She started home, but when she turned back to drop some change into Santa’s collection bucket, he was gone. “Weird,” she mumbled.
CHAPTER4
Jacob took refuge in the office where he could count ballots, nurse his wounded manly pride, and clean the frosting off his cheek.
A half-empty box of tissues sat on the old brown filing cabinet. He snatched it up and began wiping at his face. There was enough sugar in this stuff to exfoliate the top layer of skin.
He deserved it for behaving the way he had.
When he’d walked into the room and saw Lauren standing there, it was like time had disappeared and his best friend was back. Sounds were clearer. Colors brighter. The smell of sugar was a heady perfume. Life was suddenly interesting again. Though he hadn’t realized how incredibly uninteresting it was without her until this moment.
He’d walked up to her without thinking about anything except the happiness spilling all over him. They’d always had a teasing relationship, so joking with her was natural and easy.
Except she wasn’t the same girl he had looked for in the lunchroom. Oh no. She was all woman now. Curves. Soft hair. Full lips–those were the same. Pink. Always bubblegum pink.
As soon as he took notice of the changes, the air crackled between them, and a whole new side of him woke up to Lauren Hall.
They’d always had an under-the-surface attraction–one they ignored to keep their friendship intact. He’d forced his feelings for her away so often that when she tried to kiss him on graduation, he’d backed away.
He was such an idiot.
This wasn’t the first time he traveled down the road of disappointment and anger at his younger self for reacting the way he had that day. From his perspective, Lauren had gone from zero romantic feelings to a thousand in seconds. There were no preliminary conversations, no building up to her declaration of love.
Later that night, he’d wondered if it was a desperate attempt of hers to hold onto the past. Like she was afraid of growing up and graduating and all the things that came with adulthood, and she was trying to grab onto him so she wouldn’t lose all of that.
That was the first time in his life that he’d knocked on her window, and she didn’t answer.
As the summer days crept on and she wouldn’t speak to him–his mistake became obvious.
And how did he try to fix it? What smooth line did he use out of the hundreds he’d come up with over the years?
“Kiss me and tell me you want me to go away?” He scoffed at himself. Smart. So smart.
Jacob touched his cheek. Frosting crystals scraped his fingers, and he groaned. He’d have to wash his face before he could go in public.
“Excuse me?”
Jacob looked up from the voting papers he was supposed to organize and count to find a guy wearing a red sweater with a fancy letter K knitted inside a fancier crest. Wow. His mom would love to meet the person who could knit that up. He had a messenger bag slung over one shoulder and didn’t wear a coat, gloves, or a hat. The only reason Jacob noticed he didn’t wear any winter clothes was that it was thirty-five degrees outside.
“Can I help you?” asked Jacob as he got to his feet and reached over the table.
The guy hurried to clasp his hand. The moment he did, a warm feeling enveloped Jacob, and he could smell frankincense and pine.
“I’m here to help you, actually,” the stranger replied with a twinkle in his blue eye. “The name’s Nick Kringle.”
Jacob chuckled. That was a Christmas name if ever he’d heard one. “Well, Nick, I could certainly use some help.” He waved a hand over the papers spread across the table. “Each person has three votes–.”
“Oh, I’m not here for that.” Nick looked into Jacob’s eyes, and Jacob felt as though he’d been caught in a tractor beam. “I’m here about your Christmas wish.”
“My…?” Jacob stared as a swirl of frost blew across the dark blue background of Nick’s eyes. It was like they were two televisions playing the image.
“I wanted you to know that your second chance with Lauren Hall is on the way.”
Jacob stared at Nick, his mouth hanging open. His second chance wish? Wait–with Lauren? His heart picked up speed. A real chance to win her heart would be the best Christmas gift he could ever receive. If he didn’t get that much, he’d gladly take an opportunity to close the door–to find out why she’d turned her back on him. He’d tried to play it off, but she’d broken his heart.
How would Nick know about his wish? His eyes dropped to the table as he raced to put together the pieces. Santa. He’d told the street Santa.
“Were you–,” he started to ask as he lifted his head but cut off speaking because Nick wasn’t there. He ran around the table and out of the lobby, looking for any sign of the guy.
