Approximately Yours (North Pole, Minnesota #3)(36)

Holly had made a lot of headway on the gingerbread replica of the Page family home today. Throwing herself into showstopper work was a great distraction from the fact that she’d told Danny he was a pathetic dork who sought out other people’s approval. When she’d given him the Harry and the Hendersons treatment, she’d forgotten about the fact that she still had to text him as Elda. And, thanks to that, she knew exactly how much she’d hurt him by telling him she didn’t like him.

Nothing could be further from the truth. He was still the guy with a model’s physique and a nerd’s soul. Even though Holly knew that she definitely was not the one going on this date, she kept thinking about it as if she were—what she’d wear, what kind of knowledge she’d be able to drop on Danny, whether or not they’d kiss. But it was all in her head. Elda was the one going out with Danny, not her.

“Are you looking forward to your date tomorrow?” Holly asked Elda as they waited in line for free popcorn in the park. A booth had opened up near the big statue of St. Nick, and the queue was already thirty people deep. No one in North Pole could turn down free popcorn.

“Yeah,” Elda said. “But I’m nervous.”

“That’s good,” Holly said. “Nerves are good. They mean you’re excited.”

The smell of popcorn had made its way to Holly’s nostrils, and her stomach growled. She hadn’t eaten much all day. She’d been too busy working on the showstopper, and she must’ve really been in the zone.

“I went into Santabucks today,” Elda said. “It was…awkward. I wonder if we’re going about this all wrong.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I mean, Danny and I have nothing to say to each other in person. The only reason he likes me is because of the stuff you’ve texted him. You’ve made him think I’m this person who likes architecture and historical non-fiction. I like dead things and plumbing and gross YouTube videos. I have no clue what we’re going to talk about.”

“Well.” Holly wasn’t sure what to add. Maybe Elda had a point. Holly probably should’ve played to Elda’s strengths in those text conversations, but this had been all about wooing Danny Garland. He just happened to like the stuff Holly liked. That couldn’t be helped. Not many people were interested in watching videos of people snaking shower drains. That was a pretty niche obsession. “Well,” she said again, “you have all the texts Danny and I sent to each other on your phone. Just read through those, you know, get familiar with the stuff we discussed. If you want, you and I can go home tonight, and I’ll give you a tutorial on architecture and whatever else you need to bone up on—movie references, that sort of thing.”

“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?”