Small Town Christmas

softened his hold. “Sandy,” he murmured softly while brushing a stray strand of hair from her cheek.

“You can’t charm me.” She shook her head from side to side. “You can’t.” She fisted her hands in his shirt and glared up at him, her eyes huge and wide. “I don’t have time to be charmed, Logan!”

“I know.” He ran his hands up and down her arms. “I know.”

“I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing, but having Kali not get me a Santa… There are kids out there. Kids, Logan, and they came to see Santa. So no matter what the hell you think you’re doing here playing with me, I can’t have it, not now. You’re not what I need right now.”

“I’m exactly what you need.”

She stared up at him, then dropped her head to his chest with a little moan. Because he couldn’t help himself, he stroked a hand down her slim back and brushed his cheek along her hair, loving the scent of her, the feel of her against him. “I’ll prove it,” he said.

“What?” She lifted her head and leveled him with her pretty eyes.

He slid his fingers into her hair and stroked her cheekbone with his thumb. God, he’d missed the feel of her skin. The way she looked at him. How she challenged him at every turn, treating him like…

A regular guy. “I’ll prove it,” he said again. “That I’m exactly what you need.” He gestured to the Santa suit lying lifeless in her spare chair.

She stared at it, then at him. “You? But you’re a national celebrity, and you’re… gorgeous, and you have a lot of really good qualities, but sweet isn’t one of them, and-”

He yanked his shirt over his head and tossed it to her desk.

She abruptly stopped talking and stared at him.

Nice to know that he had that power. He kicked off his shoes, unbuckled his belt and slid it out, tossing it down on his shirt.

Sandy’s mouth was open, as if maybe she needed it that way to breathe. “Um…”

He unbuttoned and unzipped his pants and shoved them down, kicking them off. She took in his only item of clothing left-black knit boxers-and drew in a shaky breath. She seemed to like what she saw. Ditto. Maybe he did have a few good qualities as she’d pointed out, but if that was true, she was his best quality.

The very best.

And he couldn’t lose her.

“Logan?” she whispered, her eyes glued to his body in a way that was working for him. So was her new breathlessness.

“Toss me the Santa suit, babe.”

She didn’t move.

“Sandy?”

She nibbled on her lower lip, worrying it between her teeth, making it all plump, her eyes locked on his abs- which wasn’t even his best part. “Hmm?”

“The Santa suit.”

She blinked, then jerked her eyes to his. “You’re actually going to wear the Santa suit. For me.”

She sounded bowled over at this, so utterly shocked that he felt a tightening in his chest. Hadn’t anyone ever offered to do something nice for her? “Yeah. I’m going to wear the Santa suit.”

“It’s going to be cold on the pier. Don’t you think you should leave your clothes on?”

Yeah, he probably should have. “I was trying to make a statement.”

She shook her head, still looking bowled over. Because she wasn’t moving, he walked by her and grabbed the suit, pulling it on.

It was thick and itchy. And Christ, what was up with the fat belly? “Santa needs a gym,” he said, looking down at himself. “And a whole hell lot less carbs and fat in his diet.”

Sandy snorted, then covered her mouth, still staring at him.

“Are you laughing at me?”

Hand still clamped over her mouth, she shook her head. Then she nodded. Yes. Yes, she was laughing at him. Her eyes were sparkling. She was smiling. She was beautiful. Leaning in, he kissed her on the end of her adorable nose. “You can trust me to have your back.”

She hesitated, then nodded, but he could tell she didn’t believe him, not wholly. That was okay. He was well used to proving himself, over and over again. It was one thing he could do and do well.

Or so he hoped. Because this wasn’t a race, and it wasn’t a game. Getting Sandy to believe in him, in them, was going to be the most important thing he’d ever done.

Sandy stood at the end of the parade, watching as the crowd celebrated and the kids rushed Santa.

Logan.

He was in the hat, glasses, wig, and beard, and he’d even let her redden his nose. The costume was too short for him, but they’d stuffed the hem of the red pants into the black boots to be less noticeable. The belly was over- the-top-hell, the whole thing was over-the-top-but Logan was completely immersed into the role.

It shocked her.

He shocked her. She had the world-famous NASCAR driver wearing a Santa costume for a small town he’d never even heard of until five months ago.

He isn’t for me. She’d finally convinced herself that he was too into his career and the glitz and glam world that went with it, that he’d never be interested in making anything work with a small-town girl like herself.

But then he’d shown up.

For how long?

He glanced up and looked at her with that soft, tender, heated expression, the one that told her that she was the only woman on his mind.

Her.

When he could have had anyone. He sat on the throne at the end of the pier that had been set up for Santa, complete with a faux winter wonderland and lights and all the decorations the evening called for. As Sandy mingled and made sure the line stayed in control and that everyone was enjoying themselves, she kept one eye on Logan. Kid after kid jumped into his lap and whispered their greatest wishes for Christmas morning.

He had a smile for each of them, and she had to admit, she couldn’t tear her eyes off of him. He was doing this, coming through for her like no one else ever had, and he was doing it with good grace and utter sweetness.

Realizing that the line had died down, she slowly walked toward him. The only part recognizable was his eyes. Eyes that tracked her approach.

He let out a slow smile. “Got a wish, little girl?”

Yes, for you to stay. “I’m a little old for wishes.”

His smile went from playful to serious. “You’re never too old for wishes.”

Chapter 5

Logan watched Sandy absorb his words and realized that she wanted to have faith in him; she wanted that badly.

But she wasn’t sure she could.

His own fault. He’d had things pretty fucking easy most of his life, and he knew it. He was spoiled, and he knew that, too. But now was the time to change, time to learn from his mistakes.

Time to work his ass off for what he wanted, for what really mattered.

And that was Sandy. She mattered. She was his.

She just didn’t know it yet.

She hadn’t had anything easy, ever. She gave so freely of herself to others, and she cared. Deeply. She wasn’t used to people noticing, but he noticed. He wanted to kiss away her worries and keep them away forever.

The crowd was gone. He gave her a “come here” crook of his finger, and she surprised him by sitting on his lap.