The Christmas Elf, A Secret-Santa Story

Chapter 20 - Auditor vs Tax Man

Wednesday 21 December

The pub door swung open and she strode in, shrugging her coat off as she did so. Her heels clicked loudly in the silent space. Michael was seated at one of the tables closer to the door and got up immediately to greet her.

"Wow," he said as she walked closer, "how is it possible that you look so hot yet so intimidating at the same time?"

She smiled, "Trade secret. I want to make sure your tax man takes me seriously from the get go."

"You know," he said, taking her hands in his and holding her eyes with his own, "this is the first time that you and I are absolutely alone together."

"That's true," she said, suddenly breathless.

He tugged her closer, "I think I should thank you for a lovely evening?"

She smiled shyly, "Maybe I should be the one thanking you? My parents, Jake and Kate all had a great time and my father couldn't stop talking about how authentic this place is."

"You totally charmed my cousin and his wife into sitting with you and now they can't stop talking about you." He returned the praise.

They were only a breath away from each other now.

"I'm glad Jonathan opened up about the troubles you were having, you certainly weren't – and you know what I do for a living."

"I would much rather take a beating from a stuffy tax auditor than ruin my chances with you by making you feel like I wanted free advice on how to deal with him," he said releasing her hands and sliding them up to embrace her instead.

"Didn't want to be rescued by the damsel twice in a row, huh?"

"Mmmm..." he bent his head and brushed his lips across her cheek. "You smell edible," he said and she shivered, "but as much as I want to kiss you right now, our first kiss will not be where we can be interrupted at any minute by someone walking in."

She frowned but there was a smile lurking on her lips at the same time, "Do you always think everything through Mr. O'Leary?"

"Not everything...only the things that are very, very important to me," his lips brushed across her other cheek before he stepped away with a sigh of regret.

"Coffee?" Jonathan said brightly from the door of the kitchen and they both turned to see him standing there with a tray.

Michael moved closer to her conspiratorially, "How long do you suppose he's been standing there?" His whisper was loud enough to be heard from one end of the room to the other. Jonathan looked sheepish.

"My audit instincts say he certainly didn't just get here," she said.

A knock on the front door had them all turning.

Jonathan walkedforward to put the tray on a nearby table while Michael went to the door."We've been trying to get him to understand that he can open the door, but thisguy is hard to train."