Page 39 of Fire in My Heart

“You have the suit for me to try on?”

Her eyes lit up. “Yes. Let me find it.” She rummaged through the remaining boxes and pulled out the soft, red costume, handing it to me. “Let me know if it fits. If it works out, you can do this every year.”

“It’s a one-off thing.” I felt obligated to point out.

Charlotte merely smiled. “We’ll see about that.”

“You’re working for Dad for the season. After that, I’m sure you’ll move on to another account. We’ll be on our own.”

“I was hoping to stay on, even if it’s in a consultant capacity. You’ll have to keep up the work I started.”

I couldn’t see myself setting up festivals and scheduling Santa photos. Not unless I was forced.

Charlotte’s shoulders slumped. “You aren’t going to, are you?”

I wrapped an arm around her like I would one of my sisters, but it didn’t feel casual. “Let’s get through this year. Then we can see what happens after that.”

Was I talking about our working relationship, the farm, or something else? Was I giving myself permission to see if she was interested in me?

We were alone on the farm. Once Dad was in for the night, he didn’t usually come back out. With the dimmed lights overhead and the holiday decor, it felt like a good place to kiss her.

Or at least, that was what my body was telling me. I turned so that we were now facing each other.

She placed one hand on my chest. “What are you doing?”

“I tried staying away from you this week.”

Her lips parted on a gasp.

“But I couldn’t. It was torture. I couldn’t concentrate on work—” How could I explain to her that this was out ofcharacter for me? I didn’t get hung up on women ever. I certainly didn’t have deep conversations with them.

Her hand drifted higher until it curled around my neck, and she pulled me down to meet her lips.

A loud banging on the barn door had us jumping apart. “You still in there? I wanted to shut everything down.”

I broke off a curse when Wes opened the door. It slid open slowly, so Charlotte took the time to smooth her hair and clothes.

Wes opened the door, shining a flashlight on us. I lifted an arm to block it. “Put that down.”

“You get everything done? Sorry I couldn’t help out. We were swamped at the end. I didn’t think they were going to stop coming.” He moved around the room, shining the flashlight on the chair and decorations. “Looks good, Santa.”

“Shut up,” I said to him, unhappy that my brothers were going to make fun of me for being in a suit.

“I’m just glad it’s going to be you and not me.”

“If you don’t behave, I’ll make you be Santa instead,” Charlotte said to him, and he immediately looked contrite.

“Sounds good to me.” I winked at Wes.

“Everything is ready to go tomorrow except for the sign and the vendor tables. Can you meet with me early so we can knock out the rest of the to-do list?” Charlotte asked.

“I’ll be here,” Wes agreed.

“I’m so excited. It’s going to be amazing. We’ll be showcasing local crafters and bakers, while also getting the word out about the farm. It will be fun for everyone.”

“Is it though?” I asked, and Wes smacked me.

We headed outside, and Wes turned off the lights and slid the door closed.

---