Santa's Secret (18 page)

He tipped his head. “I will say I have a
business meeting, I think. She may guess when I turn up, but I do not think she
will tell Oscar.”

Eva turned as Oscar ran up. “Okay then, we
might as well get going.”

She helped Oscar on with his coat while
Rudi explained to Isabel in Finnish that he had to work. The girl’s
disappointment showed clearly on her face and Eva heard the words “
isa
”
and “
joulu
,” which she knew meant “daddy” and “Christmas” respectively.
Isabel was clearly complaining something along the lines of
But Daddy, it’s
Christmas Eve!

However, when he indicated Eva, obviously
explaining she would be looking after her, Isabel brightened and came over to
hold Eva’s hand. “Can we play a game?” she asked.

“Of course. Oscar loves games,” Eva said as
they made their way outside. She smiled at Rudi. “Don’t worry, we’ll be fine.”

“Take my phone number,” he said, and read
it out to her as she programmed it into her phone. “Just in case.”

“Stop worrying,” she said when she’d done.
“Go and enjoy yourself.”

He hesitated for moment, then he kissed the
top of Isabel’s head, ruffled Oscar’s hair, and finally leaned forwards and
kissed Eva’s cheek. “Thank you,” he murmured. “I will send someone to pick up
their presents so I can deliver them later. Izzy’s are in the wardrobe beneath
my clothes. The door between our cabins is unlocked on my side.” And then he
walked off to the main reception.

Eva, Isabel and Oscar played every board
game in the cabins for over an hour, and then they sat in front of the TV and
watched
The Polar Express
together, cuddled up on the sofa.

Eight and then nine o’clock came and went,
and still the minutes ticked by. Eva sighed. Clearly Rudi had been busier than
he’d expected. An elf had come soon after she’d arrived at the cabin to collect
the children’s presents, and she’d managed to smuggle them out of Rudi’s front
door while the kids were absorbed in a game of Mousetrap. The elf—a beautiful
young Finnish girl—had admitted they were flat out with deliveries, which was
wonderful but also very stressful for the new Santa!

Poor Rudi, Eva had thought as she went back
inside. Hopefully he wasn’t having too difficult a time with all the
over-excited children.

It got to nine thirty, and then the movie
finished. Oscar’s eyes had glassed over, and even Isabel was looking sleepy.

“Where is Daddy?” Isabel asked sadly.

“I don’t know, sweetie.” Eva gave her a
hug. “But I’m sure what he’s doing must be very important, because I know he
wanted to spend time with you.” She scooped Oscar up and carried him over to
her bed, speaking to Isabel over her shoulder. “Why don’t you go and get your
nightdress on, and then come back in here and we’ll read some Christmassy
stories together.”

Isabel thought that was a good idea, so she
went off and got changed, cleaned her teeth, and then came back into the room
and climbed into the bed with Oscar. Eva sat between them, propped up on
pillows with a handful of books on her lap.

She read for about twenty minutes, and then
closed the final book. Oscar had dozed off, curled up next to her. Isabel was
almost asleep too.

“Do you want to go back to your bed?” Eva
asked her quietly.

“No,” Isabel said, and laid her head on
Eva’s lap.

Eva hesitated, then sighed and stroked the
girl’s blonde hair. “Apart from your hair, you don’t look much your father.”

“Everyone says I look like Mummy,” Isabel
whispered.

“I’m sorry she’s not here,” Eva replied.
She felt a wave of sorrow. “If I hadn’t been here, your mother might have come
up to stay. I’m sure you would have preferred that.”

Isabel gave a slight shake of her head. “I
would rather have you,” she said. She yawned. “
Han on rakastunut sinuun
.”

Eva blinked. That sounded remarkably like
the sentence Rudi had murmured to her in the sauna. And unless he’d taught his
daughter words he shouldn’t have, it meant that Eva was right, and he hadn’t
translated the sentence properly. “Sorry, Isabel, what does that mean?”

“He is in love with you.”

Eva’s jaw dropped. “Goodness. What makes
you say that?”

“I asked him if he was, and he said yes.”
She sat up suddenly as the door between the two cabins swung slowly open.
“Daddy?”

Eva stared as someone came into the room.
He wore a red suit with white trim, a red hat and a long white beard. He
obviously wore a lot of padding too because the black belt stretched around a
wide waist, and he looked every inch the jolly, rotund figure Eva had seen on
nearly every Christmas card.

“Ho, ho, ho,” he said in a deep, gruff
voice. “Are the two children here still awake?”

Eva shook Oscar, her heart still pounding
at Isabel’s words. “Oscar, it’s Santa!”

The boy stirred and rubbed his eyes, then
sat up and stared. His mouth fell open. “Santa?”

Isabel got to her knees, and Eva watched
Oscar’s face as Santa walked up to the bed, carrying two small sacks of
presents. “I thought you would be asleep,” Santa boomed, tucking his thumbs
into his belt.

“Are they my presents?” Oscar asked,
pointing to the sack.

“Yes, they are.” Santa put them to one
side. “But you must not open them until the morning.”

Oscar nodded, eyes wide, and continued to
stare, hugging Pooh Bear tightly to him. Eva glanced at Isabel, whose eyes were
fixed on Santa, wide and puzzled. The man waddled around the bed and deposited
her sack on the other side. “Have you been a good girl?” he asked.

She nodded.

He bent down a little to talk to her. “Your
Daddy has been helping the elves sort out all the children’s presents. I hope
you are not too angry with him.”

She stared up into his eyes. And a huge,
slow smile spread across her face.

Eva’s breath caught in her throat as the
young girl moved across the bed, put her arms around Santa’s waist and buried
her face in his fat stomach.

His eyes met Eva’s, shining blue, and then
lowered as he bent to kiss Isabel.

She pulled back, and beckoned to Oscar.
“Would you like to give Santa a hug, Oscar?”

He stared up at Santa, who held out his
other arm and beckoned. Oscar looked at Bear and, to Eva’s amusement, asked him
what he thought, and then quietly scooted across the bed to also give Santa a
cuddle.

Santa chuckled and hugged them both, then
looked across at Eva, eyes twinkling. “And what about the lovely lady here?
Would she not like a hug from Santa?”

“Yes,” Oscar said. “Mummy needs a hug too.”

Eva’s cheeks burned as she thought of
Isabel’s words again,
He is in love with you
, but she came around the
bed as Santa stepped back and moved into his embrace.

He gave her a whiskery peck on the cheek,
and Isabel giggled.

“I love the beard,” Eva said, stroking the
long, curling white hair that looked surprisingly realistic.

“Where’s Rudolph?” Oscar asked, looking
past Santa at the door.

“Oh, he is nearby.” Santa chuckled again
and released Eva. “Well, I have to go now. I hope you have a lovely Christmas
Day. Be good!”

“Thank you, Santa,” Eva said, and the kids waved
goodbye.

Santa walked back through to the other
cabin, and they heard the front door open and close.

Oscar got down from the bed and walked over
to the sack of presents. The silver bow on the top glistened.

“Are they all mine?” he asked, holding Bear
out so he could have a look. Bear’s paw touched the parcel on top, and it
slipped and rustled.

“All yours,” Eva said with a smile. “But
remember what Santa said. No touching until morning.”

Oscar tucked Bear under his arm and climbed
back on the bed. He curled on his side so he could stare at the sack.

Isabel’s eyes met Eva’s, and the girl
winked. Eva winked back.

Isabel yawned and lay down, turning onto
her side to look at her own sack of presents.

“Do you want to go back to your own bed?”
Eva said, coming around to kiss her hair.

“I am okay,” Isabel said, and closed her
eyes.

Within five minutes, they were both asleep.

Eva stood there for a moment, watching
them. Then she turned and looked at the door to Rudi’s cabin.

He is in love with you.
Isabel’s words rang in her head.

She covered her face with her hands for a
moment, then ran her fingers through her hair. It couldn’t be true—they hardly
knew each other. Although hadn’t she thought the exact same thing about him?
Being
in
love wasn’t the same as
loving
; it was about being
attracted to someone beyond the point of just fancying them. Yes, of course
lust formed a big part of the initial attraction, but ultimately being in love
was about wanting to spend time with that person, with feeling like there could
be more than just sex.

She sighed. It didn’t matter if it
was
true. They lived in different countries. It couldn’t lead to anything.

Could it?

Heart pounding, she walked towards the
adjoining door, pushed it open and peered through.

Santa lay on the bed on the opposite side
of the room, feet on the floor, still in his red outfit, white beard shining.

Unable to stop a smiling spreading, Eva
walked in, pulling the door almost shut behind her so she could hear Oscar if
he woke up, and went over to the bed. Santa’s eyes were closed.

She looked down at the paltry figure, who
still wore his boots and hat. “Hello, Mr. Claus.”

He opened his eyes. His whiskery beard
moved as he smiled. “Hello.”

“You look worn out.”

“
Olen vasynyt
,” he said.

“What does that mean?”

“I’m knackered,” he said in a fair
imitation of an English accent.

She laughed and sat next to him on the bed.
“It was busier than you thought?”

“Every cabin on site had booked Santa, and
everyone wanted photos taken. They all wanted to feed me mince pies and whiskey.
I am so full up.”

“Are you drunk?”

“No.” He blinked slowly. “Well, maybe a
very tiny bit.”

She chuckled. “Poor Santa. Was it terrible,
all those screaming, hyperactive children?”

His eyes met hers, bright blue and
thoughtful. “Actually, it was kind of wonderful. I could have left more
quickly, but the children were so excited, even the older ones, and oddly so
were the adults. I mean obviously they knew the beard and stomach were fake…”

She poked him in the belly. “Most of it.”

He chuckled. “Most of it. But they still
seemed delighted. It was a…magical evening.”

Reaching for her hand, he said, “
Olen
kaivannut sinua
.”

“Do you realise that both you and Isabel
slip into Finnish when you’re tired?”

“Do we? Sorry. I said, I have missed you.”

She swallowed. “The thing is, because I
don’t speak your language, you could be saying anything you like, and how would
I know?”

He met her gaze and fell silent, maybe
realising she was referring to what he’d said in the sauna. “Um…” He opened his
mouth to speak, and then something caught his eye and he looked across at the
window, his face brightening.

Eva followed his gaze, and an “Oh!” of sheer
surprise escaped her lips.

Outside, clouds had deserted the night sky,
and the velvety blackness was full of shimmering green lights, touched with
red.

They both stood and walked over to the
sliding doors to the terrace. Rudi opened them, and they went out into the cold
night.

Eva shivered as the icy air cut through her
jumper, and Rudi stood behind her and put his arms around her, pulling her
close. “It’s beautiful,” she whispered. “The
aurora borealis.
Where does
the name come from?”

“Aurora is the Roman goddess of dawn, and
Boreas is the Greek name for the north wind. The Cree in North America call it
‘Dance of the spirits’.”

“That’s lovely.”

“In medieval times they believed the lights
to be a sign from God.”

“Kind of appropriate for Christmas Eve,”
she said with a smile.

“Yes, I suppose so.”

She looked over her shoulder at him. The
outfit really was very good; if it wasn’t for his eyes, she wouldn’t have
recognised him. “Do you believe in Christmas magic now?” she whispered.

He looked at her lips, then back at her
eyes. “Perhaps I do.” He kissed her nose. “You did that for me, Eva.”

She reached up a hand and brushed a thumb
over his lips. “I’ve just watched
The Polar Express.
They say you can’t
hear the bell ring in the bauble unless you believe.”

He smiled beneath the white moustache. “It
is a nice thought.”

“Rudi, what are we going to do?” The words
were out before she could stop them. She bit her lip, cursing herself for
blurting the question. But ultimately, she knew it had to be asked. And tonight—the
most magical night of the year—probably wasn’t the worst time to ask it.

*

Rudi studied her for a moment. She shivered
in the cold, and a brief breeze blew a dusting of snow over them.
I should
take her in
, he thought,
before she freezes to death.
But her
question hovered in the air like the children’s excitement, and he knew he
couldn’t avoid it any longer.

What should he do? Follow his head, tell
her what they were having was a holiday romance, that their feelings were
probably born out of loneliness and a desire to know the next year of their
lives would be better than the last? Explain that they were clinging to the
edge of a raft after their ship had sunk, finding solace in being the last
survivors together?

Or should he follow his heart?

He turned her in his arms so she faced him
properly, and cupped her face in his hands. Her bright spirit shone in her
eyes, and he thought about the way he’d walked into the bedroom to see Isabel
curled up with her, Oscar asleep beside them. Isabel didn’t need another
mother, and she wouldn’t want Eva to replace Vanessa. But it was important that
if this was to even begin to work, the two of them should like each other, and
clearly that was the case.