Page 27 of Santa’s Lawyer

Louis wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” he reassured her, kissing the top of her head. He stroked her hair, brushing his thumb along her cheekbone. “You are going to go into that courtroom, and you are going to do what needs to be done, and you are going to save Christmas, and you will keep all your memories. And I will be waiting for you at the end.” He pressed his forehead to hers. “I believe in you.”

She tilted her head up to meet his gaze. Her eyes were shimmering with unshed tears. Their lips were so close. “But, if I can’t—if—if I leave and this is our last time alone together,” she said, glancing at his lips, “will you let me make it something special for you to remember?”

Louis grabbed her by the hips and pulled her onto his lap, her legs on either side of him. He wrapped his arms around her waist and held her close while her mouth explored his.

“Avery,” he whispered between breathless, desperate kisses. “How could I ever forget you?”

She pressed against him hard, knocking him back into the shelf.

A tall bottle next to her head teetered from the impact and fell, crashing to the ground next to her knee. Its contents exploded into a shimmering cloud, swarming the air around them.

“Oh, that incredible smell!” Avery said, inhaling appreciatively.

“Oh, bollocks,” she heard Louis say, right before everything went black.

Avery woke up halfway on top of Louis.

She opened her eyes, realized who she was resting her head on, and nuzzled her cheek against the chest hair now revealed by his barely buttoned shirt. He looked like he’d been in a fight with a wildcat. She propelled herself upward, running her hands through his hair and gently turning his face toward her own.

“Good morning, darling,” she said, kissing him awake.

Louis opened his eyes halfway. “I must be dreaming,” he whispered in astonishment onto Avery’s sparkling lips. A shimmering layer of golden dust played upon her cheeks, her nose, her hair, her tongue.

“Don’t you just feel miraculous?” Avery asked, raking her fingertips across his broad chest.

“Everything about you is miraculous,” he said, pulling her fully on top of him. He placed a hand on her cheek, lowering her mouth to his. He kissed her, deep and slow, while he moved his other hand lower on her back than he had previously dared.

Avery groaned with satisfaction, pressing herself down onto him, helping him undo the last of the buttons on her blouse, when a polar bear, a penguin, and an android burst through the door.

“What in the name of Christmas—Gregory, cover your beak!” Tilly exclaimed, clamping a paw across her muzzle.

Avery squealed and dove off Louis in a fit of giggles, clutching her blouse to her chest.

Louis rolled over onto his stomach, narrowly dodging shards of broken glass, gasping for breath between fits of hysterics.

“Ms. Tilly,” Ander instructed. “I must insist that you and Gregory step outside while I contain this situation. It’s everywhere. You could be contaminated.”

Avery and Louis attempted to sit up, leaning on each other for support, still leaking laughter.

Gregory breathed in deeply, fins flapping. “Oi, I reckon that’s the good stuff,” he assessed approvingly. “‘Aven’t ‘ad a good whiff o’ the shimmer in decades, ‘ave we, Tilly ol' girl?”

That set Avery and Louis back onto the floor, howling.

“That’s quite enough for you,” Tilly said, her paw muffling her commentary, steering Gregory out of the room.

Ander herded Avery and Louis into the center of the room and proceeded to dispose of the glass from the broken bottle and vacuum up the remaining powder. He removed the shimmering dust still clinging to their faces, scolding them while they continued to giggle, half-dressed and high as kites.

“I apologize in advance for this next part, Ms. Hoarfrost,” Ander offered. “But you’re due in court.”

“I’m what?” Avery asked through a laugh.

Ander produced a small spray bottle from a storage space where one might expect to find a man’s left kidney. He spritzed Avery directly in the face with a sharp, metallic-smelling liquid before doing the same to Louis.

Their giggling ceased immediately.

“I just hope Ms. Hoarfrost hasn’t forgotten all her studies,” Ander said to himself as he stowed the spray bottle.