“She’ll be fine,” I said gruffly, sliding my hand around to cradle the back of Everly’s head. “And Everly?”
“Yes?”
“Tomorrow is definitely a date.”
Her eyes rounded, that pretty golden-brown hue pulling me in. Lowering my head, I gave her a short, quick kiss. “See you at noon.”
Letting her go, I turned and walked back toward the venue.
“Wait! Where are you going?”
Glancing back, I winked at her. “Santa has some bikes to give away.”
* * *
Everly was late. Only fifteen minutes, but late enough for me to question whether or not she was going to stand me up. Which reminded me that once again, I had failed to get her phone number.
Shoving my hands deep into my pockets, I shivered at the cold wind that cut through my jacket. I would give her another ten minutes, then I was going to Noah’s shop. Hopefully, he would tell me how to get a hold of her.
“I am so sorry, Alex!”
I swung around to see Everly rushing toward me, her long blonde hair flowing out behind her, her eyes clouded with worry. She came to a stop beside me, out of breath as she gasped, “I woke up late.”
I let my gaze rove over her, taking in the black leather jacket that was similar to mine, the jeans that hugged her curves in all the right places, and the ankle high black books. The woman was sexy as sin. Bringing my eyes back to meet hers, I gave her a small grin. “It’s okay. You were definitely worth the wait.”
Everly giggled, sounding slightly unsure and nervous, as she reached up to shove a piece of wayward hair behind her ear. “You, too.”
I frowned when I noticed the light bruising under her eyes, indicating a lack of sleep. Unable to stop myself, I brought my hand up and lightly ran the tips of my fingers over it. “Maybe I should let you get more rest, Ev. We can do this later.”
“Oh, no!” She grabbed my hand, holding it as she shot me one of her beautiful smiles. “I’m already up and ready to go. Let’s eat, and then I have plans!”
“Plans?” I was intrigued, not only by the woman herself but also by what she could find so exciting that it lit up her face the way it did.
“Yes!” Tugging on my hand, she drew me to the diner door. “Let’s eat, and then we’re going shopping.”
I let her draw me inside, glancing around at the small place. A couple of the customers nodded our way, then went back to eating as we walked over to one of the booths and took a seat. “What exactly are we shopping for?” I asked, thanking the waitress when she brought us our menus, before turning my full attention back to Everly. I could tell the waitress wanted to say something, but I only had eyes for the beautiful little elf who was nearly jumping up and down in her seat with excitement.
“Something warmer for you. A coat, snow pants, boots, hat, gloves.” She paused for a moment, a small frown marring her forehead. “Unless you want to see if Noah has something you can borrow? I bet he has coveralls. You probably don’t want to buy anything when you live in California where it is always sunny.”
“What exactly are we doing?” I interjected, fighting the urge to laugh. She was adorable.
“Sledding!”
A slow smile spread across my face at the idea of spending the day with Everly, flying down hills on a sled, her laughter ringing in my ears. I like the idea of us sharing a sled, her body beneath mine, even more. “I’m in.”
It didn’t take us long to eat lunch, then we headed over to Noah’s. She was right, I didn’t want to spend money on things that I might never use again. While there were places to go in California if you wanted to ski or sled, I never went to them. I was too busy with my career to take time off for things like that. And, even though I might have a lot of money, I didn’t spend it the way many of my band members did. I donated a large sum to various charities, but most of it was invested or in savings.
An hour later I found myself decked out in Noah’s winter gear, standing at the top of a hill on land owned by Everly’s parents with the rope to a sled held in one hand. Everly stood next to me, a wide smile on her face as she looked out over the area below.
“This land has been in our family for several generations. Dad and Mom told us that when we are ready to settle down, if we choose to live in Santa Claus, they will give us each ten acres to build on.”
“How many brothers and sisters do you have?” I knew about Noah, and Everly had mentioned a sister, but I wasn’t sure if there were more.
“Drew is the oldest. He lives in Chicago with his wife, Gretchen. They have two children, Charlie and Chloe. Then, there’s Noah. He lives in an apartment above his garage for now, but plans on building his house over to the north about two miles that way in a few years. Madeline is the youngest. She still lives at home with me and our parents.”
“And you?” When she glanced up at me, I couldn’t help but move a little closer to her. She drew me in, made me feel things I never felt before. It had only been a couple of days, but I couldn’t remember the last time I laughed so much and been so happy. “Where are you going to build?” Somehow, I knew without a doubt, there was no way my little elf would ever leave Santa Claus, Indiana.
“I haven’t picked a spot yet. I wanted to wait.”