Iona was running late. She wasn’t sure what it was about December but she couldn’t seem to get out anywhere on time this month. It was easy to blame the crowded city sidewalks with gawkers stopping to stare at the decorated Christmas windows of shops along Fifth Avenue, but she knew part of it was her.
She was moving slower. Not for any good reason other than she didn’t want to be at the Nutcracker for the matinee family benefit this afternoon, though the ballet was one of her favorites.
She rounded the corner to the David Koch Center at Lincoln Center and realized all the hurrying in the world wasn’t going to make her on time. There was a crowd of people waiting to get inside the venue. She glanced up at the sky. It was clear and very cold this afternoon. Not a single cloud in the sky to bring on some snow.
As a girl, before she got too tall and developed curvy hips, she’d dreamed of being a ballerina. Truth was, she’d never really had the dedication that was needed as well as her genes not giving her the slim, svelte frame required. She’d liked the costumes and wearing her hair up in a tight bun. In fact, she’d dressed with that in mind this afternoon. Her hair up in a ballerina bun, her dress a fitted red velvet top with a cream satin underskirt and a layer of tulle over it.
She wore her black wool opera cape and as she edged closer to the doors she fumbled in her bag for her ticket.
“Iona?”
She glanced over her shoulder and saw Sofia and her father standing a few feet away. Sofia also had her hair up in a bun and she smiled and waved at Iona. Mads was on his phone, furiously tapping the screen. Probably giving some hapless employee a dressing down about not following his explicit instructions.
“Hello little one. Are you excited for the ballet?” Iona asked.
“Yes. I’ve never been before.”
She edged away from her father and Mads stopped tapping his smart phone screen. “Sof.”
“It’s okay. I’ll watch her while you finish up what you’re doing.
Their eyes met and all she could think of was that moment when their lips had brushed each other, how he’d held her while she’d fallen asleep and then hadn’t called her for two days. He reached into his pocket and pulled out two tickets. He handed one to Iona. “If you ladies want to wait inside, I’ll catch up.”
She glanced down at Sofia and saw the disappoint dash quickly across her face before she slipped her small hand into Iona’s. “Okay, Papa.”
She took Sofia’s ticket and held it with her own as she rejoined the line to go into the David Koch Center. “What have you been up to since I saw you?”
“Not too much. At school, we learned about more Christmas traditions. Some of them are funny. In Italy, a witch delivers presents to children, not Santa, well, I guess probably Santa does it now.”
“I think he does. I know the witch, though. Befana, right?” Iona asked. She’d dated an Italian once and his mother had one of those Befana dolls by the entrance of her home. “I think she keeps the evil spirits away.”
Sofia giggled. “She does. Papa said his bad attitude did that for us.”
Iona had to chuckle. “I totally agree with that.”
They handed their tickets to the attendant and stepped inside the warmth of the lobby. “That’s better. It was very cold outside. Let’s get rid of our coats and then get something to drink.”
Sofia kept her hand neatly tucked into Iona’s as they got in line for the coat check and then made their way to the bar. “What would you like to drink? Peppermint hot chocolate or a jingle bell mocktail.”
“What’s a jingle bell mocktail?” Sofia asked.
Sparkling soda, grenadine, and frozen limeade mixed together and topped with a cherry. “Tastes like a cherry and lime soda.”
“Peppermint hot chocolate,” she said.
Iona ordered two of them.
“Make that three,” Mads said, joining them. He reached around Iona to pay.
“Thanks for watching Sof for me,” he said.
“No problem. We were talking about Christmas traditions,” she said. “This is actually one of my family’s.”
“It is?” Sofia asked. “Are they here? Is your mom here? She was nice when I met her.”
Iona smiled. Her mom had that effect on people. Her parents had been such an odd couple, she thought. Her mom gregarious and the life of the party; her father always in his study or at work. “She’s looking forward to seeing you as well. She’s somewhere in this crowd. We always come to this event since it benefits the New York City Ballet.”
“Why?” Sofia asked.
Mads watched both of them and Iona realized she didn’t mind sharing secrets with Sofia, but Mads made her want to keep her guard up. “I used to want to be a ballerina and Mom talked my father into making a donation and bringing us here every year.”
“Sofia wants to be one too,” Mads said.
The little girl smiled up at her. “That’s why we both have ballerina buns. Where are we sitting?”
“Orchestra. My mom and brother and I usually meet over near the bar and have a toast first. This is my family’s official ‘it’s Christmas’ kick off,” she said.
She felt a tiny hand slip into hers and looked down at Sofia, who had taken her hand gently.
“Is your brother nice?”
“Yes, he is. Why do you ask?”
“Papa doesn’t always get along with Uncle Piers,” Sofia said.
She glanced at Mads and saw him give his daughter a wry look. “There are no secrets with this one. My brother and I have always disagreed on how to run the hotel, so it makes any family get-togethers awkward.”
“I could never work with Nico. He’s great, but he has a completely lax work ethic.”
“You must be talking about me,” her brother said from behind her.
Mads put his hand on the small of her back as she turned to face her brother and his new fiancé.
***
There were many situations that Mads had faced in his time at the head of the Loughman Group. Iona smiled and gave her brother an air kiss on both cheeks and then did the same for the man standing next to him.
He knew that Iona had once fancied herself in love with Nico, so he was trying to see what she might have seen in him. Even being objective he could see that the other man had classic good looks. Dark hair, strong jaw line, but Mads noticed that his hairline was receding slightly and that his grin was too big and his teeth too perfect.
“These are my friends Mads and Sofia,” Iona said. “This is my brother Theo and his fiancé Nico.”
Mads reached around her to shake both men’s hands and Sofia just waved hi to them, moving to stand between him and Iona. She was okay with meeting new people most of the time. But he knew she felt protective of Iona and wasn’t going to be overly friendly to her brother.
“Mom sent me to try to find you,” Theo said.
“The line to get in was crazy.”
“It was. We got here early so that I could show Nico all the places where we used to take photos with Dad,” Theo said.
“We were just on our way,” Mads said. “I had to finish up a business call and then we were going to try to get a photo in front of the Christmas tree in the lobby.”
“I’ll take it for you,” Nico said.
Mads hadn’t really planned on taking a picture, it had just slipped out. He didn’t have any photos with himself and Sofia with anyone other than his wife. But he wanted to remember this afternoon with Sofia and Iona.
“Will you take it with my phone?” Iona asked, opening her clutch and pulling it out. “I’ll send it to Mads later.”
Nico took the phone from Iona and Mads felt a little bit queasy. This was it. Another first. One of the things he’d been dreading. It wasn’t like Gill was going to be upset that he was in a picture with Iona and Sofia. She was done being upset about anything. She was in another place and she had said they should move on.
But he wasn’t ready. Not really. Not prepared for any of this. Everyone on the board had thought he was so strong when he’d come right back to work after the funeral. He’d been complimented about how well he’d adjusted, but in his heart, he knew he hadn’t adjusted at all.
Sofia didn’t seem to notice anything, skipping ahead of him and Iona toward the big Christmas tree in the center of the lobby. And when they got closer Iona took his arm at the elbow and drew him to a stop. She reached up as if she were adjusting his tie and leaned in close to him. She smelled of peppermint and chocolate.
“You don’t have to do this,” she said. “I can take one with Sofia.”
He touched the side of her face. Wondered when it had happened that she’d gone from the lady down the hall to Iona, his friend. And they were friends now, but – and maybe this was what bothered him so much about the photo — he knew he wanted more. He knew that if she indicated in any way that she was open to more than friendship; he’d jump at it.
“I have to,” he said. “It’s going to happen sooner or later and I’d rather it be with you.”
Some emotions danced across her features, tightening them for a second, but then she smiled. “I’m glad. I want to remember this night and the magic that is Christmas.”
“Christmas is magic,” he said.
Even though he didn’t believe it. Hadn’t seen any miracles when he’d needed them. But he saw it on Sofia’s face as she stared up at the tree decked in twinkling lights and Nutcracker-themed ornaments. He saw in Iona’s smile, which wasn’t forced now but natural. And he wanted to let her into his heart, but he couldn’t. Not yet. But for the first time since Gill died he knew there was a chance that he could start to feel something again other than love for his daughter and pain and anger at the world.
And if that wasn’t Christmas magic he didn’t know what was.
“How should we do this?” Mads asked. There were families and couples all trying to get a photo by the Christmas tree.
“Like this,” Theo said, coming over and positioning them. He put Mads in the back with Iona and Sofia in front of them. “Put your arm around Iona.”
Mads did so and she shifted to lean into the curve of his body as Sofia leaned back against his legs. Iona tipped her head to the side as she started to smile, and he knew he was looking at her and not Nico when he took the first picture. But he couldn’t help himself. There was a thought running through his head that Iona was the magic and not Christmas.
***
After the matinee performance of the Nutcracker everyone made their way down a hallway, where there was a meet-and- greet with the principals from the ballet and the adorable kiddos from the New York Ballet’s charity event. Iona tried to keep her concentration on that instead of on Mads. He’d taken a photo with her and Sofia. She knew she shouldn’t let it mean too much. He had said it was the first and there would be others. Probably he’d meant other women, but a part of her hoped that maybe for once her luck with men was changing. Maybe this time she wouldn’t just fix the guy so he could find love but she’d fix him so he’d find love with her.
But that wasn’t why she was with Mads. They were just two lonely souls who needed a friend. But the other night had changed things. They were lovers now. She’d been desperate not to be the only one of her friends alone when she’d agreed to the matchmaking thing … and look how that had turned out.
“Iona, take my picture with Sugarplum Fairy,” Sofia said. The fairy went up on pointe as she put her arm lightly around Sofia’s shoulder and the little girl beamed as Iona took the photo. The joy on Sofia’s face reminded Iona that she’d lost that in the last few years. It was easy to say it was because her schedule was so busy or that she was just getting older, but another part of her knew it was because after her dad died she hadn’t been able to properly let him go. To properly forgive him for all of the angst he’d caused her for so many years. Always being a little too judgmental with his praise and making her feel like she wasn’t good enough.
“Do you want a photo with your daughter?” the man behind her asked.
“She’s not … yes, I’d like that,” Iona said.
She posed with the ballerina and Sofia and then took her phone back from the man and they continued walking along toward the banquet room, where they’d have a meal. She didn’t see Mads but then he’d said that there was a problem at work and he needed to deal with it. So, she expected he’d show up when he could. She wasn’t as anxious about seeing Theo and Nico again. Mads had somehow, with his sweet gesture, made it possible for her to really start moving on.
She saw Hayley and Cici up ahead waving at her and Sofia waved back at them. “I can’t wait to see baby Holly again. She’s so cute.”
“She is adorable. But so are you,” Iona said, wondering if the little girl was jealous of sharing attention with the newborn.
“I know,” Sofia said, letting go of her hand and skipping over to Hayley and Cici.
The last few months since everything had happened with Theo they’d started trying to cheer up, fearing she was working longer hours because of a broken heart. Which had been very sweet of them.
“Sorry about that,” Mads said from behind her.
“It’s okay. We’ve had a few photos … I’ll text them to you and now Sofia is hoping to hold the baby.”
“She told me last night when I tucked her in that she wants a brother or sister.”
Iona heard the anguish in Mads’ voice and she squeezed his hand. “Give it time. Right now, she can play with Cici’s baby and maybe that will help.”
“I hope so.”
Sofia noticed Mads was back and even the thrill of maybe getting to hold the baby wasn’t enough to keep her from running back to her father.
“Papa.”
Iona noticed that she always ran to him when she saw him after he’d been gone. A part of her was always envious of how Mads would stop what he was doing and bend down to scoop up his daughter. He was the kind of father she’d longed for. And Iona was very happy that he was Sofia’s daddy because he was perfect for the little girl.
“Sof. I heard you met everyone from the cast.”
“I did. I even used my pretend sword to battle the Rat King.”
“Did you win?”
“Of course, Papa. That’s a silly question,” Sofia said with a giggle. “I’m glad we are sitting at the table with baby Holly. Cici said she might let me hold her, if it’s okay with you.”
“If you promise to be very careful I think we could manage that.”
“Yes. Let me go and tell her,” Sofia said, squirming for Mads to put her down, which he did.
She ran back to Cici and Iona noticed her friend stooped down to be on eye level with Sofia, carefully holding the baby in her arms.
“I like your friends,” Mads said.
“They are the best. Luckiest day of my life when I met them,” she said.
“You’ll have to tell me about it sometime. I’m jealous of how you can work together and maintain that friendship.”
Iona knew he reported to the board, which was made up of many of his family members and his brother was the CFO, which meant they probably butted heads at times.
“The key is to let go of the small stuff.”
“I’ll try to remember that.”