“And he’d be right,” Jack answered, laughing this time. “I will admit, you do make a good Santa.”
“Ho, ho, ho,” Nick answered, huffing and puffing and sticking out his belly, which was adequately padded with lots and lots of stuffing.
Jack kept on laughing, watching as Nick sat down and put on his tennis shoes before pulling the big black boots over his shoes.
Jack had had an amazingly satisfying week here in Crystal Rock. He and Nick had taken a tour of the Crystal Rock Wounded Warrior Home as well as Crystal Visions along with Jake Loughlin. Maybe after working out a schedule, he’d eventually volunteer to work with some of the disabled kids since Nick was planning on it.
He grinned, looking at Nick. “So what about contacting Emma Caffrey? I thought you were going to stop by there again?”
“I’ve walked by her salon a couple of times, and I’ve come to the conclusion that she must eat lunch at the same time we do.”
Standing in front of a mirror, Nick slipped on the big fluffy beard, strapping the Velcro behind his head, and then put on the wig and Santa hat.
“Maybe we’ll run into her this afternoon.”
“It’s probably better if we don’t,” Nick muttered, walking toward the door of the apartment he and Jack had been directed to earlier. “Wipe that dopey smile off your face, will you?”
Jack laughed loudly, watching Nick stomp out from the apartment, slamming the door behind him.
* * *
Nick looked like he was getting into being Santa, Jack thought, and he was really enjoying himself too. The smiles on the kids’ faces as Nick handed out presents were something special to behold and Jack was amazed how Nick seemed right at home while speaking and handling the kids.
Jack had been taking a lot of pictures on his phone throughout the day.
Finally, the evening was done, and as Nick stood with a smile on his face, watching as everyone began getting ready to leave, Jack realized that he’d just seen Emma again standing near the edge of the crowd. Jack had noticed her a few times throughout the day, but Nick had been too busy for Jack to be able to grab his attention.
“Hey, Nick?” Jack called out, approaching.
Nick turned, glancing his way. “What’s up?”
Jack waved at the doorway. “I just saw her walking into the lobby.”
“You mean Emma?”
“Of course, I mean Emma,” Jack growled. “Now’s your chance.”
Nick looked down at his costume. “Shoot.”
“Go. She was here for a while, so I think she’s one of the organizers. But I couldn’t exactly tell you that I saw her here, since you were talking with all the kids. But who knows when you’ll run into her again?”
“You’re right. I’m done for the day. I can change after I talk with her,” Nick said, making his way along the edge of the room and strolling into the lobby with Jack.
As they came through the doorway, Nick saw Emma walking beside some guy through the breezeway, heading outside.
“She’s here with a date?” Nick growled.
“I doubt it. She wasn’t with anyone in the ballroom,” Jack murmured. “Come on. We’ve both got on boots. Let’s see where they’re going.”
Nick just frowned, letting Jack take the lead.
They hung around a few feet behind her, while Emma and the guy she was with appeared to be having a deep conversation. Nick was beginning to look extremely irritated, probably because he was jealous.
“It looks like the guy’s starting to come on to her,” Jack murmured, not being able to help himself when it came to instigating trouble. Jack liked Emma and had a feeling she’d be perfect for Nick.
Just then, Nick noticed that Jack had been filming their journey behind Emma on his phone. “Stop that,” he growled, looking at Jack suspiciously. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”
Jack just smiled, not bothering to answer because Nick was too busy stomping towards Emma and the guy who looked like he was ready to kiss her.
“Oh, no, you don’t,” Nick yelled, approaching Emma.
Laughing, Jack held his phone higher.
When Emma turned and saw she was being stalked by Santa, her mouth gaped open.
Appearing to be a little in shock himself, the guy she was with recovered quickly, holding up a staying hand. “Whoa, Santa. It’s not what you think. There’s no hanky panky going on here tonight. Emma and I are just old friends.” The guy turned back to Emma. “Is there some kind of new special Santa patrol Jake Loughlin’s added to his security team?”
Emma blinked, and suddenly started laughing. “One thing I’ve always loved about you, Matt, is your sense of humor.”
St. Nick growled, while Jack filmed the scene.
Although Jack was having trouble holding onto his phone because he was laughing so hard.
Emma finally seemed to recognize him. “Jack Wellman?”
Jack was trying to stop laughing. “Hi, Emma. Nice to see you again.”
Then she looked at Santa.
”Nick?” Emma covered her mouth with her hand.
“Yes,” he muttered. “It’s Nick.”
“Also known as St. Nick to some,” Jack murmured.
Matt barked out a laugh. “That’s a good one.”
“I’d like to introduce you to Jack and Nick. We met them on vacation in Bali. Uhm, goodnight, Matt,” Emma said. “Jack, would you and Nick like to come into the cabin and maybe have a drink? I’m staying here through Christmas.”
“I want to talk with you. Alone,” Nick growled, stomping up to her and staring into her eyes.
Jack murmured, “How about giving me your car keys, Nick, so I can drive back into town? I can come back and pick you up later.”
“If you need a ride, I might be able to drop you off,” Matt offered.
“Our apartment’s directly on Main Street,” Jack answered.
“It’s on my way
