Page 53 of Carpenter's Christmas Bride

“I’m not that kind of man,” he told her firmly. “I’d love it if Walt had a hobby where he could let off some steam.”

“He was really interested in those ballet books, Aidan,” she told him, her eyes lighting up.

“Yeah?” Aidan asked, searching himself for any kind of objection, and not finding one.

“Just think about it,” Kenzie told him. “Grandma Lee has a preschool class, and it’s so much fun. I was in it when I was little, and I helped her teach it when I was in school.”

“I remember when Coach had some of the guys from the team take ballet with her,” he said thoughtfully.

“Ballet is supposed to be great for football,” Kenzie said. “Though I don’t understand football enough to know why. Should we go in?”

“Why don’t I just run in?” he suggested.

“Oh, right,” she said. “I guess it will be faster. Can you get one with at least a three on it?”

“Sure,” he told her.

He headed inside, giving Miss Caroline a wave as he passed the children’s section.

“Aidan Webb, didn’t you take enough of those already?” Helen demanded from the main desk as he grabbed an ornament from the tree.

“This one is for a friend,” he said with a smile.

“Well, maybe your friend can help you wrap yours,” Helen suggested, arching a brow.

“Sorry about that,” Aidan said, wincing. He had never been the best at wrapping gifts neatly.

“Oh, heavens. You know I’m only joking,” Helen told him. “You’re very generous with these families.”

He’d lost his own parents, and though he hadn’t been a child when it happened, it had hurt him profoundly. It was hard not to be generous with others who were going through hard times. But that wasn’t the kind of thing he said out loud, so he waved to her and headed out to the parking lot again.

Kenzie was waiting with a smile when he got back in.

“That was quick,” she said as he handed over the ornament. “Just three, huh?”

He didn’t want to say out loud that she had better save her money in case she wasn’t going back to work after all.

“That one spoke to me for some reason,” he said instead, pulling the truck out of the lot and heading for Ambler Road.

She got quiet as she unfolded the paper.

“Oh, wow,” she said after a moment. “I got two kids, and their mom.”

“That’s great, Kenzie,” he told her.

“It must be so hard to be a single parent,” she said, shaking her head, then covered her mouth immediately. “I’m so sorry, Aidan, I didn’t mean to offend you.”

“It is hard,” he told her right away. “You’re not wrong. I’ve got my aunt and uncle and my cousins and a good job, so it’s not so bad for me. But there are so many single parent families that really struggle.”

“I’m going to give this lady and her kids the best Christmas ever,” Kenzie said happily.

They finished their drive to the mall in relative silence. Whenever he snuck a glance over at her, Kenzie was gazing down at the paper like she was trying to memorize everything on it.

Aidan found a miraculously great parking spot, close to the entrance in spite of the crowds, and pulled in.

“Here we are,” he said as he opened his door.

He liked the way she waited this time, without even making a move to get herself out while he headed around the car to open her door.

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