Chapter 1
“Uh oh. Here comes Mr Frosty himself,” Kandy murmured, looking over Elle’s shoulder.
Elle turned to see a large man bearing down on them. The scowl on his face was menacing enough, add in the over-six-foot-tall-possibly-three-foot-wide frame and the guy was downright alarming. Not someone she wanted around the growing crowd of children. “Who’s that?” Elle asked, returning her gaze to Kandy.
“Jack Frost.” Kandy shook her head. “I wish he’d at least attempt a smile. He’s going to scare the kids at this rate.”
“My thoughts exactly,” Elle said. “Wait. Jack Frost? Isn’t Mr Frost in his sixties?” She glanced over her shoulder once more. This guy definitely was not.
She’d guess late forties. But it could be the winkled forehead, crinkled skin fanning out from his eyes, and the deep grooves running beside his drawn-thin mouth that made him look older. The closer he got, the more Elle was inclined to think late thirties.
“Hey, Jack,” Kandy said, smiling as the frowning Jack stopped next to them. “You found us.”
“Where’s Chris?” he asked, without a hello to Kandy or acknowledging Elle’s presence.
That was fine with her. Now that he was closer — and not paying her any attention — she had a chance to study him. He had deep blue eyes, the kind she was sure would change with his moods, the kind a woman could lose hours staring into. His mouth, while still drawn into that tight thin line, was appealing in a way Elle found a little disconcerting. And his body — best not to go there or she’d be a quivering mass of hormonal goo.
He was hot.
She couldn’t remember the last time a guy made her girl-parts perk up and take heed. This one did. Shame he appeared to be an arrogant jerk.
“He’s out back. They’re running a last minute check of the slide,” Kandy explained.
Elle didn’t think it was even possible, but Jack’s scowl grew darker. “Why wasn’t that checked before now?” He snapped his watch into view with a quick bend and twist of his arm. “The doors open in ten minutes.”
Kandy sighed. “Yes, Jack. It’s just a precaution. There isn’t really —”
Jack strode past them, his long legs carrying him towards the arena doors where security held them closed and would do until the sound of Santa’s bell rang through the complex.
“Oh shit.” Kandy muttered and took off after him. “Jack. Honestly. Everything is fine. Chris has it under control.”
Elle glanced at the lines of parents and children waiting to enter the arena as she raced to catch up with Kandy. Opening day was a full house again this year. Following a grumbling Jack through the door one of the security men held open they breached the thick wall of cold air that rushed down from the vent mounted above the entrance. She shivered as her lungs sucked a freezing breath through her teeth, setting them on edge.
Shit. She didn’t have her jacket.
It didn’t matter how many times they put on Santa’s Village, Elle would never get used to how cold Frosty’s Snowmen managed to make the cavernous space.
She wasn’t an idiot. She knew it needed to be cold to keep all the snow and ice from melting, but when the rest of the year the arena was filled with screaming fans, rock bands, and a breath-stealing heat only a concert could produce, the three weeks Santa’s Village came to visit were a mind-blowing — if pleasant — change of pace.
Soft rubber cushioned her feet as they made their way along the fake street complete with white picket fences, snow covered bushes, and cobblestone paths leading to houses that looked like gingerbread.
Elle loved Santa’s Village. Loved the whimsy. The joy. The laughter. And the cold. In spite of the shiver that rattled her bones, she loved the cold too.
“Jack.” Kandy took two steps to his one. “For God’s sake, Jack.”
They rounded the bend in the road and the huge ice slide came into view. Elle smiled. Chris and the men and women
“Uh oh. Here comes Mr Frosty himself,” Kandy murmured, looking over Elle’s shoulder.
Elle turned to see a large man bearing down on them. The scowl on his face was menacing enough, add in the over-six-foot-tall-possibly-three-foot-wide frame and the guy was downright alarming. Not someone she wanted around the growing crowd of children. “Who’s that?” Elle asked, returning her gaze to Kandy.
“Jack Frost.” Kandy shook her head. “I wish he’d at least attempt a smile. He’s going to scare the kids at this rate.”
“My thoughts exactly,” Elle said. “Wait. Jack Frost? Isn’t Mr Frost in his sixties?” She glanced over her shoulder once more. This guy definitely was not.
She’d guess late forties. But it could be the winkled forehead, crinkled skin fanning out from his eyes, and the deep grooves running beside his drawn-thin mouth that made him look older. The closer he got, the more Elle was inclined to think late thirties.
“Hey, Jack,” Kandy said, smiling as the frowning Jack stopped next to them. “You found us.”
“Where’s Chris?” he asked, without a hello to Kandy or acknowledging Elle’s presence.
That was fine with her. Now that he was closer — and not paying her any attention — she had a chance to study him. He had deep blue eyes, the kind she was sure would change with his moods, the kind a woman could lose hours staring into. His mouth, while still drawn into that tight thin line, was appealing in a way Elle found a little disconcerting. And his body — best not to go there or she’d be a quivering mass of hormonal goo.
He was hot.
She couldn’t remember the last time a guy made her girl-parts perk up and take heed. This one did. Shame he appeared to be an arrogant jerk.
“He’s out back. They’re running a last minute check of the slide,” Kandy explained.
Elle didn’t think it was even possible, but Jack’s scowl grew darker. “Why wasn’t that checked before now?” He snapped his watch into view with a quick bend and twist of his arm. “The doors open in ten minutes.”
Kandy sighed. “Yes, Jack. It’s just a precaution. There isn’t really —”
Jack strode past them, his long legs carrying him towards the arena doors where security held them closed and would do until the sound of Santa’s bell rang through the complex.
“Oh shit.” Kandy muttered and took off after him. “Jack. Honestly. Everything is fine. Chris has it under control.”
Elle glanced at the lines of parents and children waiting to enter the arena as she raced to catch up with Kandy. Opening day was a full house again this year. Following a grumbling Jack through the door one of the security men held open they breached the thick wall of cold air that rushed down from the vent mounted above the entrance. She shivered as her lungs sucked a freezing breath through her teeth, setting them on edge.
Shit. She didn’t have her jacket.
It didn’t matter how many times they put on Santa’s Village, Elle would never get used to how cold Frosty’s Snowmen managed to make the cavernous space.
She wasn’t an idiot. She knew it needed to be cold to keep all the snow and ice from melting, but when the rest of the year the arena was filled with screaming fans, rock bands, and a breath-stealing heat only a concert could produce, the three weeks Santa’s Village came to visit were a mind-blowing — if pleasant — change of pace.
Soft rubber cushioned her feet as they made their way along the fake street complete with white picket fences, snow covered bushes, and cobblestone paths leading to houses that looked like gingerbread.
Elle loved Santa’s Village. Loved the whimsy. The joy. The laughter. And the cold. In spite of the shiver that rattled her bones, she loved the cold too.
“Jack.” Kandy took two steps to his one. “For God’s sake, Jack.”
They rounded the bend in the road and the huge ice slide came into view. Elle smiled. Chris and the men and women
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