The little girl met her and gasped, “My wish!” as she pointed up.
Charlotte nodded. “Mine too.” She reached up and tried to grab one of them, but they moved too fast, and getting her arm in there was so awkward that she didn’t have a good angle. Suddenly, her wish flew out. Charlotte lunged, throwing herself on top of it and holding on with all her might. She curled her body around the ball. It throbbed as if panting for air. “Calm down!” she insisted.
“I got it!” the girl shouted.
Charlotte turned, still hunched over her wish to see the girl doing the same. Her brown eyes were alight with the joy of the moment. Charlotte glanced around them at the mayhem their wishes caused and started laughing at the absurdity.
The girl giggled, too, and her whole face lit up.
Drained of strength because she was laughing with everything inside of her, Charlotte moved to sit crisscrossed on the floor, holding her wish in her lap.
The girl mirrored her, their knees almost touching. Their eyes met, and something inside of Charlotte recognized a kindred spirit.
“Has your wish ever done that before?” Charlotte asked.
The girl shook her head. “But this is the first time it’s been in a grocery store.”
“I’ve had mine for almost a year, and it’s never done that before.” She glanced down at the ball. “Care to explain yourself?”
“Lizzie!”
The girl whipped her head around and called back, “Daddy!”
Charlotte lifted her gaze, expecting to find another lifelong believer in Santa headed toward them. Instead, she met with the green-eyed–though incredibly handsome–grinch. Curling over her wish, she hugged it for comfort even as she studied his well-formed shoulders and tapered waist. He shouldn’t be good-looking because he was surly, but he had classic features, including a straight nose and chiseled jaw with scruff. The kind that made her insides melt because it gave him a slightly dangerous vibe. For all her good-girl deeds, she was a sucker for a bad boy—especially one with wavy hair.
Was it hot in here?
Her wish let out a gusty sigh. “Shh!” she admonished it.
The man lifted Lizzie to her feet and brushed her off. “Are you okay?” He checked her over.
She nodded.
“You didn’t get hit with an orange or anything, did you?” He lifted her arm and checked under, tickling her.
Lizzie giggled. “No, Daddy. Look! She has a wish too.”
He looked at Charlotte for the first time. She sucked in a breath, caught within his searching gaze. His brown eyes had a depth that begged her to fall into his gaze and loiter for the rest of her life. Her stomach fluttered, and her lungs begged for air.
“I’m sorry, Miss. Let me help you up.” He put his hand on her elbow and steadied her as she got to her feet, not letting her wish out of her grasp. She didn’t trust the thing not to freak out again.
“Thanks,” she managed to get past the throbbing of her heartbeat. His eyes dropped to her throat, where she was certain he could read her rapid pulse as easily as a billboard.
He glanced away. “Um,” he cupped the back of his neck. “I don’t know what she’s talking about with this wish thing.” He glanced at her arms.
She looked down. “You can’t see it?” she asked.
“See what?” he replied.
Charlotte looked at Lizzie for an explanation. She shook her head slightly. “He can’t see mine either.”
“Huh.” Wasn’t that an interesting turn of events? She was certain he would have been able to see her wish if he had a daughter who had one, too. She must look like a fool with her arms wrapped around a bunch of air. It wasn’t like she could let go–not with the other wish so close and their pull to one another. It pressed against her restriction even now. “Has he always been … grinchy?” she asked, indicating the girl’s father with a jerk of her head.
Lizzie nodded.
“Hey!” He folded his arms. “I do Christmas activities.”
“But you don’t like them.” Lizzie leaned over and placed her wish on the ground. She kept one hand on top of it as she spoke. “Do you promise not to fight?” It winked in response.
