Elf-ish — L.B. Dunbar

As the CEO of a major department store, I know firsthand that Christmas joy can be bought and sold just like anything else. That's right. When it comes to the most wonderful time of the year, I'm a grinch in a penthouse. But when a gorgeous, red-headed firefighter saves me from a heart attack with a kiss and a whispered plea, even I can't begrudge her a simple favor - be her date at her younger brother's holiday wedding.Turns out, there's nothing simple about it. Suddenly, I'm ice skating on frozen ponds, baking cookies with her family, kissing under mistletoes, and finding a little fa-la-la in the season. I don't even recognize myself.Because she's like the spirit of Christmas present, haunting my thoughts, sparking something in my cold heart, and making me crave things past-me would never have considered asking the big man in red for - a future.Once upon a time, a scrooge like me vowed to transform. The only thing he didn't get in the end was the girl. I'm determined that won't happen to me.It's either give up my selfish ways or lose the love of a truly elf-ish woman.