Page 54 of The Santa Swap

Gary had agreed to be Santa, and Tara was going to be Mrs. Clause. Who better to represent the perfect fictional couple than the perfect work couple? They were going to be adorable.

The booth was opening in a couple of days, and Olivia wanted everything to go off without a hitch. She was checking off things on her list when her computer screen flickered off. Holding her breath, Olivia toggled her mouse back and forth. It didn’t help. She tried turning it off and then back on again, but that didn’t work either.

Letting out a frustrated sigh, Olivia pushed back from her chair. If the computer was acting up, she may as well finish her decorations on the main level. She grabbed an armful of plastic bags that held the remaining foliage, looping bag after bag on her arms.

Halfway across the lobby, Luke ran to her side. “Can I help you carry something?” he asked.

Olivia waved her arm back and forth, the bags swaying. “I think it would be harder to take the bags off at this point. I’ve got it.”

She was stepping into the elevator when she remembered one thing she’d forgotten. “Actually, would you mind grabbing me the stapler from my desk?”

Luke nodded. “I’ll be back in a second.”

Olivia stood in the elevator, with one foot holding the door open. She watched Luke approaching, feeling suddenly shy. The purpose in coming back to work for the day was to talk to him. Now she was ignoring him and heading out to do a task.

She held her hand out for the stapler but Luke stepped into the elevator instead. Olivia moved her foot, allowing the doors to close, and turned to find herself looking directly into Luke’s ocean blue eyes.

He was standing close enough, she could take one step forward and she’d be in hugging distance. Another step and she’d be able to reach his lips. She reached past him to push the button for the lobby. Then she pushed it a couple more times to speed things up. There was only so long she could stand so close to Luke and not reach out to touch him.

Luke cleared his throat. “I don’t think that works.”

“You don’t know that. Anyway, why are you riding down to the lobby with me?”

“I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

The elevator was moving, which meant Olivia only had to make small talk for a minute. The question of how she was doing was going to take more than an elevator ride. She wanted to tell Luke she had spoken to her wise sister-in-law and now she was ready to hear him out.

“I’m okay. Can we talk later?” Olivia asked. That would give her time to gather her thoughts.

Luke nodded. “That sounds good. How about after work?”

Olivia was opening her mouth to say yes when her body lurched forward and crashed into Luke. She looked up to meet Luke’s confused eyes as the power went out.

CHAPTER23

Luke’s mind was trying to process three things in quick succession. The first was that all of the lights were off except for a dull emergency backup light. The second was that the elevator which had been descending was no longer moving. And the third was that his arms were somehow wrapped around Olivia’s body, pressing her close to his chest.

Logically, he knew the first two items should bother him more, but holding Olivia somehow made the entire situation entirely bearable.

Olivia placed a hand on his chest and gently pushed herself away. Luke didn’t like that. Being stuck in an elevator without his arms wrapped around the woman he was crazy about felt like such a waste.

“Are you okay?” he asked, realizing that he still had a voice.

“I think so.” Olivia’s voice was shaky and Luke wanted to know why. Was she afraid of small spaces? Or was it her close proximity to him?

He pulled out his phone, turning on the flashlight so he could shine it along the wall. “I can’t even tell which floor we’re on, or if we’re stuck between floors. He found the panel with the hidden phone and pulled it out, grateful to hear a dial tone. Luke punched in the proper numbers, crossing his fingers that he’s be able to get through to someone who could help.

“Maintenance. This is Larry,” a voice said.

“Hi Larry. This is Luke. I am trapped on an elevator with the lovely Olivia.”

“I see. Which building?”

Luke gave the address.

Larry cleared his throat. “Unfortunately, there’s a power outage all down that block. We’ll get to you as soon as we can, but it may be a while.”

“Okay. Thank you for your help.”

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