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“Is it really necessary to decorate every single room of the palace? I hardly ever walk in here!” Chancellor Esteban of Avalor exclaimed, gesturing wildly at the large assortment of colorful flowers, ornaments, and candles adorning the walls and windows of the small area.
The young woman in the corner of the room turned at the sound of his voice, the stool she was balancing on shaking precariously as she paused in her attempt to place more decorations atop the large dresser. “C’mon, Esteban! Where’s your Navidad spirit?” she responded as she hopped off her rickety stool and walked to where he was standing, elbowing him in the arm with a playful grin. “Just because you never go into the fourth guest room on the right side of the east hall on the third story doesn’t mean no one else will.”
The Chancellor could only sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers as he tried not to be too exasperated with his cousin. “Elena, I understand that Navidad is one of your favorite holidays, but this is simply a waste of time! Surely there are better things you can spend your afternoon doing.”
“It’s not a waste of time if I enjoy what I’m doing,” Elena countered. “And I’ve already finished all of my crown princess duties for the day, so why not just embrace the festivities and decorate?” She gazed about the room happily, evidently proud of her handiwork.
Esteban had to refrain from sighing again, but decided to just let the matter go. Elena would be crowned Queen in just a matter of months, and if she felt that decorating random parts of the palace with Navidad decorations was the most beneficial thing to do at the time, then there was nothing he could do to change her mind.
“You know what would make it even more festive, though?” Elena asked, walking to the window and peering out at the ground below.
“Enlighten me,” Esteban responded indifferently.
“Snow!” she exclaimed, turning back to her cousin with a wistful expression on her face.
A hint of a smile appeared on Esteban’s lips as he took in her jovial behavior. “Of course, I should’ve known. You say that every year.”
“Can’t you just imagine it though? Waking up on Christmas morning to a land full of white, fresh, beautiful snow?”
“We had snow a few years ago, remember? When Mateo and his apprentice caused that cataclysmic climate change in the middle of the town square?” Esteban pointed out.
”True, but as fun as that was, it was in the middle of summer, so it didn’t feel quite right. But just imagine how amazing it would be on Navidad!” Her eyes seemed to glow at the thought, but then she sighed and shrugged her shoulders. “Unfortunately, the chances of snow in Avalor are basically nonexistent, but I can hope, right?” She grinned at him, her vibrant energy from before having returned again.
“Of course you can,” Esteban told her kindly as she went back to decorating the dresser, climbing atop her wobbly stool once more. He was about to turn to leave when he suddenly remembered the reason he had sought Elena out in the first place. “Oh, I almost forgot,” he said, turning back around to face his cousin. “I have a personal request to ask of you – that is, if you’re not too busy embellishing the storage closet downstairs later this evening.”
Elena had the decency to abstain from rolling her eyes, instead just smirking at him with an amused shake of her head. “What can I help you with?”
“Tonight I am supposed to meet up with Naomi to go over last minute preparations for the Navidad celebration and the parranda tomorrow, but there is a package I need to pick up from Doña Polama this evening as well – may I ask you to retrieve the package for me?”
Elena nodded. “Of course! What’s in the package?”
“Oh, it’s a…a rather, uh, personal thing, so please do not open it,” Esteban said hesitantly. “Can you do that for me?”
Elena nodded again, but felt her curiosity peaked. “What type of personal thing?” she couldn’t help but ask.
Esteban narrowed his eyes at her. “Elena, I am very serious, do not open that package. I’m counting on you to keep your word.”
“Okay, okay I promise,” Elena relented, meeting his eyes to confirm that she understood.
“Good. And thank you. I’ll see you later this evening,” he said, giving the room one final look over before leaving, mumbling something about ‘fanatics’ under his breath.
Elena simply rolled her eyes, smiling to herself as she completed the final touches to the spare room. Satisfied with her work, she placed her stool back in its rightful place before leaving as well, her mind still buzzing as to what secret Esteban was keeping from her. Her cousin was a fairly private person, so his secrecy wasn’t too out of character – it was just the fact that he was so adamant about her not looking inside the package that made her want to do exactly that. But Elena had made a promise, and she intended to keep her word.
Elena wandered through the rest of the palace hallways, greeting anyone who passed by and admiring the streamers and flowers hung across the wide ceiling. As she walked by the kitchen the smell of mazapán, turrón, and other Navidad sweets stopped her in her tracks, but before she could decide whether or not she wanted to face the cook’s wrath if caught sampling one, a familiar voice drew her attention away from the tantalizing food.
“…and don’t hesitate to call if you need any help again,” came the voice, belonging to none other than Mateo de Alva. Both he and the person he was speaking to rounded the corner a moment later, yet neither of them caught sight of Elena.
“Thank you, I’ll keep that in mind,” the man walking with him said, a relieved smile plastered on his face. He then gave Mateo a friendly wave as he headed towards the palace entrance, calling, “¡Felices Fiestas!” over his shoulder as he did so.
Mateo returned the wave, and spun around to leave when he suddenly saw Elena. A large smile split his face when his eyes met hers, and Elena tried not to overanalyze his reaction as he made his way towards her.
It was hardly a secret that Elena considered the Royal Wizard of Avalor to be one of her best friends, but what many people were unaware of was that the term “best friends” was no longer applicable when describing the relationship between them, at least in Elena’s case. Elena herself wasn’t even quite sure when the change took place, but throughout the last several months she began noticing small differences in their friendship – the lingering looks, secret smiles, tender touches, and fluttery feelings in her stomach when he was around. She couldn’t be sure that Mateo was experiencing similar emotions, but his words and actions seemed to suggest that the feelings were mutual. She just wasn’t sure how to bring up the subject of their budding attraction, lest she interpreted the whole situation incorrectly and ended up straining their friendship.
All in good time, she reminded herself as Mateo stopped beside her, giving her a mischievous grin as he noticed her position by the kitchen entrance. “And what is the crown princess of Avalor doing lurking around the kitchens? Not stealing food meant for the festival, I hope.”
Elena gave a mock laugh. “Me? Please, I would ever do such a thing!”
Mateo nodded, his eye twitching in a nearly imperceptible wink. “Of course not. Where’re you heading then?”
“I was actually just on my way out to the Via Mercado when I saw you. Who was the gentleman you were speaking to?” Elena asked as they both slowly made their way to the palace entrance. Once again, she tried not to overanalyze the fact that their hands kept brushing as they walked, instead deciding to just simply enjoy being in his close proximity.
“Oh, that was Arturo, a man from the village. He came to me saying he thought a spirit was stealing the clothes from his clothesline. It turns out it was just his neighbor’s goat.”
Elena grinned at the exasperation in his voice, and couldn’t help but ask, “Are you sure it wasn’t a spirit goat?”
“No, I’m very positive that it was a very real goat. Anyways, it was an… interesting day.”
“Only you would get disappointed by the lack of spirits tormenting people’s lives,” Elena joked as they went outside, the late afternoon sun casting golden rays on the ground.
Mateo shook his head at her jest. “When you put it that way it sounds rather heartless, but I suppose you have a point. Where are we going by the way? You never told me,” he pointed out as she dragged him in the direction of Doña Paloma’s emporium.
“To get a secret package of Esteban’s that no one’s allowed to see.”
Mateo nodded. “Fun. What’s in the package?”
“I don’t know,” Elena sighed, and then frowned in confusion as she caught Mateo smiling at her. “What? Do you know what it is?”
He laughed and shook his head. “No, I just enjoy watching you get so curious about everything.”
The way he was smiling at her made Elena’s cheeks flush pink, but she couldn’t help the delighted grin from splitting her lips in return.
When they reached the store, Doña Paloma was nowhere to be found, but her assistant was sweeping the front steps when they approached. Elena greeted him and explained that she and Mateo were there to pick up the package for Esteban, and he immediately went inside the shop and retrieved what they needed.
“Thank you!” Elena told him as she gently took the package from his arms. It was about the size of a dinner plate, yet square and brown with Esteban’s name scribbled on the corner of the wrapping.
“No problem, Princess. Have a good day,” the man said with a smile as he returned to his sweeping.
“You too, and ¡Feliz Navidad!” Elena shouted over her shoulder as they left.
“Navidad is still two days away, you know,” Mateo told her, smiling at the eye roll she gave him.
“Where’s your Navidad spirit, Mateo? You sound like Esteban,” she teased, but then turned her attention back to the package in her arms. They had barely taken five steps before Elena started gently shaking the box, holding it up to her ear to hear better.
“Elena, you’re hopeless,” Mateo remarked with a shake of his head. “You better hope it’s not fragile.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t break it. I’ve had several years of experience,” Elena boasted playfully, turning the package on its side to view it from another angle. “It’s not too heavy,” she mumbled, eyes glued to the box.
“You should probably –“
“LOOK OUT!” a loud shout interrupted Mateo, and Elena looked up just in time to see an olaball hurtling right towards her face. She barely had time to even register what was happening before Mateo’s hand shot and knocked the ball away.
“Are you okay?” Mateo asked immediately, gently gripping her shoulder,
“Thanks to you, I’m fine. I honestly was more worried about the package,” she responded, gripping the parcel tighter to her chest. “Nice block, by the way.
A second later Elena spotted several kids running up to them, horrified and apologetic expressions masking each of their faces.
“Princess Elena! I’m so sorry! We were playing in the courtyard just around the corner and I accidentally kicked the ball too hard and it flew out of bounds and I’m so sorry! I didn’t hurt you, did I?” a small boy of maybe seven or eight fretted, eyes wide with remorse.
Elena bent down to his eye level and gave him a smile. “What’s your name?” she asked.
“Diego,” he mumbled shyly.
“Well, Diego, you have nothing to be sorry for. I am completely fine and unharmed,” she reassured him. “Also I must say, I’m a bit impressed. You must have some strong legs to be able to kick that far. If you keep practicing, you could end up on the Avaloran olaball team one day.”
Diego’s face lit up at her words. “You really think so?” he asked excitedly.
“It’s a possibility,” Elena said, standing up again with a smile. “I hope you guys enjoy your game,” she said and turned to leave when one of the children reached out and grabbed her skirt.
“Princess Elena, can you come play with us?” a young girl asked, watching Elena with large, hopeful eyes.
“Yeah, can you play with us?” all the other kids instantly chorused, jumping enthusiastically as they awaited her answer.
Surprised by their request, Elena glanced back at Mateo and saw him watching her with an amused smile on his face. “I could be referee,” he offered.
Elena turned back to the kids and shrugged. “Sure, why not?”
They all cheered and immediately grabbed both her and Mateo by the hand, dragging them towards the courtyard where they’d been playing.
“You can be on my team,” Diego informed her as the kids retrieved the ball and got in their positions.
Elena nodded, and quickly stashed Esteban’s package behind one of the large potted plants on the sidewalk nearby, safely out of reach of a flying olaball. But as she turned around to join the game, she nearly tripped over a loose brick in the sidewalk and almost fell flat on her face, but thankfully Mateo caught her just in time.
“Feeling accident prone today?” he joked as he steadied her on her feet.
“Well, not everyone can be perfect,” Elena responded, smiling at him in thanks. “Okay, I’m ready,” she announced to the kids, getting into her position and nodding at Mateo to begin.
“Alright everyone, as referee I want to see a nice clean game,” Mateo instructed, flashing a quick grin at Elena before he tossed the ball into the air, commencing the game.
Elena was prepared to go very easy on them, expecting the kids to be basic beginners – just simply kicking and bouncing the ball around, without knowing any real moves or strategies. Within three minutes into the game, however, she found herself pleasantly surprised at the skill level the young kids were playing at. It still wasn’t as intense as she was used to on the actual Olaball Team, but she could actually hit the ball and not be afraid of it completely crushing one of the children.
After several games and lots of laughing and cheering from both the kids and the older teens, Elena switched positions with Mateo so he could play a few rounds too. She soon discovered that she almost enjoyed watching Mateo play with the kids rather than playing herself. He was so gentle and kind to them, and could make any of them laugh with his goofy smiles and playful jokes. Elena’s heart warmed at the sight, and she could only feel herself falling for him more and more as the afternoon wore on.
Elena had lost count of how many olaball games were played by the time the sun began to set, although now the kids were simply just chasing Mateo and trying to snatch the olaball from his outstretched arms, which she found just as entertaining.
“Princess Elena, come help us!” one of them cried, and Elena was more than happy to oblige.
Mateo gave her a roguish grin as she walked towards the swarm of kids surrounding him, leaping and jumping as high as they could to grab the ball held above his head. “Do you think you can reach it?” he asked.
“Of course I can, you’re not that much taller than me,” Elena replied with confidence, and reached up on her tiptoes to grab the olaball, but with a flick of his wrist he tossed the ball high into the air where it stayed hovering just above their heads.
“Go ahead and try,” he said, gesturing to the olaball with a smug smile.
Elena crossed her arms and jokingly glared at him as the kids all ‘oohed’ and ‘awed’ over Mateo’s magic. Fine, two can play at this game, Elena thought as an idea darted through her mind. “You’re getting pretty good at nonverbal spells, especially without a tamborita,” she praised, turning so that she was standing directly in front of him. “I bet it takes a lot of concentration to hold the spell though, right?”
Mateo shrugged. “As long as I don’t lose focus I’m fine.”
Bingo. Elena smiled sweetly and moved closer, draping her arms around his neck and trying to ignore the ferocious beating of her heart. “It’d be a shame if you got distracted then,” she whispered, staring intently into his eyes as she did so. She watched as he visibly gulped, his face turning an endearing shade of scarlet.
“I – uh, I – guess…” he stammered, and Elena noticed his eyes flitting back and forth between her eyes and lips. This has got to be proof that he likes me, at least a little, Elena thought in triumph, and then decided to take her ploy a little farther. She slowly leaned forward, their faces so close their noses almost touched, but then she leaned back last minute and stepped away – just in time too, for the olaball above their heads fell down exactly where she’d been standing.
Elena bent down and picked up the ball, arching an eyebrow at Mateo. “Looks like I won,” she announced pleasantly as the kids cheered, all gathering around her in excitement. “Sorry I broke your concentration,” she added to him, giving him a small wink.
Mateo rubbed the back of his neck and gave her a sheepish smile, cheeks still tinged with red. “I probably deserved it,” he admitted with a shrug.
“Let’s play another game!” Diego cried as he tugged on Elena’s arm, diverting her attention away from Mateo.
Elena looked at the sky and saw that it was almost completely dark. “Sorry, but I think it’s time for you guys to be heading home. You’re going to miss supper if you stay out any longer.”
All the kids groaned in disappointment, but none objected to Elena’s words. “Can you walk me and my sister home at least? It’s not far,” Diego pleaded, and all it took was one look at his large, imploring eyes and Elena agreed.
After all the other kids bid their goodbyes and scattered off, Elena and Mateo walked Diego and his sister, Sophia, back to their house, the two kids prattling on nonstop.
“…and then one time, I had a dream that I was being chased by a bear, but then twenty jaquins swooped out of nowhere and saved me!” Diego explained, waving his hands animatedly as he talked.
“Sounds scary! Good things the jaquins were around to save the day,” Mateo commented seriously, and Elena had to hold back a chuckle.
“This is our house,” Diego then said, pointing to the building on the right. “Thank you for walking us home, Princess and Mr. Royal Wizard.” His sister nodded in agreement.
Elena smiled as she gave both of the children a hug. “It was our pleasure. Have a good evening, and ¡Feliz Navidad!” The kids waved and then disappeared inside the house.
“Navidad is still two days away,” Mateo informed, his lips twitching up into a smile.
“So you’ve told me,” she responded dryly, bumping her arm against his.
The two walked in silence for a while as Elena reflected on all that had transpired between them that afternoon. She was almost completely certain now that Mateo had feelings for her, especially considering his reaction to her little trick during the game. She felt a bit guilty for teasing him in such a way, but vowed to make it up to him later, when there were less prying eyes watching their every move. But now that she knew their feelings were mutual, what was she supposed to do? Was she supposed to tell him that she wanted more than a friendship with him? Or maybe just kiss him and see where it goes? The thought of kissing Mateo made Elena’s skin tingle, but it was an exhilarating thought all the same.
“Elena, are you all right?” Mateo’s voice knocked her out of her reverie. “You’re smiling at nothing.”
Elena was glad that the darkness covered her blushing cheeks. “Oh, er, sorry, I was just lost in thought.”
“Are you thinking about what’s in that package again?” Mateo teased, and then froze, a horrified expression covering his face.
Elena frowned in confusion, and then gasped, eyes wide. “Esteban’s package!” she cried, turning around and racing towards the courtyard, Mateo right on her heals.
“Please still be there, please still be there,” she mumbled to herself as they ran through the streets of Avalor, not caring about the strange looks they got from people passing by. “If anything happens to that package Esteban will probably never speak to me again,” Elena told Mateo worriedly as they skidded into the courtyard, taking only a moment to catch their breath.
“It should be by the potted plant right there,” Elena said, running over to the spot with bated breath – which she released in a big sigh of relief when she saw the box sitting right where she’d left it.
“It’s alright,” she called to Mateo, picking up the package and turning to walk towards him. “The package is perfectly –“
Elena suddenly pitched forward, the package flying out of her hands and landing in the street with a loud crash. Elena quickly pushed herself to her feet and turned to see what she had tripped on – and groaned. It was the same loose brick in the sidewalk she had tripped on earlier that day, only this time Mateo hadn’t been close enough to catch her.
“Why didn’t I remember that?” she berated herself, as Mateo quickly rushed to her side, asking if she was hurt. “I’m fine,” she quickly reassured, “but…the package!”
She gently picked it up off the ground and felt her stomach drop at the noise it made. “It didn’t sound like that before,” she said quietly, gently shaking the package by her ear. It sounded like broken glass.
“Are you sure?” Mateo asked in concern.
“Mateo,” Elena whispered, staring numbly at the box in her hand. “I broke it.”
How was she going to tell Esteban? He had trusted her with this package, and in it was something personal to him and she had wrecked it with her forgetfulness. “How am I going to be queen if I can’t even do something as simple as delivering a package?” she groaned, slapping a hand to her forehead in frustration.
“Elena, look at me,” she heard Mateo say, and felt his hands grip her shoulders tightly. She did as he instructed, and was taken aback by the intensity she saw in his deep hazel eyes. “Don’t you ever think for one second that you will not be a good queen. I know you Elena, and I know that you always strive to do what is right, and never give up on the impossible. I know that you will prove your worth as the rightful leader of this kingdom, and I know that everyone will love you for just being yourself. Don’t let one setback discourage you from what you’re meant to do. My mami always said, ‘You don’t throw away the whole carriage just because one wheel’s broken,’ and she is absolutely right. This situation that you’re in right now – it’s just a broken wheel. We can fix this. You just have to believe the magic within you, remember?” He smiled at her, and Elena found herself speechless. She wasn’t sure if it was possible to feel so many emotions at once – amazement, surprise, joy, confidence, love – but she was experiencing them all, thanks to the boy in front of her that she now realized she was completely and hopelessly in love with.
“Thank you,” she whispered, hoping he understood how much his words really meant.
Mateo smiled at her, and gently took her hand in his. “Let’s fix this – together.”
Elena nodded, and hugged the package tightly to her chest as the two of them made their way back to the palace and into Mateo’s workshop. Once inside, Elena set the box down on the desk and began carefully peeling the tape off of it.
“I know I’m not supposed to look, but I’m afraid it can’t be helped right now,” Elena said, trying to unstick the tape from her fingers.
“Admit it – you’re just a little excited,” said Mateo as he gathered a bunch of his spell and potion books from around the room.
“Of course not,” Elena replied unconvincingly, finally opening the box and peering into it. She gasped as she saw the object lying inside.
“What is it?” Mateo asked, eagerly coming beside her to look.
In the box lay several shards of shattered glass, but in the center of it was a small podium, and on that podium was a minuscule replica of the entire city of Avalor.
“It was a snow globe,” Elena whispered in awe, reaching down to pick it up before Mateo quickly stopped her.
“Don’t touch anything right now. As long as all the glass shards are still in there, I think I have a spell that can piece them back together.”
“Really?” Elena said, still staring at the snow globe in wonder.
“Yeah, but I have to find it first…” Mateo mumbled, and spent the next several minutes flipping through the large tomes until he shouted, “Aha! I found it!” He came over to stand beside Elena again, tamborita in hand. “All right, stand back,” he instructed, and then pointed his tamborita at the package, saying, “Resporta!”
The pieces of glass rose up out of the package, melding together to form a completely flawless glass dome. Elena reached out her arm and grabbed the glass once the spell was finished, and grabbed the podium from the box as well.
“Now we just attach the two, right?” she said, cupping the glass over the miniature city, but then frowned. “But we need snow, or else it’s not a snow globe.”
Mateo scratched his chin, and ran over to one of his potion books. “I think I can come up with a formula to make fake snow. Just give me a minute.”
“Is there any way I can help?” Elena inquired, but Mateo just shook his head.
“As of right now I’m okay, but I’ll let you know if I need help.”
Elena nodded and sat down to watch him as he worked, and soon became fascinated with the way his hair shifted every time he turned around to grab another ingredient, and found herself admiring the one stray curl hanging between his eyes on his forehead.
“You’re smiling at nothing again, Elena,” Mateo suddenly said, grinning at her as though he knew that ‘nothing’ actually meant him.
“Lost in thought,” was all Elena said in reply as she continued to watch him. Almost half an hour later, Mateo announced that his potion was complete and showed her the result.
“It looks just like fake snow!” Elena exclaimed happily, as she took the bowl from his hands.
“Good, that’s what I was aiming for.”
Together they poured the fake snow into the glass dome, and then secured the podium to it using a sticking spell Mateo had found earlier.
“It’s just like new,” Elena breathed as she watched the snow gently fall down onto the small city of Avalor.
“What did I tell you? We can fix anything,” Mateo pretended to boast, but smiled genuinely when Elena turned to face him.
“Mateo, I just – I don’t know what to say. Without you I could’ve never been able to fix this, and you just…you mean so much to me, you don’t even know. Thank you,” she managed to say, and stepped forward to give him the biggest hug that she could. She felt Mateo’s arms circle around her waist, and felt the deep vibrations of his voice in his chest as he said, “We do make a pretty good team.”
Before she had a chance to respond, however, the door to the workshop slid open, and another person entered, saying, “Aha! I had a feeling you would be in here. I’ve been looking for you all evening, Elena.”
Elena reluctantly stepped away from Mateo’s embrace and felt her heart drop as Esteban walked over to her. “Elena, did you happen to get my package like I…” he trailed off as he suddenly caught sight of the snow globe sitting on the table behind her.
“Esteban, before you say anything, I need to apologize,” Elena quickly interceded. “I promise I did not open the package out of curiosity, it was a bit of a necessity seeing as I was careless and I accidentally…broke it.”
“It’s broken?!” Esteban exclaimed.
“No! Well, not anymore. I dropped the package and heard it shatter, and I was really upset but then Mateo kindly offered to help me fix it and so we did, but I had to look at it in order to fix it and – I’m just so sorry, cousin! I understand if you’re mad, but I tried to honor my word, I really did.”
Esteban stood there in silence, and Elena waited anxiously, hoping he wouldn’t be too disappointed in her.
“Do you like it?” he suddenly asked.
“Wha – the snow globe? Yes, it’s…it’s beautiful,” Elena answered truthfully.
“Good, because it is for you,” he said, picking up the snow globe and handing it to her. “It was supposed to be your Navidad present, but for some reason I can never seem to surprise you.”
Elena was speechless as she took the globe from his hands. “You got this for me?” she finally managed to say.
“Aren’t you always saying you want it to snow in Avalor?” Esteban asked, giving her one of his rare smiles. “I thought it seemed like an appropriate gift for you. Turns out I was right, although I must say –“
His next words were cut off by Elena flinging her arms around him in a rib-crushing hug. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” she cried. “This means so much to me.”
Esteban slowly returned her embrace, looking a bit flustered but very pleased. “You are most welcome Elena,” he replied softly. Elena released him a moment later, a large smile still plastered to her face.
“Well then,” Esteban said, straightening his clothes, “I guess I’ll be off and let you two get back to…whatever you were doing.”
“Thank you again,” Elena called to him as he turned to leave, and he gave her another smile before closing the door behind him.
Sighing, Elena gazed happily at the snow globe in her hands as she turned around to face Mateo, who laughed at the awestruck expression on her face. “And I thought you only got that happy over pan dulce,” he teased.
Elena set the globe down on the table and slowly wrapped her arms around his neck, just like she had done earlier in the courtyard. “I get happy over a lot of things,” she told him, pleased to see that he was not as flustered with their close proximity as before.
“What things make you happy, Elena?” he asked softly, wrapping his arms around her waist and doubling her heart rate.
“Pan dulce,” she said first, and he grinned. “Also snow globes, and –“ she paused to take a deep breath before finally saying, “and you.”
“Me?” he repeated happily, he eyes lighting up at her words.
“Yes, Mateo de Alva, you make me happy because you’re funny, you’re smart, you’re kind, you’re loyal, you’re handsome and one of the best people I know, and you mean so much to me, and…” She paused, knowing that what she was about to say next would change the nature of their relationship forever, but she was ready. She was confident that they were meant to be together, and knew that she wanted to take this chance with him. “I…I love you,” she finally whispered.
Mateo was silent, and for a second Elena wondered if she had said the wrong thing when Mateo suddenly leaned forward and kissed her.
Their lips met hesitantly at first with trepidation, but they soon succumbed to the longing that had been present between them for months prior, and Elena knew that without a doubt, she had made the right choice.
They broke apart moments later, both smiling as they happily held each other in their arms.
“I love you too,” Mateo replied quietly.
Elena smiled and leaned forward to rest her forehead against his. “Feliz Navidad, mi amor,” she whispered.
“You know, Navidad is still two days awa –“
Elena simply cut him off with another kiss.