Page 58 of The Santa Swap

He turned to face her, giving her a gentle kiss on the top of her head. “First of all, are you doing okay? That elevator ride was unnerving even for me, and I’m not claustrophobic.”

Olivia wrapped her arms around his waist. “I made it through because you were there. Thanks for letting me be a mess.”

Luke was running his fingers through her hair, which sent all sorts of happy tingles down her back. “I always want to be there for you. That’s part of what I wanted to talk to you about.”

“This sounds serious.”

“I’m just afraid that when I ask you for my favor, you are going to forget that I have your best interest at heart.”

Olivia was intrigued. “What do you need?”

* * *

Three dayslater Olivia was standing in the lobby, ready to clobber Luke with one of the giant candy canes someone had donated to the photo booth. She glanced over her shoulder but Luke was nowhere in sight. He had promised he’d meet her at the booth in time to help.

Olivia peered through the double doors that would soon open to Winter Wonderland. Tara and Gary were in position. A little bit of stuffing helped Gary to look like a Santa who enjoyed his cookies. His red suit had been pressed so that there wasn’t a wrinkle to be seen. His white wig and beard looked so natural, people would think he had been growing them out for years.

Tara was standing with one hand on Gary’s shoulder. She swayed her hips from side to side, watching her red velvet dress with white fur trim swirling around her ankles. Short gray curls framed her face, and she had round metal glasses perched on her nose. The couple looked incredible together.

Olivia stepped back to look down at her own outfit. When Luke asked her to help run the photo booth, she hadn’t thought about what that would entail. She wasn’t sure if Luke was trying to get her back for the elf stickers on his car or not, but the dress she was wearing made her think there was at least a little payback involved.

Her red hair was braided back so she could fit the striped elf hat on her head. She was wearing a white shirt with puffed sleeves, a striped skirt that flared out at her knees, and red stockings. The only slightly sensible part of her outfit were the black boots she brought from home.

Olivia didn’t really mind since it was an event for charity. She had spent the morning checking over all her work, and everything was in place. It was heartwarming to see the stack of gifts that were already starting to pile up in front of the tree. The employees had come together to make an event that looked truly magical.

She was smoothing down the trim on her skirt when Luke cleared his voice behind her. One look at her helper had her holding her stomach while she laughed. She pulled out her phone to snap a picture. “You look festive.”

He groaned. “Don’t remind me.” Luke’s elf outfit was just as garish as hers was, but he somehow managed to make the green and white striped shirt and green velvet shorts look good. Olivia reached up to straighten his elf hat before she slid her hand to his cheek.

“I’m glad we’re doing this together. I won’t look so silly if you’re standing next to me.”

Luke turned his head to give her a quick kiss. “What are you talking about? You look incredible. Our visitors won’t know who to give the credit to, but your work hasn’t gone unnoticed.”

Olivia slid an arm around his waist. “I can’t wait to see the faces of the children when they see Santa. It’s a double win. We get happy children who are getting their photos taken and then we’ll be able to provide gifts for so many others. It is really the true spirit of Christmas.”

“It will be amazing.” Luke pulled Olivia towards the doorway.

“Hey. It’s not time to go in yet,” she said.

He winked and opened the door. “I know the boss.” They walked down the long red aisle that led right to Mr. and Mrs. Clause.

The doors swung open again as Susan and her new boyfriend Charlie stepped through, their elf outfits looking like they had just come from a photo shoot. Susan left Charlie by the camera and then she joined the group at Santa’s chair.

“Alright guys,” Susan said. “Let’s take a picture for the company newsletter before everyone else arrives.”

Charlie counted to three and told everyone to say cheese, but Olivia didn’t need any prompting. She was pretty sure the smile on her face would last all night.

* * *

The Santa photobooth was way more popular than anyone expected. Olivia’s feet were aching when she closed the doors behind the final child. Gary stretched his arms high above his head, yawning loudly. “How did we do?” he asked. “Was it worth having what felt like the entire city full of kids sitting on my lap?”

Olivia’s eyes prickled with tears. “Come with us.” She reached for Luke’s hand and they led Gary and Tara to their overflow room.

The floor was no longer visible under the stacks of toys that filled the room.

“I know it felt like a million kids, but did we really have that many people?”

Luke wrapped his arm around Olivia’s shoulder, giving it a squeeze. “I think people liked the idea of giving gifts to Santa. We said in our advertising that to take a photo with Santa you either needed a cash donation or a present. So many people came with both. Some people brought multiple presents.”

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