I call Stella and beg her to pick me up. It's not that I'm embarrassed or ashamed about spending the night at Nik's. I mean, I am 27. And also, nothing happened! Still, the idea of calling my dad to come get me just screams high school.

"Life saver," I say, shutting Stella's car door.

"Uh huh." She nods, coy. "And what am I saving you from exactly."

"Oh, stop. We got stranded and fell asleep." I roll my eyes.

"Stranded? Fell asleep?" She repeats everything I say with a look of disbelief.

"Just drive," I say, blushing.

I finally get to Deja's unread texts and almost drop my phone under Stella's seat.

"Oh my God!" I exclaim, breathless.

"What? What is it?" Stella asks, semi-slamming on her brakes.

"Deja!" I shout. "She's on a train coming here!"

I look back at my phone and check the time. She took the first train out of NYC and her ETA is in 20 minutes!

"Can you take us right to the train station?" I implore. "I'm so so sorry about this."

"Don't be at all. It's no problem. Station is in town and town is exactly where I'm taking your slutty ass." Stella laughs.

"Hey!"

We roll up to the station just as the train pulls in. Deja disembarks, dressed to the nines in her furry black coat and silver boots. She really didn't believe me when I said this town was backwater.

"Deja! Oh my God. I cannot believe you're here! Look at you –Here!" I hug her on the platform.

"I had the day off and it's not too far. Plus, I've been hearing so much about this cozy lil spot, so I couldn't resist the urge," Deja admits.

I throw Deja's insanely large bag into the trunk, wondering much could she have brought for a day trip.

"Stella, Deja. Deja, this is Stella, my–"

"Townie friend," Stella finishes for me, interjecting her sarcasm.

"Oh, enough. Stella's one of my oldest friends," I tell Deja.

I catch her in the rearview and can't help but smile again.

"I seriously can't believe you just showed up! I didn't even text you back last night. My phone died –It was this whole big thing."

"Big thing?" Stella jokes, peering at me through narrowed eyes.

"Enough from you."

"Oh," says' Deja, catching on quickly. "So that's why you didn't answer me back last night."

"It was an honest mistake, really."

I launch into the whole story, unable to keep myself from spilling even the most insignificant of details. The sleigh. The snowstorm. Evergreen Alley. The eggnog. Snowman time. Wine and potato chips... You get the picture.

Still, I haven't told either one of them about my midnight drunk dial to Preston or about the subsequent texts I received from him. That I still haven't answered.

"I cannot believe you. Holy –Oh my God, Noe. You are SO into this lumberjack Santa." Deja laughs in the back seat.

"That's what I've been saying," Stella chimes in. "Called it day one. This one wouldn't stop talking about him–"

"Oh, that's her thing. Yup." Deja nods.

"Good talk, guys." I huff grumpily.

"So what's on the agenda today?" Deja asks as Stella pulls into my parents' driveway.

"Agenda?" I raise my eyebrows.

"Charming town like this? Gotta have a gingerbread festival, a snowman making contest, you know, something like that." Deja looks at me.

"Nope," I shake my head. "Neither of those."

"Well, actually," Stella says. "The North Pole opens today."

"Oh, yes, yes, yes," Deja says.

"D, are you forgetting my anti-Christmas oath?"

"The one you made to yourself?" Deja asks. "And clearly already broke?"

"Did not," I sigh.

"You're way past that now, Noelle," Stella says.

Stella puts the car in park and the three of us walk up the porch.

"Legit this could be on a Christmas card," Deja says, framing my snowy house between her outstretched palms.

"I'm aware," I say, rolling my eyes.

"So?" Deja asks. "North Pole?"

My quickie tour is not enough to make Deja forget about North Pole Day.

"D–" I start.

"Come on, Noe. I'm a city girl. I never get to see small towns like this. Let me live out my Hallmark dream." Deja pouts her lips.

"What even is North Pole Day?" I ask, turning to Stella.

Stella puts down the chocolate chip cookie she took from the Santa tray beside the sink.

"Town Square. People dress as elves and pretend it's Santa's workshop," Stella says, offhand.

"So the usual, sure." I roll my eyes.

Ugh!

"I'm sure Lumberjack Nik will be there," Deja jokes.

She couldn't possibly be sure. Still, I can't help but thinking this is exactly the thing Nik will be at. Our kiss still burns in the back of my mind, along with Preston. I silently promise myself to answer him back tonight.

"Ok, fine!" I cave. I take a cookie from the tray in front of Stella. "We can go. You can revel in your small-town glory. Then we can leave."

"OK, grinchy pants. Deal." Deja smirks.

...

We decide to walk to Town Square Park. Deja insisted it couldn't be worse than walking city blocks. I nodded silently but knew the trek and a half she was in for was not ideal. Blocks are a lot different when there's no one to plow roads or sidewalks or –you get it.

We cross the street, along with every other living soul in town flocking to the life-size candy cane stick that is the North Pole.

It's even more decorated now than it was yesterday when Nik and I passed the park sleighing our way down Main Street. It's decorated with too much holly; everything weirdly resembles candy canes; and it's plagued by an elf infestation.

"Welcome to the North Pole! Home of Santa's Workshop and Elf Village." The nearest elf greets us.

"Right," I say.

"Holy -ELF!" Deja's eyes widen.

"Be sure to visit the Reindeer Stables," the elf says merrily. "And join in all the reindeer games!"

Stella and Deja pull me forward. Every single little hut and display is playing some different Christmas song.

"Do they have actual reindeer?" Deja asks.

"Literally cannot pay me to play reindeer games," I scoff, walking past Santa's Workshop.

Santa Claus is Coming to Town is blasting from inside.

"Do you always have free hot chocolate on every corner?" Deja asks, craning her neck in all directions. "This place is the cutest."

I swear -if one more person fawns over this snowy hamlet–

"Eyes, EYES!" Stella whisper screams at me, nudging me in the ribcage.

I follow her mischievous eyes and see where they're staring.

Santa. Well –Nik. Nik is Santa!

Nik crosses the red velvet lane and heads towards us. Trotter is trotting along right beside him, sleigh bells and all. He smiles brightly when he spots us, and I hear Deja squeal with excitement.

"That would be Nik," Stella says for me.

"More like Saint Nik," I jeer. 

"That is, without a doubt, the sexiest Santa I've ever seen." Deja laughs.

"Hi," Nik grins, looking only at me. "Welcome to the North Pole."

———

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