She mentally slapped herself then walked to the front desk and rang the tiny bell on the counter. A small woman with a cloud of white hair came out and smiled at her.
“Well, hello. I didn't realize we were having someone from the north today.” The woman winked, and Rina let out a sigh of relief. She didn't have to hide who she was. She self-consciously adjusted the hat on her head. Even though the glamour she wore would hide her pointed ears from the public, she didn't want to make a mistake, especially not on her first day.
“Oh, yes, it was unplanned, but I still have some things to do, ma’am.” Rina smiled and tried not to let her nerves show. Dammit, she was better than this.
“I take it you're here for Mr. Cooper.”
Surprise went through her. “Oh, you know of Mr. Cooper, ma’am?”
The little old lady waved her hand in front of her face. “Oh, stop calling me ma'am; it makes me feel old.” She winked again, and Rina smiled. “Call me Connie. I may be human, but I've seen enough go through this inn that I know my way around the paranormal. I'm just surprised it's taken this long to get to Justin.”
“Call me Rina. And, yes, I'm surprised as well, but that's why I'm here.”
Yes, and, hopefully, no one would find out until it was too late
.
“Well, it's good to know you. Take care of him. And, let me just say, he's a handsome man who really needs a strong woman in his life to take him in hand. So, I'm happy on that account as well that you're here for him.” The woman winked again, and Rina paled.
“Uh, I'm sure he's a sweet man, but I'm not here for that.” The last thing she needed was another man in her life with higher seniority.
“Oh, honey, they never are. Well, since you came here unplanned, I'm sure you don't know a lot of what goes on around here, so let me tell you. You're welcome to have one of the rooms, and I'll get it all set up for you. I also have a rental car for you. It has four-wheel drive so it will be okay in snow. You have driven before, right?”
Rina nodded, relief spreading through her that the inn was gonna take care of her. God, she was freaking idiot for coming here without knowing anything and not having a real plan.
“Okay then, we’ll schedule it and you sign it, and everything will be just dandy. Now I don't think that boy knows what he is, but I'm sure you can take care of that, right?”
“Oh, yes, that's why I'm here. Everything will be okay.”
Connie nodded, and Rina felt like a fool. She should just call up the main office, let them know what was going on, and try not to cry. Jack, her boss, would probably yell at her, but it would be okay. As long as Justin did what he was supposed to do, everything would be okay.
“I'm surprised, honey, that they sent you. It's just I thought most of Santa's assistant executives were male.”
Not most, all. But, she wouldn't tell Connie that.
“Oh, I'm in training, but I know what I'm doing.” She tried not to blush at that bold-faced lie. She might know what Justin had to do in his job, but she had no idea what she was going to do. Maybe she’d eaten some bad fruitcake the day before or something. That had to be the reason she was acting so impulsively.
Connie gave her a warm smile and explained a little bit about the town history and the tourist sites.
“Now, honey, it is Thanksgiving, so most everyone is in their home. But, thankfully, that blizzard blew past us and only left us a little bit of snow, so the roads won't be so bad for you. Now, since it is the holiday, I do believe that Justin will be at his brother Jackson's house for dinner. I'm sure he wouldn't mind for you to go down there and meet him.”
“Oh, no, I couldn't meet his family like that. That would just be rude.” She bit her lip and tried to think of another way out of this.
“Nonsense. The Coopers will love to have you. Plus, Justin is a little lonely.” Connie gave a sly smile, and Rina rolled her eyes.
“Will you please stop trying to play matchmaker? I'm here for a serious reason. Santa needs Justin.”
Connie smiled and shook her head. “Oh, yes, I know. Don't worry; I know the importance of Santa. And, I know Justin needs you. But, it's okay to have a little fun with your hard work, too, honey.”
Rina blushed, but she didn't say anything. “I'd rather leave him alone on that front and we’re running out of time. I think I need to start training him now.” And, before anyone found out what she’d done.
“Okay, great.” Connie clasped her hands together and quickly jotted down some directions to the old Cooper place, where Jackson lived alone. “There. You have fun with those five strapping young men. Though Matt is taken. He's engaged to that little witch, Jordan.”
Anger sparked through her at the derogatory comment. “Excuse me, what did you say about Jordan?”
Connie's eyes widened, and she held up her hands. “No, Jordan is a witch. I meant that as a little playful thing. I love Jordan and always have. Despite what our old mayor said about her, I knew she was a good girl.”
“What?” She was more confused than ever.
“You should ask Justin about it once you get to know him better. Now get that frown off your face. I love Jordan. She's such a sweet girl and going to be the mayor of our town. She went through so much. I'm so happy that she and Matt are back together.”
Rina nodded and pretended that all of that made sense to her. Connie was a sweet old lady, but Rina had to get out of there.
“Look at me carrying on. Okay, so you just take these directions, and it’s really easy to follow down the road until you see the sign for the old Cooper place. It's a landmark, so you'll be able to find it. Good luck, honey. I'll be here if you need me; just like a fairy godmother.”
Rina smiled and said goodbye and walked out to the rented SUV. Thankfully, all elves knew how to drive, even if they didn't need to do so up north. She adjusted the seat to fit her short stature and started on her way to see Justin. Well, not too
see
Justin but to work on him.
With
him.
Dammit. She blamed Connie for this. Yes, she hadn't been on a date in way too long, but she did not need to mess up her one chance at being something more by finding a guy to be cute. Especially a guy who would be an executive, a job held in high regard at the North Pole.
There wasn't any snow or ice on the roads, thankfully. Even though she’d grown up on a literal ice cube didn't mean she liked to drive on the stuff. She was pretty sure the people in Montana felt the same way. Snow was piled high at the sides of the roads from where, presumably, a plow had moved it out of the way for drivers. There wasn't anyone outside walking, and only a few cars shared the road with her. It had been cold out, but it felt normal to her. Ironically, Holiday, Montana, was just about as cold as the North Pole to her. These poor residents.
She followed Connie's directions, thankfully having memorized them before she’d left. She didn't have to risk letting her eyes leave the road. She found the turnoff with an old wooden sign that said Cooper Ranch etched with a cattle brand and turned to make her way to Justin’s supposed location.
Rina drove down the driveway and stepped on the brakes when she saw the house. It was so beautiful. Strong walls, a Western theme, two stories, home. Smoke billowed out of the chimney, meaning the Cooper family was enjoying a warm fire on a cold day.
Fudge sticks. She was intruding, an annoyance.
It was too late to back out now. She’d thrown caution to the wind, and now she just had to do it. She quickly parked along the side of an old Chevy, turned off the car, and got out. A cold breeze caused her to shiver, and she tightened the scarf around her neck. She looked at her reflection and smiled. Good. Her glamour was holding up, meaning no one would be able to see her pointy ears. The last thing she needed was for someone to call her freak even though everyone else, at least the elves, had pointy ears at the North Pole. She still didn't want to scare the humans. She'd seen enough TV to know that people weren't always as open-minded as they should be.
Rina took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. She could do this. She was a tough elf. Justin would get what he needed to be the best executive out there.
Confident, she walked down the pathway and knocked on the front door. The wind blew again, and she huddled into herself, hoping that they'd let her in just to get warm. Montana was really too cold for its own good. Nerves ran through her, but she ignored them. She heard laughter and groans on the other side of the door then footsteps as someone walked toward her. The door opened, and she froze.
He was beautiful.
Oh, my.
Something clicked inside. Not love, but unadulterated lust.
Strong cheekbones and a firm jaw, pale skin, and deep blue eyes made his face look like an artist’s interpretation of the handsome man. He had black hair that had a slight curl to it, and those curls made her want to run her hands through it. Though his body was on the skinny side, she could see the traces of muscles through his corded sweater. He was taller than she was by at least a foot, but, since she was only five feet tall, that wasn't uncommon.
Her gaze traced his body then shot up to his face as she realized what she'd been doing. Seriously? She was checking him out, and she didn’t even know who he was. Please, don't let this be Justin. She wouldn't be able to work with this man if he was Justin.
“Can I help you?” His deep voice radiated through her body, warming her.
You can help me any time you want
.
Where the hell had that thought come from?
“I am… hi, I'm looking for Justin Cooper.” Good, her voice sounded firm, not like the dirty elf that wanted to drop to her knees and…yeah.
The man frowned and blinked. “I'm Justin. Do I know you?”
Oh, no, no, no, no. This couldn't be happening. The first man to make her think dirty, dirty thoughts that included a lot of mistletoe and red stockings was the man she'd come here to help. This was not going to end well.
“Justin!” A deep voice from the back to house broke into her thoughts. “Who is it? What the hell are you doing with the door open and letting all the heat out. Whoever it is, let them in, and then you can talk to them. For the love of God, don't let them freeze on our porch. I don't want to have to deal with the lawsuit.”
Rina blinked. Well, that was odd.
Justin cleared his throat and moved back, his arm waving to invite her in. Grateful, she walked into the foyer and sighed as the warmth hit her. Okay, maybe she'd been a bit colder than she’d thought.
“What are you?” Justin whispered.
Rina stiffened. Yes, executives could automatically tell if they were in an elf’s presence, but it was still remarkably rude to point out.
“I think you know what I am, but you don't have to comment on it. You're going to need to learn to think before you speak if we’re going to be able to work together.”
That's good. Antagonize the man before you completely change his life
.
So far, she wasn’t doing too well with this whole assistant thing. Even though she’d promoted herself. God, she was going to get fired and thrown into the wrapping department. All the bows, paper, that glitter, sequins and little toy soldiers…
She looked up and found Justin staring at her as if she’d grown a second head. Maybe she had.
“This is not going well. I'm sorry. I'm Rina Brewer. And I'm an elf.”
Justin took a step back and shook his head. “How the hell did I know you weren’t human before you even said anything? Since the dream? Oh, God, I knew I was feeling sick. Am I dead?”
Rina took a step forward and rested her small hands on his form. The heat radiating from him shook her, but she didn't relent. “I'm sorry. I'm not doing this very well. I have some things to say that are very important to you, okay? I know you're going to completely freak out because this is really weird. I promise you, I'm not lying.”
Except for the whole she-shouldn’t-be-there thing, but that was for another day.
“You said your name is Rina? How did you find me?”
“Connie down at the inn told me where you were. I know its Thanksgiving, and you want to be with your family, but it's really important that I talk with you.”
“Justin, who's at the door?” the same man as before yelled.
“It's just for me, Jackson. I meant, my friend needs help with something. Thanks for dinner.”
The others grumbled, and she could hear chairs moving as presumably they were walking toward Justin. He quickly took her elbow, grabbed his coat and steered her out the door. The wind assaulted her, and the cold chiseled its way into her bones again.
“Wait, where are we going?”
“Which car is yours?” Justin asked, completely ignoring her question.
“It's the SUV over there. What's going on?”
“I'm not in the mood to try to explain to my family who you are considering I don’t even know what's going on. So, we're going to go back to my place, and you're going to explain to me exactly what the hell is happening. Understand?”
She nodded and quickly got into her car. Rina gripped the steering wheel as nerves assailed her while they waited for Justin’s car to heat up. Jeez, talk about adding to the tension. She followed Justin to his house, nerves rattling her. Well, at least he hadn’t thrown her out of the house. It could've been worse.
They pulled into the driveway of a nice home that looked as if it were still being worked on. It was a family's home, just waiting for the family. An odd pang shot through her, but she ignored it.
She got out of the car and followed Justin as he walked through the front door, leaving it open for her. She closed it behind her and looked around the house. It looked like a bachelor’s house. It had clunky furniture and nothing on the walls. It needed a feminine touch, badly. At least that meant that Justin most likely didn't have a girlfriend. That was another thing she shouldn't be thinking about.
“Okay, tell me what the fuck’s going on.”
“Language.”
“Oh, no. You come here to my town and tell me you're an elf and that Santa needs me. I know you're the woman who called and giggled on the phone two days ago.”