Eve's Christmas Wedding Page 4

  It was Hunter who spoke first. "You're sure you're okay with going into this blind?"

  If he meant a new rekindling of the emotions between them, no she wasn't sure. But if he meant meeting the person claiming to be Santa Claus, then yes, she was as ready as she would ever be. "Let's go find out who is behind all this nonsense."

  Hunter stole a sideways glance at her, his expression serious. "What if it's not a joke? What if we're at the North Pole?"

  Eve shook her head, not even believing that they were having this conversation. "Then I guess it's about time to find out, don't you?"

  ***

  The North Pole was exactly what Hunter would have imagined it was supposed to look like if he'd ever taken a moment to imagine that it actually existed. The main building, Tinsel informed them as they neared it, was referred to as 'Christmas Central'. According to the elf, it housed Santa's main offices, toy testing areas, toy production workshops, the entire wrapping department, elf administration offices, an infirmary, and a cafeteria.

  "So everything is essentially here?" Hunter confirmed.

  Tinsel and Rapz exchanged glances and then shrugged. "I guess you could say that."

  Hunter pointed to a series of gaily painted cottages. "What are these buildings?"

  "Home sweet home to every elf here," Rapz said. "Plus Santa's family lives in a series of cottages too."

  This surprised Hunter. "Santa has a family?"

  This question earned him a funny look from both elves. "Of course," Tinsel said. "He's married to Mrs. Claus. They have two children, a daughter named Carol, and a son named Nicholas."

  "Saint Nick," Rapz clarified. "That's what everyone calls him. He'll be the next Santa Claus one day."

  Hunter glanced at Eve to see if she had heard the same thing, but she was intently studying their surroundings, her expression somewhere between stunned and shocked. But he was a few steps ahead of her in grasping the reality of the situation. The North Pole was real. Which meant Santa Claus existed. All along he'd been tempted to believe this was a colossal practical joke but the scale of it all was too great for that to be remotely possible. They were at the North Pole. Mind blowing. There wasn't another way to describe it.

  When they reached the main building, Rapz and Tinsel each took a hold of a brass door handle and pulled open the doors at the same time. "Welcome to Christmas Central," they chorused in unison.

  As they stepped over the threshold, both Hunter and Eve stopped to stare. Dozens, no surely there must be hundreds, of elves in bright colored uniforms bustled from one side of the cavernous hall to another. Many of them carried armfuls of gaily wrapped presents, others pushed trolley carts full of wrapping supplies. A magnificent thirty foot Christmas tree stood proudly in the center of the room. Music speakers attached to the ceiling piped in holiday tunes. The room was a riot of color and a beehive of activity.

  "Hunter, look." Eve pointed up to a large digital clock display against the far wall.

  "That's our countdown to Christmas clock," Tinsel said, with more than a trace of pride in his voice. "Which, I'll point out, serves as a reminder that we don't have any time to waste. Follow me."

  Tinsel took off with Rapz right behind him. Hunter reached out and drew Eve back when she made to follow them.

  She turned to face him, a question on her face. "What's wrong?"

  It didn't escape his notice that she was pale, and her pupils were slightly dilated. Good grief, was she in shock? He reached out and tucked a stray tendril of her hair behind her ear. "Are you okay, Eve? Because I can find a quiet place for you to rest while I go sort out what's going on here."

  She closed her eyes for a brief moment before reopening them. "We're at the North Pole. For real. Aren't we?"

  He nodded, not taking his eyes from hers. "It certainly seems that way." They stood and watched as three elves worked together to push a cart laden with toy trains across the great hall. "Do you want to leave? I meant what I said. Say the word and I'll find a way for us to go back home."

  Eve shook her head. "No way. We haven't met Santa yet."

  "So everyone keeps telling me." Hunter was more than a little surprised by Eve's change in attitude. "So you do want to meet him?"

  Eve nodded. "Oh yes, I most certainly do." She took a hold of his hand and tugged him in the direction that Tinsel and Rapz had headed in. "I would say that Mr. Claus has some serious explaining to do."

  Chapter Six

  "Eve Bennington, look at you! All grown up into such a lovely young woman." Santa Claus clapped his white gloved hands together and beamed at her. "Wait until Mrs. Claus sees you, she'll be delighted."

  Eve's only response to Santa's enthusiastic greeting was to blink. It was all she could manage. Either Santa Claus really did exist or she was trapped in the longest dream known to humankind. She stared into Santa's twinkling blue eyes. Kindness and good humor radiated from the man. And his words made it sound as if he knew her, correction, as if he'd known her for years. She turned to Hunter to gauge his reaction.

  He looked perfectly at ease as he shook Santa's outstretched hand. "Thank you for sending a sleigh for us, Mr. Claus."

  "Call me Santa, please." He ushered them into his inner office and toward a round conference table set not far from the fireplace. "I thought you two kids might want to warm up before we start talking about my niece's wedding."

  Following Hunter's lead, Eve removed her jacket and took a seat at the table. She didn't try to hide her curiosity as she looked around Santa's office. Dark wood paneling lined the walls, huge maps of all four corners of the globe covered the walls. Bookshelves lined the far wall and two enormous wingchairs sat on either side of the brick fireplace. The room, cozy and inviting, gave a sense of long standing tradition. It was exactly the sort of office Father Christmas should have.

  Eve took a seat and nodded politely when a smiling elf named Jolly offered her a cup of hot chocolate. She had no desire to be rude, and after the cold they'd experienced trudging up to the main building, a warm drink sounded perfect.

  "Have some cookies, Eve, my dear," Santa said. He placed a platter laden with frosted sugar cookies in front of her before he took a seat. "We'd best enjoy these before Kris joins us."

  Hunter reached for a cookie, took a bite, and made an appreciative sound. "Why?" he asked. "Is she on a diet?"

  Santa rolled his eyes. "Worse, she's got us all on one." He took a long, appreciative sip of the hot chocolate and made short work of a bell shaped cookie before he resumed speaking. "Kris is a health food enthusiast, shall we say. She prefers cucumbers and carrots to cookies and candy." He shook his head ruefully. "And she's in charge of the dining program here at the North Pole."

  "Ouch." Hunter reached for another cookie. "I feel for you."

  Eve coughed discretely. "Gentlemen, if we could please get back on track here."

  Santa laughed. "Even as a child you liked to stay very focused on the topic at hand. I'd forgotten how your letters to me always sounded like they were written by a junior executive. Well, except for the fact that they were written in crayon."

  "Be that as it may," Eve said, "it has little bearing on what we came here to discuss today." She ignored the startled expression on Hunter's face. It was hard not to be charmed by his reaction to everything. Since their arrival, he'd morphed from a veteran newshound into an awestruck Santa groupie. She turned her attention back to their host. "While I appreciate your desire to hire our company to help plan your niece's wedding, it's not something that we'll be able to help you with."

  "Why ever not?" Santa seemed genuinely surprised by her refusal. "I've heard from more than a few reputable sources that you are the very best."

  Flattered, Eve refused to be deterred. "Thank you, but that doesn't change anything. We're unable to help you."

  Santa sat back in his chair and crossed his hands over his belly. He tilted his head and looked at her over the rim of his gold spectacles. "Your business partner seemed to feel otherwise
when she signed our contract."

  Hunter grinned and leaned in toward her. "Santa can play hardball. Who knew?"

  If Staci hadn't been her best friend for absolutely ages, Eve would have happily demoted her to chief stamp licker. "It's just not something we can do," she reiterated.

  Santa munched thoughtfully on a sugar cookie. "Hunter, what's your take on this?"

  Eve turned to look at her ex. This ought to be interesting.

  "I respect Eve's decision to pass on this job."

  She smiled at him, hoping he could sense how much she appreciated his support.

  "And I also think she's completely wrong not to take on the challenge."

  Eve's smile faded.

  Hunter reached over and covered her hand with one of his. "I think it would be good for you to face a Christmas wedding head on."

  "I don't know what you mean," she protested.

  She watched as Hunter and Santa exchanged knowing glances.

  "We're talking about your near-miss wedding to Phillip." Santa's gentle expression took some of the sting out of his words. "You know that wasn't meant to be, don't you dear?"

  "I do." Oh, did she ever.

  "Wonderful. It's all settled then." Santa rubbed his hands together enthusiastically. "Now, we've got a wedding to plan."

  Eve slumped back in her chair. Was this even a battle worth fighting? Maybe it was time to change her mind. Santa really existed, that much she now believed. Staci had her heart set on giving Santa's niece the wedding of her dreams. Perhaps she should try to throw together something and then catch the first plane headed for Hawaii. She glanced at Hunter.

  He nodded and gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

  "Are you sure it has to be a Christmas wedding, Santa? There's so little time to make plans. Wouldn't a summer wedding be lovely?"

  Her use of the word 'summer' prompted audible gasps of shock from Jolly, Rapz and Tinsel. They broke into a jumbled chorus of protests.

  "Hold on, hold on," Santa's voice rose above the din. "Calm down. No one is going to get married during the summer." Once the elves quieted down, Santa took a deep breath. "Eve, my dear, we all have our hearts set on a Christmas wedding."

  "This Christmas?" As in a few weeks away? He had to be kidding.

  "This very one, yes." Santa confirmed.

  Eve's mind began to race. "But I don't have my portfolio with me. We need to talk dresses, menus, flowers...I'm completely unprepared for meeting with a bride."

  The elf called Jolly giggled. "No you're not." She and Rapz went to a side table and brought back several stacks of books with them. They also had her laptop. The very one she'd left on her desk back in Manhattan. "Your business partner sent these up so you could help Kris. Staci said everything you need is right here."

  Of course she did.

  "My niece will be along in a short time to meet you, Eve." Santa turned to the elves. "Speaking of which, we'd better clear these cookies out of here before she arrives. Tinsel, do you have the decoy ready?"

  Tinsel nodded and took a tray of carrot sticks and celery from the mini-fridge in the corner. He set them in the middle of the table and made short work of clearing away the cookies and cups of hot chocolate.

  Hunter laughed aloud. "So the cookies are contraband?"

  Santa shrugged. "The things you do for family, right? The truth is, I love my niece Kris so very much, her penchant for fruit and vegetables notwithstanding." He leaned forward, his face suddenly serious. "Kris and her fiancé Kyle are a wonderful couple, absolutely meant to be together. But they almost let a simple misunderstanding come between them. I find it absolutely tragic that two such intelligent and loving young people almost let stubbornness and false pride come between them being together." He looked at them pointedly. "We can't have that, now, can we?"

  ***

  Eve let out a huge sigh of relief once Santa and Hunter left the office to take a tour of Christmas Central. Once she'd suggested that she meet with Kris alone for the first time, Santa seemed only too happy to show off his huge operation to a guest. For his part, Hunter's delight had been readily apparent. Which made three of them happy, because Eve desperately needed a moment alone to think straight.

  Throwing a wedding together in such a short amount of time would take a miracle. Santa, however, seemed to feel that it was quite possible. Well, perhaps to a man who flew around the world in one night, it would seem that way. To her, not so much. As she warmed herself in front of the fireplace, she wondered what sort of a person Kris Kringle was. Did she share her uncle's cheerful nature? Hopefully she wasn't going to be a bridezilla.

  It turned out that she wasn't anywhere near as demanding as Eve feared. In fact, shortly after meeting Kris, Eve decided that she very much liked Santa's niece. But it wasn't far into their conversation that she began to hear the faint chiming of bells in her mind. But they weren't wedding bells. They were warning bells.

  "Kris, I hope this doesn't seem too direct, but it almost sounds like you're completely uninterested in the wedding details."

  Kris grimaced. "It's that obvious, is it?"

  Eve took a sip of green tea that Kris had asked the elves to serve. She tried not to make a face at the bitter taste. Santa's complaints about living with a health food enthusiast suddenly made much more sense. "Perhaps not to everyone. But I've dealt with more brides than I can count. Sometimes you just get a feeling that something isn't quite right."

  Kris stood and began to pace the length of her uncle's office. Eve waited patiently for the bride-to-be to compose her thoughts. The truth was very often worth waiting for. She placed her teacup on the tray, sat back and waited.

  "I love Kyle." Kris smiled. "He's the perfect man for me, and my daughter Noelle adores him as well."

  "That's the most important thing," Eve reassured her. "So you do want to get married?"

  Kris' agreement was instantaneous. "Absolutely, yes. I don't have a single doubt about marrying Kyle. It's the wedding itself that has me tied up in knots."

  Eve patted the seat beside her. "Let's sort this out now before your uncle comes back. He gave me the impression that you were enthusiastic about having a big, traditional Christmas wedding."

  "Those are his wishes, not mine." Kris threw up her hands. "How do you say 'no' to Santa? He's the kindest man on the planet and he always thinks of what everyone else wants. So how do I tell him that I don't want all the trappings?"

  "Have you tried to talk to him?"

  Kris nodded. "Kyle and I even brought up the idea of a beach wedding in February. It's so much more us, you know?"

  Eve nodded. "That's important. So what did your uncle say?"

  Kris sighed. "He didn't seem to think that it was practical, or that Valentine's Day was particularly romantic."

  Eve started to laugh but stopped when she saw how forlorn Santa's niece looked. "I'm sorry, that just struck me as funny. What does Mrs. Claus have to say about all of this?"

  "I don't know, I haven't wanted to put her in the middle. I know she'll say she wants me to have the day I want. But she and Santa are always each other's back-up. They always support each other. No matter what."

  Eve sat back and hugged a pillow to her chest. "Now that's romantic."

  Kris nodded. "I know, isn't it?"

  Although they'd only been speaking for a short while, Eve decided that she liked Santa's niece. There was a genuiness about her that came through when she spoke. So the idea of hustling Kris into a wedding she didn't want to have was something Eve wasn't going to have any part of, and she told Kris so.

  "Thank you, I do appreciate your support," Kris said. "But it's not quite that easy."

  "Certainly it is," Eve said. "I am more than happy to sit down with Santa and put the whole thing to him in a way that's crystal clear. I can help him see what you and Kyle want. Whatever objections he has, I'll handle." She paused to think for a moment. "Do you think he objects to a beach wedding because he can't attend?"

  Kris laughed.
"Can't attend? My uncle loves the beach. He and my aunt leave for Hawaii every year on the day after Christmas and stay through the end of February. He even surfs, believe it or not."

  Eve shook her head. Not only did Santa Claus exist, but he surfed? It was too much to take in for one day. "Here's an idea, why don't we join forces and convince your aunt and uncle to renew their vows on Christmas Eve? Maybe that will take the pressure off of you, yet still give Santa the Christmas wedding he wants. Then we can convince him that an ocean side island wedding in the new year is exactly right for you and Kyle. What do you say?"

  It was Kris' turn to shake her head. "Lovely idea, but it's a no go. They exchanged vows last year and said it's something they want to do every few years. Any other ideas?"

  "Other than flat out refuse to participate? No. But there has to be something that will work."

  The minutes ticked by while the two women sat in silence, thinking.

  "I've got it," Kris exclaimed, a triumphant smile on her face. "I know what will work."

  "Good, because I wasn't coming up with anything," Eve said. "Enlighten me."

  Kris turned so that she was facing Eve. "Talking to you has helped me see exactly what I need to do. Eve, I want you to help me elope."

  Chapter Seven

  Eve stared at Kris as if she'd just spoken in Swedish instead of English. Could this day get any stranger? First she and Hunter had been whisked to the North Pole, via a sleigh no less, and now she was being recruited to help Santa's niece stage a Christmas Central break? Oh, no. She shook her head emphatically. "Not a chance."

  Kris grabbed onto her arm, her eyes filled with hope. "But it's the perfect plan, don't you see?"

  Eve extracted her arm from the other woman's grip. "Actually, I don't see how eloping will do anything other than cause more problems than you already have."