“I’ve been thinking.” Elda pulled her jacket tighter around her waist. The temperature today was mild for Holly and the Minnesotans, but it was basically freezing for Elda, the California girl. “Maybe it’s time for me to take over the texting. Maybe it’s time for me to start being me.”
“Oh.” Elda being Elda. Duh. That was what this whole thing had been leading up to, right? To the point where Elda felt comfortable enough to show Danny her true colors? Holly was going to have to get off the phone eventually. But Holly didn’t want to get off the phone. “I don’t know. Maybe.”
“It’s almost Christmas,” Elda said. “We’ve got, like, a week left here.”
“Yeah?” Dread coiled up Holly’s spine.
“And…you’ve been awesome helping me out with Danny so far, and I’m so grateful to you for opening that door, but…at some point he has to start liking me for me.”
Elda was watching the gazebo in the middle of the park, which was being used as a stage. Dinesh was at the microphone, wearing a red, green, and white Elvis costume while belting out “Blue Christmas.” Man, North Pole loved karaoke almost as much as it loved Mariah Carey. Elda let out a massive “woot!” for Dinesh and clapped like a very noisy seal.
She was right. Danny deserved to get to know the real Elda, because Elda was great. Yeah, she had some weird interests, but that was part of her charm. If a guy couldn’t see that, then he didn’t deserve to be with her, even if he was someone as awesome as Danny Garland.
Holly was going to have to Harry and the Hendersons her last tether to Danny. For his sake, and Elda’s.
Holly placed her hands on her cousin’s cheeks and turned her head away from Dinesh in his sparkly, fitted jumpsuit. “You’re absolutely right. You and Danny have to do this on your own. I’m tapping out.”
“Tapping out?”
“I’m handing you the reins. Danny Garland deserves to meet the real Elda.”
Elda gave Holly a quick hug. “Thank you. I mean, I’m nervous as hell, and I’m not sure how this is going to turn out, but I really need to give it a go.”
Holly barely heard her through the ringing in her ears. She was desperately trying to think back to her last conversation with Danny. What had they talked about? Did it have something to do with the Chicago skyline? Maybe. Or food? Was it their discussion of the hierarchy of fast food places while on a road trip? She bit her top lip. It sucked that she couldn’t remember. It was unfair. She had to remember. She needed this one thing.
Elda put an arm around Holly’s shoulders. “Hey. You okay?”
Holly nodded. “Just thinking about how much work I still have to do on the showstopper.”
“You sure that’s it?”
“Totally.” At least Holly still had that to focus on. And cleaning out her grandma’s house. Danny had been a nice distraction, but that was over now. He and Elda were going out on a real date tomorrow, and they were going to be so happy. It was a good thing, for everyone. This was what they’d both wanted from the start.
Elda pulled Holly closer to her side, and the two of them stood in line for popcorn, cheering on Dinesh and his swiveling pelvis.
Chapter Twelve
Friday, December 22
“Dan,” Jamison whispered in his ear as she passed by him. He was still perched on his stool behind the counter at the coffee shop, even though his shift was long over. “I was wrong. This girl is rad.”
Danny spun halfway around and checked out Elda, who was lying on the floor near the end of the counter, her legs sticking out from under the sink. She was fixing their leaky faucet.
As she slid out from under the cabinet, her shirt went up a bit, revealing a very toned stomach. Yes, Danny noticed, and he definitely noticed Jamison noticing, as well.
“So, you think she’s hot now,” he whispered as Jamison refilled pitchers with milk and cream at the counter next to him.
Jamison blushed slightly and made a big show of screwing the cap back on the container of half and half. “I never said she wasn’t hot. But a girl with a tool belt, I mean, come on.”
“Shallow.” Danny nudged her in the arm.
Jamison winked. “Maybe I am.”
It was the day of his North Pole architecture tour date, and Danny felt a bit like someone was forcing him to eat his vegetables, which was silly. Elda wasn’t broccoli. She was a beautiful, nice, friendly girl who knew her way around a p-trap, which was a word he’d learned from Elda five minutes ago. He simply couldn’t get over how different she was in person from when they were chatting via text. Elda on the phone knew a lot about history and art and architecture. Elda in real life seemed to only want to talk about her most recent finds in her grandma’s garbage disposal.
“You’re okay to walk?” Elda asked as the two of them strolled down Main Street.
“Totally fine,” Danny lied. He hadn’t thought this through when he’d bought the tickets. He’d been so excited about the idea of taking Elda out on the perfect date that he’d forgotten entirely about his leg situation, which was unfortunate, since this was a walking tour. The crutches were horribly annoying and hurt his armpits, but he wouldn’t let Elda know that. He’d make it work. At least it was fairly warm outside this afternoon, and the sidewalks were miraculously clear of ice and snow. December had been precipitation free, which was the only tangible proof that maybe the entire universe wasn’t conspiring against him.
“You’re really good at the plumbing stuff,” he said, as the two of them strolled past the video store on the corner, and Danny caught sight of their reflection in the window. They were an attractive couple. He couldn’t deny that. They looked like two people who should be together. But appearances could be deceiving.
Elda shot him a shy smile. “My best friend from home, Lexi, her dad’s a plumber. She’s an only child and has no interest in what he does, but I’d have him show me stuff when I was over there. Like, Lexi’d be lying on the couch watching TV, and I’d have him teach me how to install a sink. I’m not good at sitting still.”
This beautiful girl knew her way around a toolbox. Jamison was right. It was kind of exciting. He could imagine himself telling people about Elda installing a new kitchen sink, and they’d think it was cool. And then Danny’d be cool by association.
And there he was trying to get people to like him again. Damn it. Just like that, Holly was back inside his head.
Elda gestured toward the building to their right, Mags’s Diner, one of the oldest storefronts in town. “Did you know that used to be a house?” Elda sounded like she was reciting lines from a play.
“I did, yeah,” Danny said.
Elda kept going, as if she’d memorized this monologue and she was going to finish it. “The first settlers in this town lived there, the Bell family. They moved in during the mid-1800s.” Now her eyes lit up. “They all died. Right inside the house. From lead poisoning. Their plates and bowls were made out of the lead from the nearby mines.”
“I did not know that part,” Danny said.