“Perfect. I need a ride anyway.”
She smiles brightly as she skips toward the Santa Mobile, reaching below the passenger side door and bringing out a hide-a-key.
“Everyone has a spare key somewhere, right?” She answers my unspoken question as she unlocks her door and slides in, slamming it shut behind her.
I storm over to the passenger side, throwing the door open. “The key?”
I hold out my hand expecting her to place the key in my palm, but she wraps her arms around my neck, pulling me into her body. Warning bells go off in my head. Clearly, Hana is determined to get my attention. I was trying to let her down gently, but she needs to be put in her place.
“What’s the rush? The Christmas troll isn’t around to get between us this time. Why don’t we go back inside and have some fun?”
I lock my muscles in place as she attempts to pull me in for a kiss.
“Get the fuck off me, Hana. I’ve never been violent with a woman, but you are pushing my boundaries,” I growl before removing her arms from around my neck and pulling her out of the truck.
“You’re going to regret this, Barnes. We were made for each other!” Hana screeches. “There is no way you really want to be with her when you can have me.”
I shut the door before bending down so I’m at eye level with her. “When are you going to get it through your head that I’m not interested?” I pluck the key from her fingers and walk around to the driver’s side. “Have a safe trip back to town.”
Hana stands, stomping her foot like a two-year-old as I ease past her and make my way out of the circle drive.
As Hana disappears in my rear-view mirror, feelings of dread settle in my stomach. I can’t fathom why Hana was sitting in the driveway when I woke up this morning, but it can't mean anything good.
Chapter 8
Mistletoe
I jump as the bell over the door rings.
“It’s just me, Misty,” my dad says before laying a comforting hand on my shoulder. “What has you so jumpy?”
I flash him a fake smile as I step backward. The last thing I want to tell my dad is that I had sex with Lucas last night and I think I might be in love with him. Not the easiest conversation to have with your overprotective father, now, is it?
“Nothing, Dad. I just didn’t sleep very well last night.”
My dad gives me a knowing smirk. “The last thing I expected was to get a call from you asking for a ride home.”
“Thanks for picking me up. I didn’t want to wake Lucas, and I knew I had to be here to open the store.” I let out a nervous giggle. “I didn’t want to leave him stranded. So, I left him a note and asked him to come by after he woke up.”
A note on the fridge probably wasn’t the best idea, but I forgot to get his number last night.
“I could’ve managed. We don’t have any appointments until later this afternoon.”
Thankfully, my dad doesn’t ask any more questions. I’m horrible at lying; he would see right through any excuse I come up with.
“You two spending some more time together today?” my dad questions as he pretends to dust the Christmas village beside the register.
“I don’t know yet. I hope we can hang out after I get off work.” I do not want to be having this conversation with my father, of all people.
“Well, make sure you have everything you need for work tomorrow. We have a busy schedule. I can’t afford for you to be late because you have the stop at home.”
“Got it, Dad,” I mumble before ducking into the back room.
Thankfully, I do need to print out the Santa visit appointments for the day. Any excuse to not be in the same room as my dad right now. Christmas—which is our busiest time of the year—is only a few weeks away. Now that it has snowed, I’m sure people will flock to town for their own piece of Christmas.
I take a seat at the computer and pull up the appointments for this afternoon. Most people think it’s odd that we take appointments for visits with Santa, but because we have such a small store, he wants to make sure each child has a lasting memory of their visit with him. Once I make sure everything is correct, I print out a copy to keep at the front of the store.
I should head back out front, but ever since Lucas told me how the media follows him around, I’ve wanted to see exactly what I would be getting myself into. I take a deep breath and open a fresh web browser, quickly typing his name into the search bar.
Articles begin popping up, all linking Lucas to some Hollywood actress named Kayla Campbell. The page is full of headlines claiming Lucas and his on-again, off-again girlfriend have gotten back together. I click on the first link, and a picture of the two of them in a rather intimate embrace pops up. Lucas told me not to believe that was in the papers, but he could also be trying to hide things from me.
“It’s not like I’m going to be in a relationship with him. Lucas lives in the city and dates supermodels. Why would he be interested in anything long-term with me, anyway?” I reassure myself, trying to forget everything we said to each other last night.
Lucas Barnes is a professional basketball player with the world at his feet. I’m a small-town Christmas elf. We have nothing in common. This can’t be anything but a short Christmas fling, one I know I’ll never forget.
I continue scrolling down the list until I find another headline that piques my interest: Kayla Campbell Is Engaged. Just as I’m about to click the link, my dad comes up behind me.
“How does the schedule look for today?”
I jump in surprise, closing the web browser quickly. The last thing I need is for my dad to ask questions.
“Sorry, hon. I didn’t expect you to be so deep in thought.”
“No problem. I don’t know why I’m so jumpy today.” I give him a reassuring smile before handing him the schedule. “Nothing too crazy today, but you’re booked all afternoon. I’m sure this is the calm before the storm.”
“I’m sure it is. Last year was so bad that I thought I was going to need to hire a part-timer, but as always, you made it work.”
“I’ll always be here for you, Dad. Although Christmas isn’t my favorite time of year, this town is my home. Why would I ever want to leave?”
He opens his mouth to respond just as the bell chimes.
“I’m going to take care of this customer. You should head home to grab your suit and have some lunch. Your first appointment is in about an hour.” I hurry toward the front of the shop.
It’s not that I don’t want to get out of Santa Claus, but my dad needs me. If I leave, there will be no one here to take care of him or help with the shop. This shop is his life. There is no way I could leave him to take care of it alone.
“Sure thing,” my dad responds as he steps out front.
“Why didn’t you wake me up before you left this morning?”
My head snaps up. Lucas is standing in front of me, his hands balled into a tight fist by his side.
“Yes, I saw your note,” he continues. “But I also saw Hana as soon as I walked out the door.”
That’s strange. I know Hana lives near the Manor, but there is no reason for her to have been waiting for him when he came out.