Wynter

"Omg no! The dinner!" I frowned, staring at the illuminated castle in the distance. I had forgotten about Mrs. Claus's invitation for dinner that night.

"What dinner?" Nick asked, gently pulling his jacket closer to my arms to warm me.

"Your mom invited me to a dinner tonight to get better acquainted with your dad and her. I was supposed to make cookies but then Drew saved me. I completely forgot."

"Wyn it's fine. My mom probably won't mind" he chuckled, flicking a piece of snow from my hair.

"Nick," I say, looking up to meet his gaze, "Really?" I frowned, folding my arms over my chest. Nick was cute but he wasn't dumb. He knew his mom hated me.

He snickered as I stared at him before nodding.
"Okay..fine, you're right." He shrugged, looking back at the palace in the distance. He thinks of a plan before turning his head towards mine.
"You wanna sneak in? We can dry off, get dressed and come down to catch what's left of my mom's dinner."

"But we'll be so late!!" I feared.

"I'll think of an excuse. There's no real concept of time in the North Pole anyway." He confessed. I chuckled and nodded silently, taking his word. It wasn't the best plan, but it would have to do for now.

——-

We held hands, Nick leading me through a back door into the hallway near the entryway.
I don't know why but I kept on giggling as we tiptoed past each painting in the wall.
"Come on Wynter, you wanna get busted?" he muttered.

"No" I whispered, trying to stifle my laughter. A few servants passed by but Nick made sure to let them go, pulling me into his arms and leading me towards the stairs.
We waited until the doesn't was clear before sneaking past the corridors. Just as we thought we were Scott free, we hear an irritated voice behind us.

"Nick? Wynter?"  It was Mrs. Claus.

Nick turns around first and I unhurriedly followed.

"So nice of you two to finally join us for dinner?" His mom grumbled. She watched us carefully, wondering the reason for our tardiness before glancing down at our wet clothes.

"You two are soaked!" his mother ran over, hugging me for warmth. She nudged Nick, upset at the dampness in our clothing. "Nick! What did you do?"she pouted. I was a bit taken back by her warming affection since weren't the best of friends.

"Whoa! What happened to you two?" Drew came into the hallway, chomping on a leg of chicken, ignoring another cue to read the room.

"Thanks Drew for giving us the heads up." Nick cursed, watching his brother as he chowed on the leftovers of what looked like a delicious dinner.

"What? I thought I should leave you two love birds alone" he teased, "I didn't want to interrupt...again" he winked, leaning against the wall. I flashed a disgruntled glare at him but was too cold to be annoyed.

"Okay? So are you two going to tell me why
you guys wet?" Mrs. Claus glared, summoning for some towels. Two servants ran at her command, bringing three and pushing them into her hands She pulled me into her arms to wrap me tight.

Nick

"Ughh... Snowball fight?" I muttered. My dad came in at the sound of our common.

"Did I hear someone says snowball fight?" My dad waited for my confirmation, glaring at me then at Wynter.

"We just got caught up with the snow and the time. Sorry mom. Wynter tried to tell me but I didn't listen" I lied, hoping they would take it easy on her.
My parents tried to hide the disappointment they had for the both of us but it was too apparent.

My mom called for the servants, ushering Wynter into their caring arms.
"I am so sorry Mrs. Claus...I know you planned the dinner and I was so excited to eat —-"

"No, no, enough of that Wynter! You two get cleaned up and warm up by the fire." She instructed, leading her up the spiral staircase.

Wynter nodded and threw a knowing glance, tempting me with a spellbinding smile before turning away. It meant "follow me"

I was more than eager to pursue her challenge but my dad halted my steps. "Nick? A word." He warned, walking over to where I stood.

"Come on dad, not now" I groaned, pushing past him to follow Wynter. He grabbed my arm, throwing me a frigid glare. It meant, now.

"Fine" I cursed, turning back around to walk with him. We make our way across the palace halls, making our way to

"There has been talk Nick"

"Talk? About what?"

"Your fiancé. Wynter Rider, CEO of Nubia Inc?" He says.
My heart thumped as I heard the reception slip from his lips. No one was supposed to know about Wynter's outside life except Drew and I?

How did he find out?

Author Note:
Sorry it's short! Just wanted to update for you all

See you Wednesday with a longer chapter! The lovey dovey portion of the book is dwindling down!! So be prepared