Page 16 of Daycare Santa

“Thanks for coming, ladies.” Zack Winters rose from an ergonomic chair behind the glass-topped desk and invited them to sit. Gina introduced him to Seya and when they were comfortable, Zack focused on Gina. “I figured you wanted to hear about the dog.”

“That would be a good place to start.” She glanced at Seya, warning her not to say a word. She faced Zack again, and his warm smile stole her breath. He was halfway through whatever he’d been saying when she caught up with him.

“... not normally here.”

“Huh?”

Seya’s smirk irritated Gina, but also confirmed that her sister knew she’d missed most of whatever Zack said.

“Gina’s a bit distracted. Can you explain again, please?”

“Is everything all right?” he asked.

“It will be fine once we understand why you had a dog in here.”

A slight frown creased Zack’s forehead. “You have a thing against dogs.”

“Only the ones that bite,” Gina said, scanning the pale pink walls decorated with animated figures. A huge whiteboard filled with tiny columns dominated one wall.

When she looked back at him, Zack’s faint smile acknowledged her facetious comment. “My sister is afraid of dogs,” Seya explained. “Because of one that—”

“Mr. Winters doesn’t need to hear my history.”

“Actually ...” He cleared his throat as if giving himself time to think, then said, “Champ shouldn’t have been here, and I apologize for that. He’s my parents’ dog. I planned to leave when my brother dropped him off, but had to get something from this office. Normally, I’d have him on a leash.”

“Thanks for explaining.” Gina relaxed, sensing his sincerity. “You’re saying that was a one-time incident, right?”

“Definitely. It won’t happen again. We take the welfare of the children in our care seriously.”

Gina ignored Seya’s I-told-you-so expression and concentrated on Zack, who was studying her. She avoided his eyes, straying to the royal blue polo shirt with the center’s logo on the left side of his broad chest.

“I hope I’ve convinced you to be part of the Wintertime family, and that you’ve forgiven me for Friday.”

He waited for her response, as though he had all the time in the world. Gina’s brows pulled together as she wondered why she didn’t simply tell him she’d already paid the fee.

Her mental wandering stopped when Zack brushed his beard with the back of one hand, pulling her attention to the lustrous black hair framing his face. When he smiled, she struggled to remember what he’d said. Talk about perfect teeth. His smile faded as she unscrambled his words, then shrugged.

“Luca already likes the atmosphere, so I expect he will enjoy it here.”

“I’m sure he will.” Zack glanced at the computer, then the notepad to his left. “If there’s nothing else, I can walk you out.”

Warmth spread into Gina’s cheeks from her neck. “Sorry, we didn’t mean to eat into your time.”

“It’s no problem. The customer always comes first.”

Zack walked around the desk and escorted them down the corridor. At the front desk, Emily gave Gina an envelope which she said contained information on the facility’s operations.

“Thanks, I guess we’ll see you on Monday.”

Giving them a breezy wave, Emily said, “See you then.”

At the front door, Zack held it open, then walked out behind them.

“Thanks for making it Wintertime,” he said, holding out one hand for them to shake.

“We should thank you for running such a great daycare,” Seya gushed.

Gina wanted to tell her to dial back the enthusiasm, but of course, she couldn’t.

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