Page 56 of Carpenter's Christmas Bride

“Oh,” the elf replied, sounding intrigued now instead of judgmental.

“She’s having a tough Christmastime,” Aidan went on, repressing the urge to punch the guy in the nose. “I think she would get a kick out of standing in the snow globe.”

“She won’t jump?” the elf asked.

“She’s on crutches,” Aidan pointed out.

“She can’t bring those in there,” the elf said.

“Of course not,” Aidan replied.

“You won’t jump? he asked sternly.

“Scout’s honor,” Aidan said.

“Okay,” the elf said. “Five bucks each.”

“Keep the change,” Aidan told him, handing him a twenty.

The man brightened and nodded to Aidan, looking like he felt he had made a wise decision. Aidan jogged back over to Kenzie.

“What did you just do?” she asked.

“I got permission for us to go in that snow globe,” he told her. “But you can’t take your crutches in there.”

“No way,” she breathed.

“Come on,” he told her. “Before the guy changes his mind.”

She smiled and took her crutches when he handed them to her. Together, they headed over to the snow globe.

“Welcome,” the elf said to Kenzie, in a much friendlier way than he had spoken to Aidan. “Can I take those for you while you enjoy the snow globe?”

“Sure,” Kenzie said, handing them over. “Thanks.”

They slipped off their shoes and Aidan lifted her carefully into the bouncy house. As soon as she was inside, she started smiling like she had won the lottery.

“We’re not allowed to jump,” he warned her as he climbed in and offered her his arm for support.

She laughed as she took it, and he had to chuckle too at the idea of her jumping on one foot with that big boot on the other.

“Here we go,” the elf said from outside.

Suddenly “Winter Wonderland” was playing on hidden speakers and fake snow began to fall inside the snow globe. Fans inside the bouncy house kept the snow airborne, and lifted Kenzie’s hair from her shoulders.

The snow was only tiny Styrofoam spheres, but they clung to Kenzie’s golden hair and looked almost like real snow on her red sweater. She laughed, throwing her head back and Aidan thought he had never seen a more beautiful sight.

Outside the snow globe, a few shoppers had paused to watch them, staring openly at the two adults doing something so frivolous.

But inside, there was a kind of magic happening between the two of them, and a growing joy that made this madness feel like the farthest thing from frivolous Aidan could think of.

“Thank you,” Kenzie said, just loudly enough that he could hear her over the fans and the music.

Her eyes were serious now, even though her pretty pink lips were still smiling. Without meaning to, he found his hand reaching out to cup her face in his hand, his thumb caressing the apple of her cheek.

The way she looked up at him made him feel like a new man—a man with the kind of optimistic outlook that allowed him to take risks to get the things he wanted.

His eyes had just slid down to her mouth again when the music and the fans suddenly stopped.

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