I’d wait forever if I had to. Lyra was worth every second.
“Sure.” She set the bag down on the desk and pulled out the pants and jacket, gloves, belt, faux beard, and hat. I wore my black work boots and slid the outfit on over my jeans and T-shirt. Lyra wrapped the belt around my waist, helped with the beard and hat, and when we finished, she stepped back and looked me over.
“I think you need a belly,” Lyra said as she tapped her chin. She looked around the room and grabbed a pillow from one of the chairs. She undid the belt, slid the pillow underneath my jacket, and fastened the belt once more. When she took a step back this time, she nodded. “Perfect.”
Lyra led me to the bathroom, and I peeked in the mirror, impressed by what I saw. “I make a pretty good-looking Santa.” I grinned, and Lyra smiled big.
“Yes, you do. The handsomest one I’d ever seen.”
I pulled the beard down and kissed her, softly at first, the kiss growing more intense as it usually did between us. Our mouths molded together as if they were made for one another, our tongues swirling. She tasted so fucking good. My hands gripped her waist, and a growl escaped my throat.
Lyra broke the kiss, her lips swollen, both of us panting, chests heaving. “Santa’s being a little naughty.”
“I think a certain someone is on the naughty list, too.” My hands dug into her sexy curves, and I wanted to grab her ass, but I wouldn’t. Not here.
A knock sounded at the door before it opened, and we jumped apart, Lyra pretending to fiddle with my already fastened belt.
“Is Santa ready? The kids are,” Elaine asked as she looked back and forth between the two of us. A smirk stretched across her face, and I had a feeling Lyra told her something. Hopefully, it was all good.
“Yep, I think so.”
“Great. Nice to meet you, Santa. I’m Elaine. Lyra and I will keep the kids in check. You just gotta stand there and wave and offer each child a gift.” Elaine held up a basket of small gift bags. “Okay?”
“Got it,” I said.
“You’ll do great. The kids will love you, of course. They love Santa,” Lyra said as she threaded her arm through mine.
“I would hope so.” I laughed and took the basket from Elaine. “Let’s do this.”
PlayingSanta for the little kids was more fun than I expected. Their happy, smiling faces could turn any bad day into a good one, and their little thank-yous and excitement at telling me what they wanted for Christmas were unmatched.
“You did great! You’re a natural with little kids.” Lyra said as we drove to Mixer. “Even my coworkers were impressed.”
“I had so much fun. Thanks for asking me.”
“You’re welcome. I knew you would love it.” Lyra’s eyes sparkled in the darkness of my truck.
“You did? How?”
“Call it a hunch.”
I reached over and took her hand in mine, intertwining our fingers. “You’re amazing, you know that?”
“Nah. I’d say that’s you.”
“Nope. It’s definitely you.”
I parked outside the bar, and we walked inside hand in hand, the karaoke underway.
We joined the line to play, and we spent the evening drinking, singing, and laughing. I’d never had as much fun in my life as I did that night with Lyra. My cheeks hurt from laughing, and my sad days were a distant memory.
A part of me longed for my mom to still be alive so I could introduce her to Lyra. My mom would’ve loved her. And knowing that filled me with comfort.
As the night wound to a close, I didn’t want it to end. I never did. I stuck to my two-beer limit as I was driving us home, and since Lyra had a few drinks, I offered to take her to pick up her car tomorrow. Luckily, it was a Saturday, so we didn’t have to worry about work.
I pulled into her driveway and killed the lights, the engine still running for warmth.
But instead of climbing into my lap for our usual make-out session, Lyra asked me to come inside.
