Page 29 of Secret Santas and Holiday Dances

“It’s her!” A girl let out an excited squeal. “The Secret Santa!”

Horror shot up Liam’s spine as he followed where the screaming girl was pointing. Grace stood in the door; her gaze slowly went from the girl to him. Even from across the room, he could see tears welling in her eyes. She sucked in a breath and took a step back and into someone. People started crowding in on her.

“Grace.” Her name fell from his lips like a plea.

Charlotte called out excitedly from beside him. “That’s my girl.”

A tear spilled down Grace’s cheek. She side-stepped the man she’d just backed into, turned, and fled out the door.

Liam started after her, but someone grabbed his arm.

“Liam.” Charlotte stepped in front of him. “Don’t go. She’ll be fine.”

“I won’t.” He pulled his arm from her grasp and pushed through the crowd. By the time he reached the street, Grace was nowhere in sight. “Grace!” he yelled.

People up and down the street turned to him as dread threatened to overwhelm him.

He pulled out his phone and dialed her as he ran across the street, narrowly avoiding an oncoming car, to Life on Canvas. She rejected his call on the first ring. He burst through the doors to the shop and searched for her. “Grace?”

David came out of his office. “Liam?”

He turned to David. “Where is she?”

David frowned. “Where’s who?”

“Who?” Was the man kidding? “What do you mean, who? Grace!”

“She left several minutes ago,” David said. “And I’m not happy about it. She gets one article written about her in the paper, and suddenly she’s too good to work.”

Liam came up short. “Article?”

David gave an exacerbated sigh, marched to Grace’s desk, and grabbed the paper. He handed it to Liam. “Apparently she’s the Secret Santa.”

“How did this happen?” She’d been so careful.

“If you find her, tell her she has a job she’s expected to do. There are any number of people who’d be happy to replace her.”

Liam scanned the paper, a sick lump forming as he read Charlotte’s comments. “Charlotte went to the paper?” Why would she do that? Turning his back on David, he rushed back outside and called Ryan.

Ryan answered after two rings. “Liam?”

“Grace saw me kissing Charlotte and ran off,” Liam said.

“That’s bad. That’s really bad.”

“I need help finding her.” Liam glanced up and down the street. “Please. She has cousins all over downtown.”

“On my way.” Ryan hung up.

Liam darted back across the street to his building and looked in the salon’s windows. Maggie May was at the front counter, sucking on a lollipop. He opened the door. “Maggie May, have you seen Grace?”

Maggie May glanced up, her eyes glazed over like she’d been falling asleep. “No?” she said, sounding confused.

Nope, Grace hadn’t been here. “Thanks.” He closed the door and went around the side of the building as Ryan pounded down the stairs.

“You check the salon?” Ryan asked.

He nodded. “Just now.”

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