Chapter Text
“Flight 1824 now boarding.”
Crowds formed the boarding line, as though they could speed up the boarding process and find their perfect airplane seat sooner. Penelope Featherington remained seated, trying to finish her latest paragraph while her thoughts were still fresh in her mind. She didn’t board the plane until class C was called, so she was in no rush.
She sipped her coffee, avoiding the foam at the top of her cup, rethinking the last sentence she typed, something intrinsically wrong with the wording. The advice of her editor rang through her ears, that writing was not an overly complicated process, writing should convey a message to its audience, through the emotions it unveils, rather than sophisticated language.
The only emotion Penelope expressed as she deleted another sentence was anxiety with the end of the year deadline looming over her head. This space in the airport and the six-hour flight would be the last moments of solitude Penelope would have until after the holidays. Her mother decided to host the entire Featherington family for Christmas, an entire house of siblings, nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Mrs. Featherington would proudly show off her grandchildren, and Penelope would face the onslaught of questions about her job, and when she would get married and start a family of her own.
A published columnist wasn’t enough to satisfy them, apparently.
She considered concocting a ruse about a fake boyfriend, but that would only encourage more prying, which Penelope did not need. So, for another year, hopelessly single Penelope Featherington would agree to babysit the children on Christmas Eve, while the married couples went out for their fancy dinner.
At least she had Bridgerton Christmas.
“Class C, Flight 1824, now boarding.”
Penelope downed her remaining coffee and slipped her computer into her bag before silently falling in line, searching her phone for her boarding pass and sending a quick message to Eloise.
“Getting ready to board. We still on for drinks?”
“Have a safe flight, heard it might snow. And is it really Christmas until I’ve had a Mistletoe Martini?”
After reading Eloise’s reply, Penelope glanced out the window, the large airplane taking up much of the view, but the clouds swirling around looked exceptionally gray and dreary. The clouds were the kind of gray that accompanied snow, but surely an airplane of this size could handle a little cold and snow.
“Penelope?”
She whipped her head around so rapidly, her hat flew from her head. She stared wide eyed as the voice who uttered her name knelt to retrieve her hat, impossibly tall even down on one knee, massive frame concealed by his full-length coat.
“Colin?”
Sparkling blue eyes met her own, familiar amused smirk on the corners of his lips. Colin Bridgerton returned to his full height, recognizing the hand stitching of her hat as one of Mrs. Featherington’s creations.
“I thought I recognized you, or the yellow hat, at least.”
Penelope’s cheeks warmed, “this is a pretty crazy coincidence, I was just texting your sister about—.”
A loud chime interrupted her, and Colin pulled his cellphone from his pocket, typing away, jaw set. “Sorry, Penelope.” He muttered without lifting his eyes. “Anytime I leave the office, it’s just chaos.”
She put up her hands like he caused her no trouble, although he didn’t see, eyes still on his phone, “my mother would scold you for prioritizing a screen over family, especially during Christmas.”
Chime. Chime. Chime.
“Thankfully, I won’t have to worry about that this year.”
“Flight 1791 now boarding.”
“Oh shit, that’s me.” Colin dropped his phone in his pocket, slinging a bag over his shoulder. “It was nice seeing you, Penelope.”
And he moved to walk away, just like that. Away from her flight. The flight to Mayfair.
“Wait, Colin.” She called out, nearly stepping out of her own line. “You aren’t going home for Christmas?”
He turned and cocked his head over his shoulder, in that easy, confident way he always did. “Not this year. I’m traveling for work.”
“You always did love to travel.” She replied as a joke but tried to contain her surprise. The Bridgerton family Christmas was nearly sacred. Violet would be devastated to not have one of her sons there.
“Corporate travel agent, so not quite the same thing as being on vacation all the time, but yes, I do get to see the world.”
His phone chimed once more, and he impatiently restrained himself from checking. Colin had always been polite to a fault and would stay and converse with Penelope if she wanted, but his facial expressions always gave him away.
“Well, you better get going so you don’t miss your flight. I’ll tell your family I saw you.” She waved him on.
“I owe you one, Pen.”
Before she had time to process the use of her old nickname, Colin turned on his heel and disappeared into the crowd to another gate. Penelope fixed her hat back on her head and then turned her attention to her own gate where she quickly boarded the plane and found her seat. She had a few minutes before departure, and she sent one quick message to Eloise.
“You’ll never believe this, but I ran into Colin at the airport. Not sure where he was headed though.”
The flight attendant walked through the aisle ensuring all the carry-on luggage was properly stored and overhead compartments secured. She gave Penelope a lasting sidelong glance as she continued to message on her phone.
“Eloise, hurry up and respond so the flight attendant stops glaring at me.” Penelope furiously texted with several crying emojis.
In only a matter of seconds, Eloise replied with her own flurry of middle finger emojis that was meant for both Penelope and the flight attendant.
And perhaps, Colin too.
“He announced to my mother only A DAY AGO that he would be spending Christmas in Miami, Florida. I thought I was the humbug of the family, but spending Christmas on the beach….”
Penelope shut her phone down when the flight attendant started pointing out the exits letting Eloise’s last words ring in her ears. It had been a long time since she last spoke to Colin, while he climbed the corporate ladder, achieving higher and higher heights, but family was always what meant the most to him. It bothered her more than it should that he was choosing to work instead of spending the holidays with the Bridgerton’s.
The airplane rolled along the tarmac, cleared for takeoff, and Penelope retrieved her computer from her bag, banishing lingering thoughts of Colin Bridgerton from her mind, determined to use her six hours in the air to finish her draft.
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“Due to continued drop in temperatures and increase in winter precipitation, Flight 1825 will make an emergency landing and brief delay in Peppermint Falls.”
Complaints echoed through the hall as the passengers on Flight 1825 were removed from the airplane into a small, unknown airport, Penelope included. She hugged her laptop to her chest tightly, wondering how they ended up in Peppermint Falls when they were only in the air for a couple of hours. In her entire 28 years of life, she never remembered seeing Peppermint Falls on a map. Were they even in the UK?
Penelope filtered out into the airport lounge, and lounge was a generous term, given the size. There were maybe five rows of seats clustered together. They could probably fit more seating in this area if the massive Christmas tree didn’t take up a third of the room.
True to its name, the Peppermint Falls airport was adorned with candy canes.
Everywhere.
Red and white lights wrapped around the tree, twinkling in alternating succession, the bright red ornaments glittering from their glow. Small candy canes inside their wrappers were tucked inside the branches and one of the lounge workers plucked one from the tree. Light up candy cane statues were on every desk and at the end of every row of seats, bowls of candy canes resting on the tables.
“What in the fresh hell is this place?” One of the other passengers muttered, immediately finding his way to the help desk with a flurry of other passengers to find out when the plane would be back in the air.
One glance at the window made it clear that they may be delayed for an extended period of time. A mixture of snow and sleet pelted against the window, quickly freezing against the glass. The maintenance crew held the hoods of their large coats tightly over their heads, trying to prevent the snow and ice from accumulating around the tires while also keeping their balance from the wind trying to topple them over.
However, no matter how hard they shoveled, the snow continued to pile up.
Penelope luckily spotted an open seat right next to a power outlet, and she scurried to snag the seat before anyone else had a similar idea. The smart decision would be to charge up her phone while she had the opportunity, but she plugged in her computer, not wishing to waste any time on her writing before she was home.
At least she would have a good story to tell them.
Being stranded at the airport with only two days until Christmas.
“Mom, how long are we going to be here?”
A young girl with adorable Christmas beads in her braids frantically tugged on her mother, sheer desperation in her voice.
“Be patient, Daisy.” The mother responded, giving her daughter’s hand a pat, “we’ll be back on a plane as soon as the storm stops.”
“What if it doesn’t stop?” She countered, undeterred. “Santa will never find us at the airport.”
Penelope pulled her computer closer to her face to hide her smirk.
“Don’t worry Daisy, Santa doesn’t need to find you because he has no presents for you.” A taller boy teased.
“Nicholas Mondrich!”
The boy, Nicholas, threw his hands up in surrender under the glare of his mother. He knelt towards Daisy who looked near tears. “It’ll be fine Daisy. We won’t even be here on Christmas morning, but if we were, Santa Claus has magic. He’d find you anywhere.”
Daisy Mondrich covered her mouth with her hands, nearly shrieking from excitement.
“That’s right,” she squealed. “Santa finds children all over the world, including airports!”
Penelope typed the same word for the third time and furiously hit the delete button still stuck on this one section. She wanted to take a short break to check the weather forecast and check her emails, which would without a doubt spike her anxiety seeing the reminders about her deadline.
The airport had no internet.
She slammed her laptop shut, dragging her hand over her head, knocking her hat off. The other passengers still swarmed the information desk, the worker flushed, overwhelmed, and near tears. Penelope didn’t want to add to her stress, but she wanted to know how long they would be delayed.
“Excuse me, ma’am.” A tiny, elf-like girl with long blonde-hair approached Penelope. She wore a white and navy uniform, signaling she worked at the airport, but also candy cane earrings behind her blonde hair and knee length red and white striped socks.
“Would you care for some hot chocolate?” In her hands, she held a tray with cups of the steaming drink, a can of whipped cream, a bowl of crushed peppermints, and sticks of candy canes.
“No, thank you.” Penelope held her hands up but almost relented by the downright cheery expression on the girl’s face. As though the most important job in the world to her was giving people at this airport hot chocolate.
“Maybe after a while.” Penelope felt the need to explain. “The more snow and ice we get will put me in the mood for hot chocolate.”
The little blonde elf tilted her head with a sweet expression, “the hot chocolate station will be over by then.”
“Oh, I didn’t realize.” Penelope twisted her fingers together but slightly confused about why such a small airport ran such a tight refreshment schedule.
“After hot chocolate, we bring out apple cider topped with fresh mint leaves, then hot peppermint tea mixed with vanilla and cinnamon, and finally peppermint mocha with our variety of candy cane sticks inside the cup. Then, the next day, we start over again.”
Words fled Penelope.
But dozens of questions ran through her mind.
What was this place? Were they this eccentric year-round or just pulled their very best for the holiday season?
Not that she had any intention of returning to Peppermint Falls to find out.
“That’s very handy,” Penelope spoke to the still grinning refreshment girl, the awkwardness accumulating around them like the snowstorm outside, “I will be sure to find you just when I need to quench my thirst.”
The blonde bowed her head, nearly tipping the tray of hot chocolate, unaware of Penelope’s gasp. She turned around, searching for her next stranded passengers to serve. “Wait,” Penelope called guiltily, “I didn’t even get your name.”
“Pepper.” She exclaimed without a single glance back towards Penelope.
As she processed the name of the unique resident of a unique town, the wind whipped and cracked against the glass, visibility nearly lost as the ice and snow combined together, and she realized the diminished chances that her flight would take off until the storm cleared.
She may be extending her stay in Peppermint Falls until tomorrow.
Christmas Eve.
And somehow, even with a winter storm grounding her airplane as a viable excuse, her mother would probably still guilt trip her for not being able to watch the children while they went out to dinner.
She shook the familiar disappointed look of her mother from her mind, determined to finish her writing and use it as a perfect distraction. She offered a friendly smile to Daisy Mondrich as she took her seat, the family sitting in the row on the opposite side.
The snow only increased as Penelope typed away, words flowing freely from her, with only brief distractions from the Mondrich children. Pepper stopped by once with her steaming cups of apple cider, but Penelope waved her away, not wanting to disrupt her momentum. Daisy and her brothers happily sipped from their cups, managing extra whipping cream instead of mint leaves, and they were currently snooping under the Christmas tree, hoping to spot a present. Their mother, Alice, hissed at them to mind their manners, but her husband seemed too stressed to forbid them.
Tensions in the airport amassed as the delay lasted longer and longer in duration. Passengers yelled at the staff in the information booth, wanting to change their flights, get transportation to a hotel, demand their flight get back into the air. Penelope nearly scolded someone when they yelled at Pepper, instead of offering them refreshments, she should make herself useful and clear the ice from the plane.
A bell chimed on her laptop, a message coming from her phone. Penelope clicked the attachment and a picture filled the screen, Eloise in the most festive sweater she owned (the buttons were Christmas trees) as she sipped her Mistletoe Martini and offered Penelope a thumbs up.
“Your mom called mine, and holy snowstorm! Sorry your flight is delayed! Stay safe.”
A flurry of emojis followed Eloise’s message, a sign she was tipsy, faces with both tears and heart eyes. Penelope sent a face rolling their eyes.
“Did my mom ask yours to babysit in case I can’t make it for Christmas Eve? LOL.”
Eloise sent a total of 13 laughing emojis.
“You won’t even believe the place I’m stranded, El! Have you ever heard of Peppermint Falls?”
“Maybe in a Hallmark movie.” Penelope grinned as Eloise misspelled Hallmark to Hallwark.
“But it’s real! I swear one of Santa’s elves keeps trying to get me to drink one of their weird peppermint drinks, and I’m scared if I drink it, I’ll end up in Peppermint Falls forever.”
“Penelope Featherington… Peppermint Falls. Sounds like a perfect match to me!” Eloise winked.
“How dare you!”
The text messages paused, Penelope assumed Eloise started her second round at the bar and it was possible another message could arrive in seconds or not at all.
“WAIT! WAIT! WAIT!” Eloise sent three separate messages. “You’re stranded in Peppermint Falls?”
“Unfortunately, why?”
“I swore my mom mentioned Colin’s flight was also delayed, but she said he was in Candy Cane Drop?”
Penelope raised her eyebrows at Eloise with several emojis. “That story can’t possibly be real?”
Eloise flipped Penelope off. “Don’t blame my mom. You know what she’s like during this time of year. She barely has her head on straight.”
Curiosity bloomed in Penelope as she glanced around the airport lounge. It would surely be too massive a coincidence that Colin and she ended up being delayed at the same strange airport. Their airplanes were flying in different directions.
Still, Penelope closed her laptop, slipped her phone into her pocket and carefully walked towards the baggage claim. She chastised herself and her ridiculous thoughts, her hopeful emotions as she scanned the different crowds of people for any sign of familiar brunette curls or devastating blue eyes.
She had officially reached the embarrassing point of no return when she examined the luggage in the baggage claim for any tags with his name. Penelope rubbed her head, suddenly finding the urge to track down Pepper for some tea. At least she would be able to message Eloise that her mother had been mistaken. If Colin’s flight had been postponed due to the storm, it wasn’t…
“This is utterly unacceptable.”
And Penelope would recognize that voice anywhere.
On the opposite side of the baggage claim, in the area reserved for departures, Penelope spotted Colin Bridgerton pacing back and forth in front of the door, phone gripped in his hand while he spoke, nearly yelling into it.
“My client is expecting a thorough report on the 14 resorts being considered for the annual conference before the new year. I scheduled a tour with the hotel managers for Christmas Eve; it cannot be rescheduled.”
Penelope approached slowly, hesitantly, sensing the tension in Colin’s body. She understood the stress of holiday travel, the unexpected change of routine caused by the weather, but Colin was always one of the more flexible Bridgerton siblings.
He was carefree, easygoing, and jovial. When his eldest brother, Anthony, lashed out over something not going according to plan, Colin eased the tension with a joke or a song. Not that Penelope spent a great deal staring, but she thought his smile was his most endearing feature.
Nerves settled in her stomach, seeing his smile replaced by a Scrooge-like grimace.
Colin sighed and pinched the bridge above his nose, “Find me a car and a hotel in Peppermint Falls. I can salvage this and schedule virtual tours, but I need a place without bum fuck internet service.”
He hung up his phone and whirled, almost crashing into Penelope.
“Watch where you’re…” Colin barked but immediately cut off when he realized it was Penelope he nearly knocked over.
“Hi Colin.” She mumbled, hardly recognizing the boy she lov…. knew for so long.
“What are you doing here?” He grimaced, realizing how harsh his tone sounded.
“I heard the hot chocolate at this airport was class, so I kindly asked our pilot to land the plane so I could snag a cup.”
She pouted when he only smirked at her, a part of her relieved to see his usual countenance returned, but another part of her annoyed that he could be so amused by her after his rude outburst.
“Obviously my flight was also delayed because of the weather.” She huffed folding her arms over her chest.
“I assumed as much.” He flicked her nose, still smirking down at her. “I meant what are you doing in Peppermint Falls? The flight to Mayfair wasn’t even in this direction.”
“How do you know? Where geographically even is Peppermint Falls?”
“Fair point.”
They stood awkwardly, Colin checking out the door, difficult through the snow, probably for his car to rescue him from the airport and take him to a hotel.
“I can’t believe you’re so busy for Christmas.” Penelope broke the silence.
He shrugged his shoulders, “holidays are actually a good time to check out traveling accommodations, resorts, and itineraries. The company I’m contracted with is planning their next conference around Christmastime next year, so they’re curious about details during that time.”
“A Christmas themed conference in Miami, Florida sounds…. festive.”
“It’s not really my business. I only provide the travel information.”
“Doesn’t sound very personal.”
Colin blinked several times at Penelope, a flicker of confusion and hurt in his eyes, and guilt immediately flooded her. She hadn’t intended to insult his profession; she had just been so caught off guard hearing his phone conversation and the coldness in his voice.
She giggled to try and lighten the mood. “You should probably talk to your mother again. She thinks you’re in Candy Cane Drop.”
“Where the fuck is Candy Cane Drop?”
Another giggle. Penelope wanted to invite Colin back to the airport lounge, have a drink (peppermint tea), and continue chatting, catching up after no longer being in each other’s lives. She wanted to tell him that it’s Christmas and he should spend it with the people he cared about (even Penelope).
A loud ring silenced her; Colin’s ride had arrived.
“Merry Christmas, Penelope.” He reached out his hand to her, paused, then stuffed it inside his coat pocket. “Hopefully your plane departs soon. If you need any help with travel or lodgings, let me know. I’ll find you a deal.”
“Thank you.” She mustered her best smile. “Merry Christmas and enjoy your virtual tours.”
He gave her nose another flick and stepped around her to grab his bag and head out the door. Penelope pulled her yellow hat tighter around her ears, steeling her courage.
“Colin,” she called. “Can I take your picture?”
She gasped, wide-eyed as he abruptly halted, turning around stunned to face her. He waited for her to speak, explain, but her mind raced, coming up with some excuse. Colin didn’t appear repulsed by the idea, just confused.
“A memento? So, we can always remember the time we got stranded at the airport for Christmas?”
Her cheeks flushed at his teasing, embarrassed that she even mentioned it. She hadn’t even thought it through; she just wanted a reason for him to stay a little longer. “Well, it may make a good story someday, but I can also send it to Eloise, and she can tell your family that you’re doing just fine in Peppermint Falls.”
He studied her and she hid her hands in her pockets so he couldn’t see her trembling fingers. Penelope retrieved her phone from her pocket, holding it sideways hoping Colin would offer some kind of pose.
Instead, he held out his arms to her. “Why not take a picture together?”
Penelope wasn’t sure she heard him properly over the loud thumping of her heartbeat. She had to have misheard because there wasn’t any way Colin Bridgerton offered to take a picture with her.
“Penelope? My car is waiting.”
“Right, sorry.” She squeaked, scurrying to Colin’s side. She willed her body to relax, not to give away her nerves as his shoulder brushed along her back.
She lifted her phone in the air, as far as her arms could reach, a high-pitched sound crossing her lips when she realized the camera was facing the wrong way. Every time she tried to switch the view, she ended up either recording a video or turning her phone off altogether.
“At this rate, it will be Christmas day.” Colin laughed and retrieved his phone from his pocket.
Penelope’s entire face turned red as he wrapped his free arm completely around her shoulders, snuggling her close to his chest. She wrapped both her hands around his forearm and looked up at his phone, barely able to manage a smile when she saw him drop his chin to the top of her hat with a cheesy grin.
As soon as he snapped the picture, Colin released Penelope and slipped his phone back inside his coat. “I really have to go now.”
He waved and then broke into a run as he exited the airport into the winter storm. Penelope’s body still tingled from their contact, and she struggled to find her breath, his scent all-consuming around her.
And yet, there was uneasiness in her bones watching Colin walk away from her twice in one day. Should she have asked him to stay? Shared her concern with him about him getting out in the weather? Begged for a picture on her own phone?
Instead, she watched him go, yet again. He’d make his flight to Miami, help that company plan their conference, and she’d find her way to her mother’s home, finish her column and they’d go back to acquaintances, exchanging pleasantries once a year if she was lucky.
She hugged herself as she returned to the lounge to discover one of the other passengers stole her seat to use the power outlet. Penelope apologized for the intrusion and retrieved her bag; thankful her laptop and the rest of her luggage hadn’t been stolen. How foolish that she ran off, leaving her belongings because a Colin Bridgerton interaction lingered.
Penelope wasn’t sure how much worse she could feel about herself.
“Attention passengers. The snow and ice will continue throughout the evening, and the frigid temperatures make any flights unsafe at this time. All flights in and out of Peppermint Falls have been delayed until tomorrow when the weather will be reassessed.”
The crowd erupted in groans and shouts. The poor employee in charge of making the announcement hung up the phone, face pale and wringing her hands together, anticipating the onslaught of abuse from frustrated passengers. Penelope couldn’t even focus on the hollering crowd, the sound of the ice pelting against the window drowning them out. One of the technicians slipped and crashed to the ground trying to clear the snow from the wheels of the plane and tarmac.
Penelope finally accepted a cup of coffee from Pepper, mind control be damned, and she was accompanied by friends dressed in similar attire, although one’s striped socks were blue and white, the other green and red. They introduced themselves to Penelope as Ginger and Meg and they passed around pillows and blankets to the stranded passengers.
Unsure where she should reside for the remainder of the evening, Penelope glanced at the crowd looking for something familiar.
Looking for someone familiar.
Her eyes spotted the Mondrich family, the youngest two children with tears rolling down their cheeks, Daisy wailing into the pillow she took from Ginger.
“I…want…to…go…home,” she sniveled, “I…want…my…bed.”
Nicholas Mondrich sat behind his brother and sister, legs outstretched over the row of seats, scrolling on his phone, oblivious to the distress of his siblings. Alice tried to pass out small snacks to appease her children, but even though she smiled, her hands trembled.
Penelope slung her belongings over her shoulder and made her way towards a small corner next to the family. The children paid no heed to her as she spread out her blankets in the corner and propped the pillows against the walls, but their mother gave her a curious glance.
“Do you want me to find another spot?”
She glanced towards her children then back to Penelope, “if you can endure the chaos, be my guest.”
That earned a giggle from Penelope, “I have five nieces and nephews and like ten cousins all under one roof for Christmas. This is peaceful compared to that.”
Alice introduced herself and her children, Nicholas only briefing glancing up from his phone to grunt an acknowledgement, the younger children still whimpering. “My husband went to see if the food court was still open to fill bellies with something other than a bag of Chex Mix.
Penelope waved off her apology. On the inside, she felt like young Daisy, wishing she could throw a tantrum due to her rotten luck. Her insides wanted to scream for being stranded at this blasted airport so close to Christmas.
Shriek that her deadline fast approached and she couldn’t focus to write a damn sentence.
Shout that her own family hadn’t tried to call her to check on her well-being.
Instead of any of that, Penelope plastered a smile on her face and reassured everyone else. She lifted her computer from her bag in a terrible attempt to convince herself she would finish her column.
Fate mocked her instead, as soon as she found the paragraph she left off on the page, a text message notification popped on the screen.
The sender…Colin Bridgerton.
Penelope jammed her keyboard with enough force, one of the buttons threatened to pop off. Her eyes widened, cheeks turned red as their picture took up the entire screen.
It looked like a photograph of a couple, the way their bodies touching each other in multiple points, the coziness of their smiles. She was miniature smothered in his massive frame, and she swore there was a possessiveness behind his smile.
Another text message was delivered and Penelope realized it was group message between Colin, Eloise, and her. “#Polin spending Christmas at the airport.”
Penelope wondered if everyone at the airport heard her heart beating out of her chest and noticed the brightness of her cheeks as she reread that text. Colin combined their names into an adorable nickname and messaged it to his sister that they were together. She tried to respond and deleted it three times, embarrassed that the other two watched her reply attempts.
“Shut up and don’t be so dramatic.” Eloise responded first. “You’ll be home before Chtristmas!”
“Cute pic, though.”
And she thought her face couldn’t turn redder, but Eloise thought the picture of them was cute. The two of them looked cute together.
“That’s all Penelope.” Colin quicky responded to his sister. “And tell that to my frostbitten fingers.”
Did Colin think Penelope was cute?
Her stomach now somersaulted, despite the voyeurism of passively observing siblings in conversation. Her thumbs nervously strummed the keyboard and hovered over the send button far too long before she worked up the courage. “Well, you can nurse your hypothermia in that comfy hotel bed.”
Penelope worried about the harshness of her joke. She was the one who asked for the picture. She should be grateful he agreed to it. Should she type out a message to clarify that she felt bad Colin missed his flight? And that it made perfect sense for him to find a hotel room so he could do his job.
Colin responded with multiple crying emojis. “Penelope, I even swore you to secrecy!”
“Then I experienced these awful airport pillows.”
More crying emojis brought genuine grins to Penelope’s face. Even though she overthought every text message she sent, she found it easier to talk to Colin this way, the sight of his face, his scent, his warmth didn’t distract her, and she could form coherent thoughts.
They were just texting, two friends having a conversation. They definitely weren’t flirting.
“Mother is going to have words with you for not looking out for Penelope.” Eloise messaged with cussing emojis, snapping Penelope back to reality.
She forgot Eloise was part of the conversation. A high-pitched squeak fell out of her mouth like she got caught doing something nefarious. Penelope drafted a long message, apologizing to Violet profusely for making her think ill of Colin. He hadn’t done anything wrong and she was just fine on her own.
Colin sent his message before Penelope. “Pen is more than capable of looking out for herself, but the picture was meant to ease all concerns.”
It was nearly the same message Penelope prepared to send, but something akin to disappointment settled inside her as she read it. She was a grown woman, of course she could take care of herself, but would it be such a horrible thing for to her want someone to take care of her. And was it wrong for Colin to want to take care of Penelope.
“Are you sad about Santa too?”
Penelope gasped, slamming her laptop shut, coming face to face with Daisy Mondrich, eyes still rimmed red with tears.
“No, I’m not sad.”
Daisy closed the distance between them, if that was even possible, staring intently into Penelope’s eyes. “Your face is red and eyes look sad like mine.”
“Lots of different emotions can make someone’s face turn red.” Penelope explained, although she wondered why she was trying to explain this to a child, and she wasn’t about to explain why her face had turned red.
“Well, I’m sad about Santa.” Daisy continued. “My brother told me he can deliver presents anywhere, but he doesn’t know that I, Daisy Mondrich, am stuck at the airport. He’s going to forget me, and I won’t get anything for Christmas.”
Her eyes started watering again and Penelope searched for Daisy’s parents, but they disappeared and if Nicholas was in charge of babysitting his sister, he was failing miserably, because his baby sister was talking to a stranger.
Still, Penelope wasn’t heartless. She knew how special and magical Christmas was for children, something that only happened once a year, and it had to be incredibly disappointing that the day wouldn’t meet your expectations.
“It’s not Christmas yet.” Penelope reasoned. “I’ve never heard of Santa Claus ever forgetting a child, and I’m nearly 30 years old.
Penelope’s computer dinged, she was missing more messages from Colin and Eloise, but she didn’t dare try to read and respond while Daisy still lingered. “Plus, not many people can say they spent Christmas in an airport. It will be something you and your family will remember forever. And no memories are better than Christmas memories.”
Daisy’s eyes widened, sparkled, alight with magic and wonder and pride filled Penelope’s chest for cheering her up. She crawled away from Penelope, scurrying back to her luggage and Penelope thought she was free. She hoped Colin (and Eloise of course) were still awake and in the mood for conversation.
The sound of the Christmas beads in Daisy’s braids jingled as she inched her way back towards Penelope, small backpack clutched in her hands. She earned the attention of her brothers, now watching warily.
Once she returned to Penelope’s side, Daisy crossed her legs with no regard to personal space and pulled a book from her bag. She grinned handing the book to Penelope and even Penelope chuckled as her fingers traced the letters on the cover in large, crimson red.
Charlotte’s Christmas Memory.
Underneath the title, an image of an older woman comprised the cover. The elderly woman held a photograph of a small child, likely herself, sitting in front of a Christmas tree proudly holding up a model airplane.
“We had to read this book for school and Charlotte remembered her favorite Christmas was one as a kid when she built her very own airplane. She found all the materials on her own and everything!” Daisy exclaimed, arms flinging wide. “And now I’m at an airport for Christmas.”
Penelope returned the book to Daisy, feeling the giddiness that only the Christmas spirit could fill in a person. “Now see, that’s some Christmas magic you have Daisy. I don’t think you have to worry about Santa.”
Maybe some of Daisy’s Christmas magic rubbed off on Penelope, which explained her uncommon but lucky interactions with Colin.
“What’s your favorite Christmas memory?” Daisy questioned excitedly.
The question did slightly catch her off guard, and she genuinely pretended to think about her response, but Penelope knew exactly when she thought of joyful Christmas moments, what her mind recalled.
She folded her knees underneath her chin, leaning forward with enthusiasm, like a bard spinning her tale. “It’s not a memory exactly. It’s an experience. It’s tradition.”
“What is it?” Daisy’s leg bounced in anticipation.
“The Bridgerton Christmas.”
“Bridgerton Christmas? Is it a movie? If it’s on Netflix, my dad has a subscription, we can watch it.”
“A movie?” Penelope scoffed. “No one dares watch television or be on their phones during Bridgerton Christmas.”
“Woah.”
Daisy’s brother, John wearing reindeer pajamas and slippers, scooted closer to where Penelope sat next to his sister. Even Nicholas had slipped his phone into his pocket, entertained by the story, and that was all the motivation Penelope needed to recite her story of Bridgerton Christmas like she was Clement C. Moore.
“Imagine a table filled with every kind of Christmas sweet and goodie only your imagination could dream and it was never empty.”
“Even pudding?” John whispered. “Hopefully without raisins like my grandma makes.”
“Bowls of pudding.” Penelope grinned when the jaws of John and Daisy dropped.
The best part was Penelope didn’t even exaggerate. If an individual looked up the definition of Mrs. Claus’ kitchen in the dictionary, a picture of Violet Bridgerton would be there. The entire house filled with scents of pies, cookies, and fudge, a mess of sprinkles and icing in every room. From scratch, she made the world’s softest gingerbread cookies and decorated each one like one of her children (and Penelope too).
She technically had to make two trays of cookies because the first tray always went missing, and everyone in the family pretended to ignore the crumbs in the corner of Colin’s mouth. He would wink at Penelope and swear her to secrecy.
Kate Bridgerton marrying into the family only added to the Bridgerton Christmas delicacies, with her highly requested pistachio burfi, served alongside the fudge, and kheer, a creamy rice pudding. Benedict Bridgerton’s girlfriend, Sophie (who Penelope heard from Eloise would be fiancé by the end of the year) was attending her second Bridgerton Christmas, where on her first she won over all of the siblings when she made her mother’s old recipe of Hotteok, the doughiest, warmest pancakes with the most perfect, melt-in-your-mouth cinnamon filling.
Penelope had no baking prowess, alongside Eloise, but they filled their bellies every year.
“No Bridgerton Christmas is complete without games.” Penelope continued. “And at Bridgerton Christmas, you play to win.”
They always started with charades, Christmas-themed, and highly competitive. The game could last hours, neither team accepted defeat until Violet was forced to declare a winner. One year, Benedict recited an entire chapter from A Christmas Carol but was awarded runner-up when Gregory and Hyacinth, Colin’s youngest siblings, reenacted all eight of Santa’s reindeer.
“What would you do if you had to create your Christmas tree but with random materials from around the house?”
Daisy and John looked at each other, pondering, debating between toilet paper with bars of soap for colorful appeal and their brother’s video game collection to stack as high as possible.
“Like I’d ever let you squeebs come in my room and touch my stuff.” Nicholas grumbled, although under his breath he muttered something about using the cords of his controllers like tinsel.
“You would for Bridgerton Christmas!” Daisy and John chirped at their brother.
Nothing surprised Penelope with what types of Christmas trees might be constructed. One year Eloise and she combined both of their collections of books to form a massive tree in the study, and they convinced Colin to stand in as the base. They wrapped lights around him and stacked so many books around him that only his eyes were visible.
His impossibly dazzling blue eyes.
Benedict spent weeks painting an oil canvas of an incredibly detailed Christmas tree, with different colored lights and ornaments of varying shapes and sizes. Violet cried when he presented it and hung it above the mantle every year. Penelope swore when the firelight caught it just right, the lights actually twinkled.
“The years when Bridgerton Christmas is a white Christmas,” Penelope continued gesturing to the blizzard outside, “individual and team sled races battle like a bracket style tournament and we only come indoors when soaked to the bone and shivering.”
And even then, that didn’t always convince Anthony, determined to win every race, every round, especially considering his wife, Kate, was just as competitive.
Warm blankets and a pot of hot chocolate, courtesy of Violet, awaited them. “Everyone is always singing at Bridgerton Christmas. If you have a favorite Christmas carol, guaranteed it will be hummed and sang at length.”
“I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas!” Daisy and John shouted in unison.
Penelope laughed, guessing that if anyone had sheet music for that particular tune, Francesca Bridgerton did. The family passed down beautiful sheets of classic Christmas songs for the piano that Francesca treasured when she received it as a gift. She always started with her favorite, Jingle Bells, but opened for requests, which started from classic to silly, when Benedict and Eloise would start singing Grandma Got Runover by a Reindeer, while Gregory and Hyacinth shouted “FIVE GOLDEN RINGS” repeatedly.
Everything about Bridgerton Christmas was filled with joy and love, the presents sometimes lay forgotten, not unwrapped until a few days later.
And Penelope was always included, never thought of as a non-Bridgerton, even though she arrived late after her own family’s Christmas. They welcomed her gladly, had gifts waiting for her, just like she prepared gifts for them.
Bridgerton Christmas was her Christmas.
“I want Bridgerton Christmas.” Daisy kicked her feet in the air, reclining back against her pillows, John furiously nodding his head in agreement.
“I would eat fudge until I puke.”
“I haven’t even told you the most magical moment of all.” Penelope winked at the children, igniting their attention immediately.
“While all those things are happening, the food, the games, the music,” she dropped her voice to a whisper, “a deck of cards belonging to an angel named Edmund, mysteriously appears throughout the house. Whoever finds it must pull a card.”
“Who’s Edmund the angel? What happens when you pull a card? Do the cards only appear at Christmas?”
The kids both asked questions rapidly, approaching so closely they nearly knocked Penelope over. Nicholas moved from his seat, yanking his siblings back by their shirts, a tussle and tangle of limbs, but when they all settled in their seats, Nicholas remained on the floor, patiently waiting for Penelope to continue.
“Whatever number gets pulled, you have to name that number of whatever the theme is for that year.”
Christmas songs, movies, toys, decorations, anything went for the theme. If you were lucky, you pulled number two and responses were simple, but one year Colin pulled two number tens throughout the day, and coming up with 20 Christmas desserts nearly sent him to the hospital.
“A simple game, the rules are easy enough to follow, but the only other rule you need to know is that one of the cards is special. The king of hearts.”
The card game at Bridgerton Christmas was perfectly adequate, but whenever someone in the household stumbled upon the deck, the voices hushed and energy buzzed in the air, because even though the chance was small, everyone waited to see if the king of hearts would be selected. One year, Eloise persuaded Penelope to join her protest with Kate to abandon the sexist tradition and change the magic card to the queen of hearts.
Violet simply explained the cards belonged to Edmund and it’s his magic infused into the king of hearts, so one could not change the rules, or the cards and the protest ended as soon as it began.
“What happens when you pull the king of hearts?”
“Pardon?”
Penelope realized the three children had been speaking to her while she was lost in her thoughts. “What happens when you pull the king of hearts?”
Merry Christmas, Penelope.
She gulped a lump in her throat, gripped the edges of her computer to prevent her fingers from trembling as she blinked away a buried memory. “W…we…well, the king of hearts…”
“Are you three bothering Penelope?”
Nicholas and his siblings turned around to find their parents returned with some small bags of food, nothing that could constitute a holiday feast, but at least no one would starve.
“No,” she defended as the young children scrambled back to their own seats, “we were just sharing Christmas memories.”
“Like your book, Daisy?” Will Mondrich asked passing out juices to his kids.
“Yes! It was amazing! Have you ever had a Bridgerton Christmas, dad?"
“Bridgerton Christmas? What on Earth is that?
Daisy and John regaled their parents with the story Penelope just shared, adding their own bits of flair and Penelope realized she had just created a folk tale. She wondered what Eloise and her family might think of their traditions being shared like this, but it’s not as though they would ever meet the Mondrich family or find out what was discussed the Christmas a group of strangers were stranded at the Peppermint Falls airport.
Day turned to night and the snow and ice showed no signs of stopping. Penelope huddled herself into her pillows and blankets she hoarded, grasping every bit of comfort and warmth she could find. Using her laptop to charge her phone, she read back through the messages she shared with Eloise and Colin, including the ones she missed where Eloise chastised her brother for missing Bridgerton Christmas.
She saved the picture Colin shared of the two of them, and traced the details with her fingers, heating her blood, warming her body, and she held the picture against her chest, huddled in her cocoon, dreaming of her flight back home and Bridgerton Christmas.