Yeah. I’m already in too deep.
20
DREW
We are a half hour from our Santa’s Village event, kids are starting to mill around our lobby, waiting for entrance into the back room we’ve set up to look like his workshop.
The gingerbread scent seeps through the doors from the refreshment table, the fake snow machine is humming in its warm up, and twinkling lights flicker against the shiny wrapping paper on the workshop table.
All the work Greyson and I put in to make the set up look perfect…and Santa has food poisoning.
One of the little boys grabs my pants leg. “Miss Drew, is Santa really coming?”
My heart seizes, I can’t tell this little boy,“No.”I have to find someone to take over and don the Santa costume. I’d do it if I could.
“Of course he is,” I say automatically, even as my phone buzzes with anothernofrom the list of desperate backup calls. My heart twists. These kids have been looking forward to this all month.“Just a little bit longer. It takes a lot of magic for him to get here from the North Pole, so we have to wish really hard.”
He squeals and claps his hands before closing his eyes and scrunching up his face in a wish.
I paste on a smile, and a little girl from my snowball team grabs my attention next. “Can we tell him what we want again even if we already mailed our letters?”
“It never hurts to remind Santa what you want. Don’t forget to tell him why.”
“Okay!” She runs back to her mom, hopping in place so that her fluffy dress floats and falls.
The kids are going to be so disappointed. I’m running around, trying to find a replacement, but no one is free.
Adam finds me near tears in my office, trying to find a way to salvage this.
We can still give out the presents. Have the food set up. Take pictures.
Even without a Santa.
But it’s not going to be the same.
“Hey. What’s going on? You look like you’re about to have a breakdown.” Adam cups my face, smoothing his thumbs across my cheeks.
“No, I’m full swing into a breakdown. We don’t have a Santa. He’s sick.”
Adam’s green eyes soften. “That’s easy enough to fix, princess. Go get me the suit.”
Wait. What? “Are you serious?”
“Yes. I can’t let those kids be disappointed. Go on. Grab it.”
Excitement and relief floods me, and I bounce up on my toes to plant a kiss on him.
He doesn’t waste the opportunity, his arm cinching around my waist to deepen the kiss. I’m breathless when he lets go of me.
“Hurry up.” Adam spins me and gives me a light tap on the ass.
I slip out of my office and gather the costume from the back where I have an extra costume stowed and jog back to Adam, who’s already stripping off his suit to change.
The sight of his bare chest has me sucking in a sharp breath.
Adam’s grin heats up my middle, and my face flushes with the renewed rush of attraction.
I hand over the suit and back away quickly. Otherwise, I’m going to distract both of us from the task at hand. And his laugh wakes something up inside me.
