Page 37 of Sleighing You
Chapter 15
Avery
“How in God’s name did I let you talk me into this?” Chris muttered as we glided along the ice, hand in hand. People from the town gathered in a circle around us, taking pictures and laughing as kids skated alongside us.
His long, white beard blew in the wind, and the velvet red suit was, much like my costume, way too big on him. We were both going to have shove a bunch of pillows beneath these before we hugged any children.
“Aren’t you warm, though?” I laughed, using his same argument to me against him.
He squeezed my hand, and from behind the beard, I could have sworn I saw him smile. “It was a stupid argument when I used it and it’s no better coming from your pretty little mouth, either.”
We held hands and skated in circles around the pond. “You’re pretty good at this,” I said, surprised at how steady Chris was on his rental skates. Even though he wasn’t doing any fancy tricks, we hadn’t fallen once in the twenty minutes we’d been outside.
“I had a Christmas-obsessed family, remember? No winter activity was too much for the Pohles.”
“I can see that.”
He tugged me closer, pulling me tightly against his body. “I wish I could kiss you,” he whispered. Heat coiled down my spine, and I shivered despite the fact that I was warm within the costume. “But I don’t want to scar these kids watching.”
I chuckled and nuzzled closer into his warm body. Our skates sliced the ice below us in gliding strokes. “What do you say we head back inside to do that?” I whispered, hoping he’d get my meaning.
He blinked, his footing faltering as my innuendo became more apparent. He caught himself before he went down, and from within the Santa suit, I could see his shoulders bouncing with his laugh. “That was a close one.”
“Chris?”
A lilting voice came from somewhere in front of us, and Chris came to a dead stop in the middle of the ice. From what little I could see of his face, he turned a ghostly shade of white, the color draining from the apples of his cheeks peeking out over the fake white beard. “Helena.” His voice was icy.
I glanced between him and the woman. It took a moment, but then I remembered her… the supermodel. The one he had a very loud break up with at last year’s Christmas party.
I wished I could see his full face. If I could see the expression that was hiding behind the Santa beard, I could have some idea what he was thinking right now. Yes, she had cheated on him… everyone at that party last year knew that. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t still in love with her. Just because you’re angry and your brain is saying no, your heart can still say yes.There was a knot at the base of my ribcage growing larger by the second.What does your heart say, Chris?
Around me, children chattered, their little impressionable eyes watching every move Chris and I—or rather Mr. and Mrs. Claus—made. “ChrisKringle,” I said, giving his elbow a tug and reminding them both we were still in costume. Chris snapped out of his trance and blinked down at me as I tried to gesture subtly around us at the kids. “You should probably head back to the North Pole soon. And I need to prepare for the Story Corner.”
My heart fractured the tiniest bit as I let go of Chris and turned to face the kids and parents around us. “Don’t forget! In thirty minutes, I’ll be reading some of your favorite Christmas classics over at StoryBook Christmas. Come join us!”
Chris’s palm found the small of my back and he ushered us quickly off the ice, towards the store.
But I could feelherfollowing behind us with every step.
