Page 14 of Daniel
Those deep brown eyes sparkled as he gave me a wink. “You look absolutely perfect, baby. They’ve got a wig for you.”
We hurried inside, then he gave me a quick kiss. “The beard tickles,” I laughed. “How did you end up as Santa?”
“Mr. Hermiston usually does it, but he threw his back out. Since I was the first guy here, they just shoved me into the suit.”
Before I could ask the slew of questions dancing like sugar plums in my head, two older ladies stuck their heads into the hallway. “There is our Mrs. Claus!” one of them exclaimed.
“Your dress is perfect, honey,” the other one said, as they dragged me over to a makeshift makeup table.
A white ruffled pinafore was slipped over my dress, then they added a white wig and gold-rimmed glasses. One of the ladies dabbed on a bit more blush, then they stepped back.
“The prettiest Mrs. Claus we’ve ever had,” the woman with salt-and-pepper hair said.
Daniel had disappeared into the side room where I heard boxes being shuffled around.
It hit me that I was going to have to speak to the lineup of people who were waiting to come in. “What am I supposed to do?” I asked.
“Relax, sweetie. You can play it anyway you want. Just sit beside Santa and smile a lot, or you can throw yourself into the role and help out.”
The taller woman smiled. “It just looks better when Santa’s wife is with him.”
“All right,” I said, standing up and smoothing my skirt.I was going to have to get used to being the center of attention if I was actually going to date a member of the King family.
On the other hand, nobody in town knew me yet. And if I’d met them last night, they saw me with strawberry blonde hair, not a white wig. I was free to be anyone I wanted today.
In the spirit of the holiday season, just for today, I was going to practice being the wife of Daniel King.
I mean…Santa.
9
DANIEL
Not only was Prairie beautiful, she was incredibly kindhearted, and a very good sport to jump in and help me out.
Volunteers had sorted and organized the first round of gifts to match up with the first dozen families in line, and the kids were starting to get restless.
I stuck my head into the other room to see Prairie walking toward me looking like the sexiest Mrs. Claus I had ever seen. “You’re perfect,” I said, giving her a quick kiss on the forehead so that I wouldn’t ruin her lipstick.
“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” she laughed.
“I really appreciate it. You’re going to be great. I hand out the right gift to the right kid, you hand out candy canes to everyone. Simple.”
Prairie’s sweet smile nearly caused my heart to overload. Leaning down, I whispered, “I already have enormous feelings for you, gorgeous. But watching the way you jump into new adventures…I have to say, it’s a huge turn on.”
Her eyes twinkled behind the little gold glasses, as she gave my arm a tiny smack. “Santa, behave yourself,” she said. “We’reworking right now.” I loved that her sass came out even more now that she was in costume.
Taking her hand, we walked to the end of the hall, where Mrs. Langston held the door for us, calling out, “Kids, look who just arrived!”
Although I’d been to this event many times over the years, and heard the thunderous applause that always greeted Santa’s arrival, it was much different when it was directed at me. It felt amazing.
Prairie squeezed my hand, grinning widely as we walked over to our huge decorated chairs, waving to the kids who were all beside themselves with excitement.
Even after we sat down, the noise was wild. Then Prairie held up her hands to silence them. “Hey kids, let’s take it easy on Santa’s ears. Donner and Blitzen had the tunes cranked all the way here, so he needs a break.”
The kids giggled, and the parents howled with laughter.
The volunteers ushered each family toward us, so that I simply had to look at the table beside me for the next pile of gifts. The boxes were all clearly labeled so I could greet the children by name.
