Page 113 of Educating Arrogant Mr. Hunter

She leaned further into my embrace. “You were awfully confident. How did you know it would turn out that way?”

The sparkle in her eyes had returned yesterday, and I wanted to do everything in my power to make sure it stayed there. “Because someone who has a light that shines as bright as yours does can’t be held down for long.”

She gave a happy little sigh that rippled warmth through me. Being with Wren made me happy. Happier than I’d ever thought I had the right to be.

“Daddy! Ms. Winter!” Zoey bounded toward us with Jen. The grumpy child seemed to smile more in Zoey’s presence. “Can we go to the hot chocolate making station before we go see Santa?”

“Of course.” Wren moved out from the circle of my arms and shifted to holding my hand.

As we made our way through the crowd, I was pleased to see so many people enjoying themselves. The hot chocolate station was insane, and the line only grew longer as each minute passed. Baristas from the local coffee shop had donated their time to run this station and fulfill all of the sugary goodness the kids and adults craved.

By the time they were done with their choices, Jen and Zoey had more toppings than hot chocolate in their cups. We slowly walked across the field that had been transported into a Winter fairyland. The sound of snow machines hummed in the air as we passed by the snowman making section sponsored by a local high-end restaurant and another where people were encouraged to make snow angels.

The lights from all the carnival rides blinked, lighting up the darkness of the night, and the screams of children filled the air.

“This is my favorite part.” Wren smiled as we approached Santa’s house. Wolfe construction had outdone themselves. The cottage was the size of a small house. The green trim around the doors and windows was edged with greenery that hid twinkle lights throughout. Two large candy canes stood sentry at the double door entrance. Poinsettias and bows adorned the window boxes on the lower and upper windows, and a large red mailbox sat outside with gold lettering stating ‘Letters to Santa.’

“Me too!” Zoey jumped up and down, spilling part of her hot chocolate with each movement. Jen frowned when my daughter bumped her and some of hers spilled too. “Do you think Santa might be able to take care of one more wish this close to Christmas?”

“I don’t see why not.” Wren held out napkins to Zoey and Jen.

“What is it that you want?” I asked Zoey.

A mischievous grin lit up her face. “If I tell you, it won’t come true.”

“Isn’t that just birthday wishes?” Jen grumbled beside her.

Zoey elbowed her.

“Oww, Zo, that hurt.” Jen glared at her.

“Sorry, Jen,” she apologized to her friend who nodded her acceptance. “No. Special requests to Santa need to be done in private.”

Now I was really curious about her wish and nervous that she’d be disappointed on Christmas morning when she didn’t find whatever it was under the tree. Slowly, we inched closer to the head of the line, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get Zo to share with me.

“I’m sure she’ll tell us before then,” Wren assured me. “And if not, there’s nothing we can do.”

“Don’t you have some magic you can sprinkle during class or an assignment you can give that might enlighten us?”

She laughed. “I’ll do my best.” Her tone let me know that she was indulging me.

“What do you want for Christmas?” I asked. This was the first time I’d ever spent Christmas with a girlfriend.

“I have everything I need right here.” She kissed my cheek.

I wanted to get her the perfect gift.

“What about you?” she asked.

I tickled her side. “That’s not how it works. If you don’t give me an idea of what you want, then you’ll get nothing out of me.” Neither of us wanted for anything, and if we did, we had the money to get it ourselves. I wanted whatever I decided on to be something that showed her how much I loved and appreciated her.

We were just about to the front door of Santa’s house when I noticed Avery passing out small pieces of paper and pencils to the children in line.

“What’s this?” I asked.

“It’s for the kids to fill out and give to Santa.”

“But doesn’t he just remember on his own? If he knows off the top of his head who’s naughty or nice, I’d think he’d remember the gifts we want.” Jen was less than impressed.

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