Page 45 of Naughty Santa

“But—”

“Paris owns this store. This is how it should be.” Frank gave her a smile. “I think you’ve made the right choice.”

Paris felt her eyes go wide. “You do?”

“Doing something with your life that you can be passionate about every day is wonderful. And doing that in a place with people that give you joy is a true gift. I’m so glad you’ve found that.”

How could Frank read all of that about her so easily? They’d spent maybe an hour together total. “How can you tell that’s how I feel?”

He smiled, one of those wise-older-person smiles that came from seeing a lot of life, learning from past experiences and mistakes. “It radiates from you, my dear. This store will never be all it can be if it’s not yours. And I have a feeling the same is true of this town, and these people—whoever they are.”

“Joe,” she said without thinking. His name just slipped out. “Joe is the person. My person.” Jaden and Sandy and all the store’s regulars were part of it too, of course, but Joe was definitely the one.

“Joe’s a very lucky man. I hope he knows that.”

Paris gave Frank a huge smile. Then on impulse, she leaned in and kissed the older man’s cheek. “Thank you.”

“I can’t believe this,” Todd muttered.

“You’ll be fine,” Frank said. “I’ll buy you a hot chocolate on our way out of town.”

Paris fought a smile. Todd Winters didn’t strike her as the hot chocolate type, but she didn’t give a shit. Because Joe sure as hell was.

“Fine. But I want marshmallows, not whipped cream,” Todd grumbled.

Paris huffed out a laugh. Apparently, she was wrong on that count.

“Of course, you do,” Frank said with a smile.

“I wouldn’t knock the whipped cream,” she joked.

Frank gave Paris a wink. “I mostly raised him right, but his mother convinced him that marshmallows are the better topping for cocoa. It’s a cross I’ve had to bear.”

Paris laughed and watched the two men head for the door.

Then she looked around the store again.

Her store. Everything in this place belonged to her and she loved every bit of it.

But mostly she loved Joe, and she needed to tell him that.

Right now.

Then she needed to tell him she was staying.

But where the hell was he?

Frowning, Paris started for the wooden Santa house. Sandy was just off to one side with Jaden, who was helping gather up paper and bows and talking nonstop. Clearly, he’d had a lot of sugar.

“Hi, guys!” Paris gave them both a big smile. She wanted to tell them she was staying too, but Joe had to be the first. “Have you seen Joe?”

“Yes!” Jaden answered nosily—and obviously gleefully—wadding up wrapping paper and stuffing it into a garbage bag. “He loves my new bulldozer!”

“I’m sure he does.” And clearly that was all that really mattered to Jaden at the moment because he didn’t offer her anything else.

She turned to Sandy. “Do you know where he is?”

Joe’s mom looked around. “He was here. We chatted, and then he went to find you.”

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