“Santa has a phone?” one asked.
“Sure do. It's how I keep in touch with my elves.”
Most of the kids weren't so bad. Some were even mature enough to have a conversation with. All was going well, until this old lady dumped a two-year-old in my lap.
“Aw, isn't it so cute?” She snapped pictures on her ancient camera. “Say hi to Santa, Patty.”
Instead of saying hi, the kid looked right at me. Something warm and wet soaked into my pants.
“I go potty,” she said proudly.
The little asshole had pissed on me!
“No, Patty, that's a bad girl,” scolded the woman as she lifted her off me. “That's not the potty. Oh, now you've ruined your dress.”
She shuffled her off without apology. Sarah, seeing what had happened, thankfully shut the spectacle down. I hurried off to the stockroom to change, where the drunk guy was still asleep. Right about now, I was jealous of him.
Sarah came in behind me. “I can't believe this,” she said softly.
“Yeah, me neither. What a mess.” I kicked the soiled pants aside. “No wonder this dude was smashed before he got here.”
“No, I mean... I can't believe you did this for me. You didn't have to.”
Her voice cracked; she was fighting back tears again. Seemed I made her cry an awful lot these days.
“Yeah, well. I just hope I didn't screw it up too badly. You know kids and I mesh as well as oil and water.”
She put her arms around me from behind, wrapping me in a hug that made my heart flutter and my cock stand at attention.
“Thank you, Asher. I thought you didn't care.”
Nothing could have been further from the truth. But that was what frightened me – that I did care when I wished I didn't.
Because caring for her would make it a lot harder to escape this marriage. The thought of commitment made me queasy. At the same time, my feelings for her were real and only getting stronger.
Not good at all.
“I couldn't possibly let you crash and burn. Not after you've worked so hard to make today a success.”
“Even though we're competitors?”
I couldn't tell her the truth, the real reason why.
“Ah, well. Hazel's Curiosities is like a historical landmark in Grant City. It'd be a shame to see it close down, so, y'know. Figured I'd do my civic duty.”
She let me go and nodded thoughtfully. “Yeah, I guess you're right. Though it won't matter if this marriage plan blows up in our faces. And what about the history between our families? Have you figured it out yet?”
“If my dad won't talk and my grandpa Charles is dead, finding out the truth won't be so easy.” I tried to reassure her with a smile. “But don't worry about that, okay? You just focus on planning the wedding. Isn't that every woman's dream – dress shopping, the cake, et cetera.”
“Maybe if it were a real wedding,” she muttered.
Something was bothering her; even a dolt like me could tell. Thinking about it made my head hurt, because I had no idea what to say. Lucky that my phone rang as a distraction.
“I've been away from the store too long,” I told her. “It's probably chaos over there.”
“Go on. You've done more than enough for me.”
We lingered in the lobby for a while. She looked so lovely in that pale light that I longed to kiss her, but I didn't.
I was too afraid. Funny, wasn't it, that we'd slept together and now I couldn't manage a single kiss. Why? Just because I didn't want to lead her on?
Dad always called me a coward. Maybe he had been right.
“We'll get together later,” I said instead. “Looks like you could use a drink.”
“Trying to seduce me again?”
“I doubt I really have to try very hard.”
She didn't deny it. I walked back to Slicker Image, barely noticing the frigid wind, with a smile I couldn't wipe off my face.
Chapter 15 - Sarah
“It's surprising how many weddings there are in December.” Mom hung up the phone with a sigh. “That place is booked up, too. At this rate, we'll be having the reception at Burger King, for goodness' sake.”
“Well, they do have good fries,” Cole said, barely looking up from his computer as he typed a million miles per minute. “And you know I'm a sucker for a Whopper with bacon.”
Lana made a sound of disgust. “You have the absolute worst taste in fast food.”
I ignored their bickering and gazed at the picture of the chapel on Cole's monitor. Mom had pretty much forced him into helping with the wedding planning, so he was putting his research skills to work finding us a place suitable for the ceremony.
“Too bad we're not religious folks. That would make this so much easier,” he grumbled. “Then again, I doubt any church would go along with this sham you're pulling.”
Mom was too busy singing along with the radio to have heard him, thankfully. Lana, the only one who knew the truth in this family, came to bat for me.
“It's not a sham! I work with Sarah every day, you know. I've seen the way they are together. It's super clear they're head-over-heels in love.”
Cole pretended to gag. “Whatever. I don't know what this is about, sis, but I don't like it one bit.”
“Just because you have something against the Carringtons. Look, I'm sorry Macy hates you, but – ”
“That spoiled, stuck-up princess is none of my concern. It's you I'm worried about.” He finally looked me in the eye. “This isn't a game, you know. You're not playing house. Once you're married, it's a done deal.
