Chapter One
Christmaswasamagicaltime of the year.
Micah loved every minute of the holiday season from the gift shopping, to the decorating, to the festivities. He couldn’t keep the smile from his face as he danced around his bedroom to the carol blasting from the speaker on top of the chest of drawers. He didn’t need the words of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” to make sure he had a good time—he had Christmas down pat and a great holiday season was guaranteed. Well, maybe not guaranteed, because having someone to share it with would be the icing on the cake, but he was determined not to let his single status ruin his plans, especially now he’d moved back to his hometown for a fresh start.
He put away the last of the clean clothes he’d been folding as the dulcet tones of Sam Smith transitioned to the Biebs singing about mistletoe. He smiled with satisfaction at the immaculate state of the room; laundry all done, fresh sheets on the bed, and not a speck of dust in sight thanks to the hour of dusting and vacuuming he’d put in earlier that day. His mom would be so proud after the “tidy house leads to tidy minds” speech she’d given earlier in the week when she’d popped around unannounced and seen the state of his small apartment. He supposed she had a point, as he’d definitely been slow to unpack and settle in. But Christmas provided excellent motivation—after all, he couldn’t decorate a place that looked like a bomb had hit. Now the apartment was spic and span and all ready for him to tackle the box of decorations his mom had dropped off during her visit. He took one last look at the neat row of clothes before shutting the closet door. Yep, a reward was definitely in order.
Still smiling, he headed to the kitchen to look for a snack and soon had cheese, fruit, and crackers laid out on the counter. The doorbell interrupted his food preparation.Damn!He popped a grape into his mouth and headed for the door. His face fell when he opened it.
“Chad. If you’re here to give me another one of your lectures—”
“Relax,” Chad said, pushing past. “I’m not here about that.”
Micah shut the door and followed him. “I told you I’m going to look for a job after Christmas. I’ve got enough to tide me over until the new year and it’s not like a lot of companies are advertising during the holiday season.”
“I know—Whoa!” Chad stopped and Micah ran into the back of him. “What happened here?” he asked, looking around the living room.
Micah rolled his eyes. He stepped around him and headed back to the kitchen. “I do have some housekeeping skills, you know.”
“I’m just glad to see you settling in.” Chad perched himself on a stool at the counter and reached for a grape. “Anyway, I’m here to ask a favor.”
“What is it?” Micah started cutting the cheddar into cubes. “It better not be anything that involves covering for your sorry ass again.” The last time he’d done a favor for his school teacher brother, he’d ended up coaching the under 10’s baseball team for half the season and team sports were definitely not his forte.
Chad chuckled. “Not this time. It’s actually more of a favor for Carol.”
“Carol? As in Carol Mathers?” Micah stopped chopping and looked up. Carol was the mom of Chad’s best friend, Nicholas. Nicholas, whose very name still had the power to send a wave of excitement through him.
Chad snagged a cube of cheese. “You know how she owns the kids’ play center at the mall and they do the Santa’s workshop thing each year?”
“Sure.” The Christmas-themed workshop was the place every kid in town went to get their obligatory yearly photo with Santa and tell him the contents of their gift list.
“Well, the last couple of years, Carol’s nephew has been the organizer. You know, the one to take the payments, corral the kids, hand out the photos, that sort of thing. However, this year he’s pissed off to Hawaii without any warning and she’s at her wit’s end.”
“You want me to run Santa’s workshop?”
“Yeah. It’s perfect, right? You love Christmas, you’re not working at the moment, and Carol is desperate. Plus, you won’t be doing it by yourself. There’s the photographer, and Santa, of course.”
“Ugh. I’m a graphic artist, not a child care worker,” Micah said.
“But Carol.” Chad made puppy dog eyes.
Micah frowned. “What if I had plans?”
“But Christmas.” Chad fluttered his eyes again. “Just think of all those cute little kids and how disappointed they’d be if they couldn’t sit on Santa’s knee and tell him all about what they wanted for Christmas.”
“You’re pulling the ‘do-it-for-the-kids’ card on me again?”
Chad grinned. “Only if it’s working. Is it working?”
Micah looked to the ceiling. “Heaven help me.” He turned back to his brother. “When do they need me to be there?”
Nicholashurriedthroughthemall, darting around shoppers who seemed determined to get in his way.C’mon people, spacial awareness!Although it wasn’t really surprising it was so busy given Christmas was only a few weeks away.
He took the direct route to the play center, coming to a halt as soon as the sign came in to view. Immediately outside the entrance, in a large area of the foyer, stood the fenced in area that was Santa’s Wonderland. Huge, decorated Christmas trees stood on either side of a wide, ornate, golden throne. A red carpet led to the throne, the sides of the pathway lined with thigh-high statues of reindeer interspersed with dancing elves. It was a riot of color and twinkling fairy lights and totally over the top—very much like his mom.
“Darling, you’re here.”
Nicholas turned at the sound of his mom’s voice. “Jeez, you’d think you haven’t seen me for months,” he said as she embraced him. The sleeves of her kaftan flapped as she enveloped him in a colorful hug.
