This won him a laugh. “Sure you are.”
He readjusted the stuffing beneath his jacket. If the boy was with his father for Christmas, and she wasn’t there, that must mean they were divorced, like he was. He suddenly didn’t want her to leave. “Now that you have me here, are you going to tell me?”
Her brows pinched. “Tell you what?”
“What you want for Christmas.”
Another laugh burst from her. “You just said you were all knowing.”
He opened his mouth to join her banter when Clint popped his head out of the side of the small red barn behind them.
“Cole,” the elf ordered. “Get moving.”
Cole gestured to him before turning back to the woman. He tugged on the bottom of the red coat. “I’ve got to get out of this suit,” he said. “They need to return it before ten.”
She took a few more retreating steps. The flush still hadn’t left her cheeks. “Right. Sure. Thanks again. You have no idea how much.”
A hitch tacked onto her voice now. Cole’s interest in her deepened, but Clint was doing the Macarena beside the barn, and Cole sighed.
He didn’t want another relationship, he reminded himself, not after the last one he dodged out of. This was a chance encounter, nothing more. She was just a nice woman doing something for her son, though he had to say, if he bumped into her again he wouldn’t ignore her. His interest hadn’t been kindled in a woman the way it had with her in a long time, and he found he was eager to see where it might lead.
“Merry Christmas,” he told her, before going in to change.
Chapter Three
Relief spilled through Saylor, lifting a weight from her chest and allowing a wish to seep through in its place. Though she didn’t answer the fake Santa’s question, she realized she already got what she wanted for Christmas. Partially, anyway.
Parker was happy.
Saylor smiled at the elf workers, waving at their confused glances and scurrying away as quickly as she could. She kept her hands raised so they could see she hadn’t stolen anything—though she wasn’t sure what they might think she would steal. She glanced up at the wreaths, the bright, glittering ornaments big enough to be seen across the mall, and smoothed a hand over her new dress and leggings.
She clung to the satisfied, sparkling feeling inside of her, trying to keep it for as long as she could. Someday, she would snap out of this. Someday, she would be content just because.
"This calls for some chocolate," she said under her breath, still smiling. "Something warm, and something chocolate."
Her feet guided her to The Cocoa Bean, the adjoining coffee shop at the end of the food court, which stayed open later than the rest of the mall, it turned out. She waited in line, drinking in new smells, cozy smells, of cocoa and coffee. She was never one to drink a lot of coffee. Steamers, on the other hand, were different. She could get any flavor she wanted in steamed milk.
Saylor placed her order, and it was only minutes before the barista called her name. She took the warm mug, her cold hand instantly feeling soothed and matching the rest of her. When she turned, she nearly collided with a man in a gray sweater, jeans, and a blue ski jacket.
His lips quirked upward.
“Excuse me,” she said, cursing herself for being so klutzy tonight. She ducked her head and hurried past him.
“How’s Parker?”
Saylor stopped.
Her mind ticked through the encounters she’d had this evening. Families shopping, the elf man beckoning her to visit Santa, Santa himself. No handsome men with dark hair, blue eyes as vibrant as sea glass, chiseled chin, or great teeth.
A dormant part of her heart began pumping faster. “What? How did you—?”
He bunched his lips and toyed with the zipper of his jacket. “I know. I’m not such a chick magnet without the red coat and beard.”
Young, hot, and thin—not the usual traits attributed to the jolly man in red. Saylor chuckled as reality hit, and she forced herself to keep from raking him over again.
Who was she kidding? She totally raked him over again. Gorgeous, from head to toe.
“That was you?”
“It’s a good thing kids don’t look too closely. The hat, beard, and pillow in the chest are enough to fool them.”
A smoking hot Santa Claus. Suddenly, her cheeks were as warm as the cup in her hand.
“I’m Cole, by the way.”
“Yeah, I heard your elf,” she managed, still stunned.
“And you are?”
She pointed with a thumb to her name hastily scribbled on her steamer. “That’s me.”
He took a sip from his cup. “What are you drinking tonight, Saylor?”
The name, her name, spoken by someone who wasn’t a coworker, someone who wasn’t her mother or her ex. She couldn’t believe the effect it had on her. She took a shuddering breath.
“White chocolate peppermint steamer,” she finally stammered out.
Saylor waited for a minute, expecting him to leave. To walk out or meet whoever he was here with. When he didn’t, she took a seat at the nearest table.
“Sounds delicious. Mind if I join you?”
“Not at all.” Her voice broke. She worked to clear it.
With a smirk, he slid in across from her. Her mouth parted. This was really happening. He was really sitting with her. She smacked sense into her brain. “And you?”
“Salted caramel. It’s the only way to drink a latte.”
She released a chortle. “I’m sorry, but you are so not what I expected. How in the world did you end up being a department store Santa? No offense, but you don’t seem the...type.”
“Believe me, not being compared to Santa isn’t in any way offensive. One-night-only kind of thing. Just filling in for my friend who wanted to be with his family on Christmas Eve.”
“Oh.” Can we say endearing? He took a sip from his mug, and she asked, “What do you do when you’re not filling in as fake Santa?”
“I’m a general contractor.”
General contractor. That meant he was
