” and “Vous êtes un génie. Vous êtes le maître des arts culinaires.” So yes. My schoolgirl French does come in handy, on occasion, when chefs need fluffing for their performance.

Dinner was, without a doubt, a complete success. Noel was so pleased with the praise he received when he brought dessert, he headed right back into the kitchen and started on a magnifique Christmas cake for tomorrow.

As for me and mine, we split in two when the guests left the table, half of us clearing and finalizing set up for the Fairy Ball and half of us going with the ladies to help them dress.

They’d brought a ton of luggage. Gotta wonder what kinds of costumes those numerous suitcases held. I didn’t have to wait long to find out.

Farley was first to make an appearance—after sending Eliza down to let someone with a camera know she was coming and be ready. She wore an amazing blue fairy costume with large iridescent blue wings. The color made her eyes pop. She was beautiful.

Instinctively, I began to clap, and the others followed suit. We played it this way as each member of the party came down the stairs and modeled their costumes. Not all fairies, as it seemed. Jaxon had done an elaborate facemask—in makeup. I could have sworn he was a real-life elf. Tressa and Keiko came as ice princesses (again, an assumption, because they looked the parts), Jamison dressed as a prince of some kind—judging from the red robe and crown—and Lola was a mushroom. Or a sugarplum. It was hard to tell.

Whit came disguised as a cowboy. One, apparently, who likes whiskey. A lot.

After everyone was settled in the great room, it was tops and tips—just keeping them happy, topping off drinks, and earning those tips. Easy-peasy, lemon-squeezy.

I was really surprised when it actually worked out that way.

It rarely worked out that way.

But everyone had a wonderful time at the fairy ball—no one threw up, no one stepped on the dog, and Farley and Jamison had, apparently, made up after their fight. As the party petered out, they headed off together for a private chat. I really hoped they’d be able to work things out.

Once the room was empty, Ken Nora clapped his hands. “All right, everyone. Let’s get this back to Christmas, shall we?”

Ah, yes. Romance aside, there was a life to be lived. And we embraced that life with both hands, bringing down that fairy tale fantasy with a fervor that caused Ken to squawk, “Hey, guys. Take it easy with my stuff.”

Personally, I think it’s more fun taking things down than putting them up. Don’t you?

At any rate, the precious fairy tale decorations were down and wrapped in cotton wool in special boxes and then stored away for next time. Once that was done, there was only minor sprucing up to do, a quick check on the guests, and then I needed to touch base with Noel about tomorrow’s breakfast. The first two were easy. The third, not so much.

Noel was already asleep.

With a heavy sigh, I headed for bed myself. I was pleased to find it had been pre-warmed by a very sexy—and, dare I say, naked—brick of a man.

He was still awake. We pretended I was an escaping princess who’d accidentally wandered into the sheikh’s tent. It was kind of fun.

* * *

I had to get up super early Christmas morning, so I tried not to disturb Coop as I disentangled myself. He was all toasty and the room was cold. I wanted nothing more than to slip back under the covers, curl up against him, and just be together.

But I had tables to set and cinnamon rolls to warm.

I dressed and hurried to the guest house…to find the guests were already awake, Noel had prepared the brunch, and