The gingerbread cookie decorating area smelled wonderfully of her childhood home. Ginger and cloves were the spices her paternal grandmother used to make gingerbread from scratch every holiday season. Her Grandma had died when she’d turned twenty-five and Iona still missed her, but it seemed keener at the holidays. The attendant handed a Santa hat to Iona and put one on Sofia’s head.
Iona flicked the end of the hat and Sofia smiled as the bell jingled.
“It’s okay to wear it for the bells,” Iona said. “But if you want to take it off that’s okay too.”
Sofia looked up at her. “I’d rather not wear it, but you can.”
“I will,” Iona said, handing Sofia’s hat back to the attendant and putting hers on.
She led the way into the decorating area.
She and her brother had always been close and thicker than thieves at the holidays, eating the candy meant for the Victorian gingerbread house decoration while no one was looking.
Even though they were in the same room, she snapped pictures of piles of candy and texted it to Theo with the caption: Eating all the decorations!
She closed her eyes for a moment, remembering that happy time during her childhood.
She and Theo trying to figure out how to move forward with their relationship, given the fact that the man Theo had fallen in love with had been hand-picked for her first. But it was hard. Nico had been living a double life and she understood how hard it was to balance being true to himself and managing his family’s expectations for him.
And she loved her brother. They had always been very close. This hurt more because she had hoped by doing this, by using the matchmaker, she might find the one person who she could call her own. And she hadn’t.
She shook her head and the bell on her long Santa hat jingled, causing Sofia to smile. There was a little girl desperately determined to please her father — something that Iona was all too familiar with — and who probably would like something to believe in.
Sofia, who stood next to Iona, stared at the piles of gumdrops, small chocolate buttons and long multi-colored candy vines. She knew Sofia was too well behaved to take one. So Iona glanced around to make sure no one was watching before she took a handful of the chocolate buttons and held them out to her.
“Want one?”
Sofia turned her head left and right, making sure no one could see them before she took a small part of the handful that Iona had taken. She popped them into her mouth and Iona did the same.
“Yum. These are good.”
“They are. Do you think anyone would notice if I took a gumdrop?” Sofia asked.
“Which color?” Iona replied.
“Green,” Sofia said.
Iona carefully picked out one green gumdrop and playfully handed it to Sofia, who popped it into her mouth. Then she took a white one for herself.
“I see we have two eager helpers waiting to decorate,” one of the volunteers said as he came over.
He was young, in his early twenties, with a close-cropped haircut and an easy smile. As he stooped down to talk to Sofia, Iona smiled at her own fond holiday memories.
There was something about Christmas that just brought out the best in people. That had always been her favorite time of year and she was determined it would be again. He stood up and held his hand out to her.
“I’m Josh,” he said.
“Iona,” she replied. “What are we going to decorate?”
“How does Santa’s sleigh sound?” Josh asked.
Sofia made a face and Iona wondered what it might be like for the six-year-old to be explaining all the time that she didn’t believe in Santa. “Well, we’ve been eyeing the gingerbread men and women. I think Sofia wanted to make a special one for her daddy.”
“Even better. Come on over here, ladies, and I’ll help you get started.”
Sofia smiled up at Iona. “Thanks. I do want to make something special, for Papa.”
“I figured you did,” she said, ruffling the little girl’s hair as they walked to the table. They were both given aprons, gloves and Iona had a twinge of conscience remembering how she’d stuck her hand in the candies earlier, but she was scrupulously clean and had used hand sanitizer, so she felt a little better.
She and Sofia finished making their gingerbread people. And as she decorated her boy, she made sure he had black eyes like her brother and the same dark hair, which she formed from licorice. The both of them were trying to figure out what was next and as the older sister, Iona knew she should be the one to make the first move.
When she was done, she noticed that Sofia was still working, so she decided she’d make another set of gingerbread people to resemble Santa and Mrs. Claus. She thought they’d turned out pretty good. She glanced over at Sofia’s creations and noticed she’d made the boy look like her dad, with bright-blue eyes and dark-chocolate hair, and she had made a tie around his neck. The girl also had dark-chocolate hair but it was shorted than Sofia’s and had curls on the forehead. The girl had on an apron made of orange frosting and brown eyes.
“I love your cookies. Is that you and your Papa?”
Sofia shook her head. “That’s my mama. Even though she’s in heaven, Papa misses her.”
Iona’s heart broke as she looked down at the little girl and she wondered if her path had crossed with Mads’, not for business, but to help this little family find the magic of Christmas. Maybe she’d been blown into their lives like the wind in the Candied Apple Café storefront. It made her smile to think she could do that. Her father had always said her faith in people would be her downfall and it had taken her partnership with Cici and Hayley to make her see how wrong he was. Of course, she’d only had the courage to try it because he’d had a massive heart attack and she’d wanted to do something to stand out in his eyes and win his approval.
She shook that thought off as Sofia slipped her small hand into Iona’s. She realized this little girl was trying to get her father’s approval too.
***
Mads wasn’t too thrilled with having to take a call now when he’d insisted that Sofia come to the brunch with St. Nick, but this call wasn’t one he could ignore.
Wayne, the duty manager at the Common, texted him that it was urgent, so he called her as he kept an eye on his daughter and Iona.
“Sir, we have a major emergency in the retail shop. There is a leak in the ceiling. I’ve called maintenance and the Duty Manager is taking care of the guests but maintenance think a pipe might have burst. We might need to vacate the rooms above and we’re at full occupancy tonight,” Wayne said.
“Is the concierge calling other resorts?” Mads asked.
“The concierge can’t find rooms due to the tree lighting at Rockefeller Center later. He suggested maybe you could call in some favors.”
Mads knew that Lexi had made the right call. “I will. Have the concierge text me the list of who he has been in contact with and I’ll start calling in favors.”
In the hotel business, there was no such thing as a hands-off management style approach.
“I will,” he said. “Is there anything else I can do?”
“I need you to go and check out the rooms and see which, if any, are affected. How many rooms did maintenance think would need to be cleared?” Mads asked.
“They were vague. Housekeeping and the front desk manager are going from room to room to see where the leak started. We believe it shouldn’t be more than four rooms on the corner above the retail shop, but they aren’t sure how high up the leak is.”
“Keep me posted,” he said. “I’ll drop by later this morning unless you need me there now?”
“I’ve got this under control. We really need your connections to get rooms for our displaced guests,” Wayne said.
“I’ll be in touch.” He took a moment to make sure that Sofia was still doing okay with Iona and then went to one of the round tables that were set up for families once they’d gotten food from the buffet, after they finished visiting Santa or decorating cookies.
He used the list that the concierge had given him and started making calls. Work was a distraction and he gladly threw himself into it. He’d gambled on staying in Manhattan this Christmas. His brother had suggested they come to California and stay with him, but he knew that running away this year would mean that Sofia would have to deal with Christmas here next year.
He left a message for a friend with a lot of connections in the Manhattan hotel business, and had just set his phone down, when he heard the sound of jingle bells. He glanced up to see Sofia and Iona standing there. Sofia had on a big smile. One of the biggest he’d seen in a long time.
“Papa, we made gingerbread cookies,” she said, as she set the cookies on the table in front of him and then climbed up onto his lap.
He glanced down at the cookies and then back at his daughter, who was kicking her leg and swinging it while talking to Iona. He wasn’t listening to the conversation, instead he simply saw the cookies and knew that she’d made her mom and him.
His heart was breaking a little bit when he saw them. The fear that lingered in the back of his mind was that he wasn’t enough to be both mother and father to his daughter.
“I hope you don’t mind,” Iona said, sitting down next to him and turning to face him. The bells on the end of her hat jingled, which he noted made Sofia smile.
“I’m sorry, I missed that last bit,” he said.
“I let Sofia eat some of the candies while we were decorating, is that okay?”
“Yes, of course,” he said, noticing that she watched him carefully. “Sorry, I was distracted, we have an emergency at the Common. We’re going to have to head over there soon.”
“I don’t mind, Papa,” Sofia said. “I didn’t want to come.”
“I remember,” Mads said.
“But I’m glad I did,” Sofia said. “Thank you, Iona, for helping me with my cookies.”
“You’re welcome, sweetie,” Iona said. “I’ll leave you both to it, then.” “I’d better go find my mom and see if she needs me to do anything.”
There was something in her tone that made him wonder if there was more to Iona than long legs, business savvy, and an easy smile. Which was silly because he knew there was. But she’d seemed so carefree about the holidays until this moment.
“I hope your hotel problem is sorted out easily. “I’m sure I’ll see you both around,” Iona said, walking away from them. He heard Sofia sigh as Iona left.
“What’s the matter, imp?”
“I miss her. She’s fun.”
And fun was what had been in short supply for the two of them for a good long while.
***
The invitation to attend a party at a friend’s with offices across from Rockefeller Plaza, who was hosting a tree- lighting party, was something that he’d normally decline. But he’d had to spend the majority of the Saturday at the Common and since Jessie had the day off Sofia had to as well.
It had been a long day for them both and the tree lighting would be something festive before they had to head back home. Sofia had been inspired by her cookie decorating at the Santa Brunch and when the Common’s pastry chef had offered her some round sugar cookies and a colored icing to keep her entertained, she’d eagerly jumped at the chance.
She had made seven cookies all for her friends. She’d decorated them all to look like the friend she was gifting the cookie to. One of them had red hair, blue eyes, and a Santa cap on its head.
“Who is that one for?”
“Iona. Since she lives in our building I thought I’d drop it off to her.”
“We don’t know her apartment,” Mads pointed out.
“You can text her,” Sofia said.
“I’ll do that later. Do you want to go to a party tonight? We’d be able to see the tree lighting at Rockefeller Plaza,” he said.
“Sure,” she said. “What about my cookies?”
“We can go home and get changed first,” he said.
They went home and Sofia darted into her bedroom to get changed and Mads changed his sweater but then got distracted by texts from the duty manager that he had to respond to.
Sofia came back into the living room dressed in jeans and a thick sweater that had been one of the last things Gill had purchased for their daughter. It was getting a little short in the sleeves but Sofia didn’t want to give it up and Mads had found that he couldn’t make her.
“Grab your coat, Sof.” She did so, wrapping her scarf around her neck before she reached for her coat.
Mads took it from her and held it so she could slip her arms in easily and then stooped down in front of his daughter to fasten the coat and then adjust her scarf.
“We should invite Iona to join us,” Sofia said out of the blue.
He didn’t know how to react to that. Encouraging a friendship with someone he was doing business with didn’t seem like a wise idea. If they ran into her, that was one thing.
“I don’t think so,” he said.
She got that stubborn look on her face. “Why not?”
“I am in the middle of a business deal with her, so it’s probably best that we keep some distance from her.”
“Why?”
“If the deal goes south … don’t worry about it. That’s my job,” Mads said.
“Okay, Papa,” she said, going over to the hall table where a framed picture of Gill was, Sofia touched her fingers to her lips, kissed them and then touched Gill’s face. “Bye, Mama.”
Mads put his hand on his daughter’s back, holding open the door for her as they exited their apartment in a nice building on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. The night had already started to darken and there was a light fall of snow beyond the windows of the lobby. The piped Christmas music was nearly drowned out by the sound of conversations and Sofia slipped her hand into his as they walked toward the doors.
He glanced around the lobby, telling himself he wasn’t looking for Iona but disappointed all the same that it was empty. Sofia sang along with the radio that his driver had on. The next song to come on was Michael Bublé’s version of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”.
He glanced at Sofia, who had started singing, and then stopped and he knew he had to get to the bottom of this Santa thing. But how?
He started to sing along. His voice was rusty because it had been a long time since he’d done any singing, but he remembered Gill always loved Christmas carols. Sofia glanced over at him.
“Do you like this song?”
“I do. Remember, Mommy liked it too,” he said.
Sofia tipped her head to the side. “She loved singing.”
“Especially with you,” Mads added. It had been one of the things that Gill’s illness hadn’t been able to take from her.
As the song switched to the second verse, he started to sing again and Sofia joined in. When the song ended, she didn’t say anything but Mads felt … like he’d done the right thing. They arrived at the building where the party was and as they exited their car he noticed Iona was speaking to the security guard at the door.
Her red hair was down, hanging around her shoulders and she had on a camel-colored coat. She smiled when she noticed them.
“Hello, Erikssons,” Iona said. “What are you two doing tonight?”
“We are here for the tree lighting,” Sofia said.
“One of my frat brothers has an office in this building and invited us to a party tonight.”
“Who?” Iona asked.
“Jeff Miller,” Mads said.
“I’m going to the same party. His wife and I went to the Dalton School together. She and I go way back,” Iona said. The security guard cleared Iona and she stepped inside the lobby but waited for them.
It only took a minute for him and Sofia to be cleared by security. The three of them walked together to the elevators.
“I love the tree lighting. Two years ago, I went with my friends Hayley and Cici and we stood outside in the cold and it was so crowded. I decided to skip it last year, but Blaire’s party seems like it will be fun.”
Mads realized he was staring at Iona, but he had just realized how pretty she was. Earlier, he’d been concentrating on business, on work, that had been his salvation, but now that he had a moment in the elevator to just look at her, he couldn’t stop staring. Her skin sort of glistened and it was almost as if she’d channeled the magic of the season into her appearance somehow.
“We’ve never been to see it, but Sofia likes trees.”
“Do you?” Iona asked, looking down at his daughter.
Mads watched her, trying to see the sadness that Sofia had glimpsed earlier but he didn’t see it. Instead, he just saw a woman who was smiling and enjoying the holiday season.
“I do. I have a collection of tiny crystal ones that Papa has brought me back from all over the world,” Sofia said.
“That’s so sweet. Which one is your favorite?” Iona asked.
“I think the one from Spain. Do you know the one, Papa?”
“The Lladro one of Mommy’s, right?” It was one he’d purchased for Gill before Sofia had been born. It was a scene with a Christmas tree and a couple exchanging gifts in front of it. It was the one that had started Sofia’s collection.
“Yes. It’s so pretty, Iona,” Sofia said. “You can come and see it sometime.”
“I’d like that.” “Christmas is my favorite time of year,” she said.
“Why is that?” Mads asked.
“I like how everything is lit up with bright colors and how people seem to smile more easily. But mostly I like that time slows down,” Iona said. “When I was your age, Sofia, it was the one time during the year that my family were all together. Dad didn’t travel and we just spent more time together.”
Sofia looked up at him. “Like us.”
“Just like us,” Mads agreed. As much as he wanted this holiday to be over, he was very aware that Sofia was only six and he wanted her memories of Christmas to be good ones.
“I’m glad to hear that,” Iona said.
He took Sofia’s hand as they exited the elevator and since it was an office building, they stepped into an open area where they could hear the music and voices near the windows that overlooked the Plaza.
Jeff came over as soon as he saw them.
“Mads, good to see you,” he said, holding out his hand.
Mads shook it and then Jeff scooped Sofia up and gave her a hug. “How’s my favorite kiddo?”
“Good,” Sofia said. “I’ve been decorating cookies today.”
“You have? My mom used to say you could eat the broken ones,” Jeff told her.
“Well, I ate the decorations,” she said with a giggle.
Jeff put her down and turned to Iona.
“Hello, Io. I didn’t realize you two knew each other,” Jeff said.
“Hiya. The Common is interested in a partnership with the Candied Apple Café.”
“Hmm. Sounds interesting. Your dad would be impressed,” Jeff said, leading them into the party.
“I hope so,” Iona said.
“Of course, he would be,” Mads said. “The Candied Apple Café is one of the best-run businesses in this town.”
“Thanks,” she said with a smile, and then Blair came over and the two women started talking.
They were separated and he watched her go. He knew that business was the only relationship they had, but something about Iona made it hard for him to forget that.