Ranger stepped into the light and rolled his eyes dramatically. “Have her play Mrs. Claus. It will give her the opportunity to personally greet all of the guests, and she will be within arm’s reach of you all night.”
I looked at him incredulously. “Don’t look at me like that. I have all the answers, but you hard-headed people never ask me.”
“He has a good point, and we do have a suit,” Ian hedged.
“Fine,” I agreed. I didn’t want to play Santa by any means, but I was willing to do anything to make Jacquelyn happy. So, I sucked it up and carried the suit to Jacquelyn’s limo to get changed.
“Not one word from any of you,” I grumbled as I returned to the group huddled behind Santa’s townhome.
“Where’s your beard?” Ranger asked.
“Mrs. Claus made me shave,” I snapped.
Ranger threw his head back and laughed. “That’s a good one.”
“Am I supposed to just go in and sit down or was there going to be an announcement?” I asked.
“There was going to be an announcement, but we’ll get Jacquelyn over here and turn the lights on and open the door when the two of you are ready. I’m sure it won’t take long for the kids to notice Santa,” Seth suggested.
“I’ll get her,” Ranger said and already had his phone pressed to his ear.
“We have a camera set up just inside the door. Here’s the remote to it. Before each child leaves, snap a few pictures. We’ll have Mrs. Claus give the parents a card with the website and login information to download the pictures at their convenience,” Seth explained.
“What’s going on? Where’s Ronan?” Jacquelyn asked from behind me.
I grimaced and slowly turned around to face her. “Santa called in sick…so, it looks like you and me are Santa and Mrs. Claus for the evening.”
Her eyes widened as she looked me over from head to toe. “Well, you certainly look the part, but I can’t possibly be Mrs. Claus. This is our grand opening and I—”
“—will be able to personally greet each family that comes to see Santa. I can still do my job while playing Santa because you’ll be right by my side.”
She looked down at herself and tugged at the hem of her sweater. “Well, it seems as though you have this all figured out, and I suppose I am dressed for the part.”
“Don’t worry, Mom. I’ll make sure everything continues to run smoothly,” Jacob assured her.
I opened the door to the back of Santa’s home and gestured with my hand, “After you, Mrs. Claus.”
Jacquelyn winked and stepped inside the small room. I followed behind her and blindly felt around for the light switch. “I can’t find the light switch. Is it on your side?” she asked as she proceeded to turn around and run right into me.
My hands landed on her waist to steady her. “I was just about to ask you the same thing, but I’m suddenly liking the dark,” I said softly and leaned down to kiss her.
“You do make one handsome Santa Claus,” she murmured. Her arms circled my neck and she pressed herself against me as she returned my kiss with just as much fervor.
Click.
Click.
Click. Click. Click.
Breaking the kiss, Jacquelyn whispered, “What was that?”
“The remote for the camera,” I grumbled.
She giggled. “I guess the first ticket is for me.”
She was still in my arms and we were both laughing when the light suddenly came on. Jacob stuck his head in the back door, “Sorry about that. One of the breakers was off,” he said, his voice trailing off at the end when he noticed our close proximity.
Jacquelyn tensed in preparation for her son’s reaction. And he made her wait a few long moments before he finally smiled and said, “It’s about damn time.”
