No Mistletoe Required Page 4

  When his thumbs reached the thin cotton of her bra, he didn’t want to stop. Didn’t want to let go of the moment. Didn’t care about getting caught.

  Didn’t care about anything but Anna and finding out the mysteries of her body.

  But as he dipped one finger under the band of the bra, intent in pulling up and over to give him access, she grabbed his wrist with lightning-fast reflexes.

  “No,” she said sharply, then took a deep breath and rocked back on her heels, separating their bodies entirely except where she gripped him. “No, we can’t. Someone might...”

  Right. Closet. Hospital. Fourteen different health codes they’d probably come close to violating. He nodded, not trusting his own voice to make it past the thickness of his tongue. Not that she could see the gesture anyway.

  Letting go of his arm slowly, her fingers trailed down his wrist and hand as it fell to his side.

  Dan sighed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think we’d get this into it.” Though his eyes adjusted to the light—or lack thereof—he still couldn’t fully make out her features. Was she pissed? Though why would she be, given it was her own idea...

  But when she found a light switch a moment later, after blinking past the blinding brightness, he saw she wasn’t at all upset. In fact, she looked beyond pleased with the entire situation. She made a shooing motion toward the back corner. “They’re going to wonder where we are. You grab the cones.” She reached behind one shelf and produced a mop.

  They walked back to the rec room in silence. He wondered if anyone knew what they’d been up to. If they both had a scarlet A on their chests or something. But nobody gave them a second glance.

  Making out in a closet was not something he did. Having fun over the holidays wasn’t what he did either. This was not at all going according to his usual plans.

  And the lack of any sort of panic told him that this was okay. He didn’t want to trust it though. Did he deserve to enjoy the holidays?

  Maybe he needed to rein things in a little.

  “Sorry guys, got a little turned around. Mop’s here,” she called as they entered the room. And as she went to work mopping the sticky area where his coffee had been, she gave him a cheeky smile and snapped her fingers to get his attention.

  “You’re lagging. Come on, cone holder. I’ve got a wet floor here.”

  “Right. Sorry.”

  Watching her joyfully mop up the mess, he knew he wasn’t going to take a step back. No way in hell. She’d started this whole thing, and he wasn’t going to toss in the towel now. He just couldn’t.

  * * *

  “What are you doing after this?”

  Dan stepped behind her, his chest to her back as she finished taping protective paper to the fold up table in the corner. The arts and crafts corner was simple. But kids didn’t need a whole lot of hoopla to create gifts for their siblings and parents. They just needed the space and the opportunity. Something of which they often had little in the hospital.

  “I’m working,” she said primly, smiling to herself as she edged around the table to secure one last corner. “I’m going to be all but living here until the place is fully ready.”

  “You have to eat, don’t you? Come to dinner with me. I’ll bring you right back.” She glanced over her shoulder at him and he held up a hand. “Scout’s honor.”

  “Hmm.” She had no plans, naturally. And the fact that he was taking the initiative to offer was a big step in the process. But dinner sounded a little too serious. So she compromised. “How about dinner here?”

  His brow scrunched up in an adorable manner. “You want me to bring dinner here?”

  “It’s already here. The cafeteria.”

  He looked pained. “I think we can do a little better than that.”

  She shrugged. Cafeteria food was nothing new to her. But the informal atmosphere would keep things light, not create a false sense of intimacy. And intimacy was the one thing she couldn’t afford to fall into right now.

  Her heart pinched a little with regret. Dan might have a self-proclaimed bad attitude toward Christmas—though she had her doubts the attitude would hold up under much scrutiny—but he was absolutely relationship material. And she could admit there were nights when she wanted a man in her bed for more than just sex. If only the timing didn’t suck...

  Stop that. You know it’s not fair to anyone, so get over it. The deadline exists for a reason.

  “Okay, fine.” Though he looked like he’d rather have fire ants crawling over his eyeballs, he nodded. “Cafeteria. After everyone else takes off. You and me. And a tray of Salisbury surprise.”

  “You got it.”

  Chapter Four

  Three hours later, she was afraid her original plan of eating in the cafeteria to keep things simple hadn’t worked at all. Anna expected Dan to push his food around and make excuses for not eating, but he shocked her by devouring it, sheepishly saying he’d skipped lunch. And when she thought for sure he’d whisk her back to the rec room for privacy, he settled into his side of the booth table with his cup of horrible hospital coffee and asked her about life. Where she worked, what she did for fun. All the typical first date questions she’d expect to hear.

  But this wasn’t a date.

  “So you work as a pediatric nurse, just not at this hospital.”

  “Not at any hospital. I’m at a clinic about ten minutes from here.” A woman in scrubs walked by and waved. “Hey, Tracy.”

  He seemed to think that one over. “Never wanted to come here and work? You seem to know the staff well from volunteering.”

  She’d spent enough time at this very hospital as a teen herself. Being here day after day for work would be too much of a reminder of that painful time. As a volunteer, she could step back if she needed to. As an employee, she’d be stuck. “No, I like the hours better at the clinic.”

  “Why Christmas?”

  His question took her by surprise. “Why Christmas what?”

  “You’re, like, the Christmas ambassador around here. Are you this gung-ho about all holidays? Or only this specific one?”

  “Oh, I see what you mean.” She took a sip of bitter coffee that even flavored creamer couldn’t help in order to give herself some time. “It’s just one of those times of the year where anything seems possible. I liked it as a kid, and never really outgrew the love.”

  All true. No need to mention it was the only time her sterile hospital room had seemed slightly more friendly and inviting, more like a home. Less like a room where she would simply die, with white walls and nothing personal. Where she saw nobody but her family, unless someone was coming at her with a needle or another round of bad news.

  She started to ask about his reason for disliking the holiday so much, but thought better of it. His demons were his own to come forth with if he wanted—or needed—to. But sharing too much dark history could lead to a feeling of trust that she just wasn’t able to handle.

  Keep it light. Keep it simple. Keep it fair.

  * * *

  Dan fought most of Sunday morning to avoid grabbing Anna and pulling her back to the storage closet. But unlike the day before, he knew she wouldn’t be receptive to the distraction. This morning there were way too many things to finish up before the first of the kids started to trickle in around noon.

  As Anna had explained the day before, the Workshop would stay set up through the month of December, with kids being able to come in and create their gifts at the craft area or take pictures with the cardboard reindeer or sitting in Santa’s chair. But during the weekends, there would be a volunteer Santa there to talk to the kids, along with a few volunteer elves.

  He finished hanging up the last of the replacement lights draped over the platform where Santa would sit. When Anna had seen the finished product and realized one string had mysteriously burnt out, she’d been near tears, so he’d volunteered at the last minute to climb the ladder and fix it. At that point, he’d have done anything to remove the panic from her eyes.


  But now he couldn’t find her. Where was she? He at least wanted to say goodbye and ask her about maybe having dinner tonight. Hopefully more than just dinner, but he’d lead with food.

  Tonight was it. He knew. After the relief of the first day being open to the public behind her, he was sure she’d calm down enough to want to spend some time—hopefully the night—with him. They just had to get through the day.

  Well, she had. And the other volunteers. His job was done.

  “Dan!”

  At the sound of Anna’s voice, he smiled and turned. But when he realized she wasn’t excited, but frantic, he immediately went into problem-solving mode. “What’s wrong?”

  “Have you seen Geoff?”

  “Geoff?” He glanced around the room. “No, I didn’t even know he was scheduled to come in today.”

  She nodded so fast her hair whipped around in its messy bun. “He was, and I can’t find him anywhere.”

  “Anna, where do you want this?” one of the sorority sisters asked from across the room. She was dressed as an elf, complete with jingle bells on her shoes. And he had to give the Kappa sisters props. None of those slutty costumes meant for adult parties, either. Full fledged elves straight out of a kid’s Christmas movie. Nary a booty in sight. This, of course, would upset Geoff greatly. If he were here, that was. The bastard.

  “Just give me a second.” She pushed a shaking hand over the top of her head, smoothing back flyaway strands of hair. “I’m going to kill him. I’m going to kill your friend. I really am.”

  He cupped her face in his hands, felt the tension vibrating her entire body and took a chance by leaning down to press a soft, quick kiss to her lips. “Calm down. I don’t know where he is, but until he gets here, I’ll fill in. What did you have him doing? Carrying? Lifting? Organizing?”

  She bounced on the balls of her feet, and he recognized adrenaline when he saw it. “You will? Seriously? You’ll fill in?”

  How the hell could he possibly say no to that? “Yeah, of course.” It was then he realized she was wearing the most odd combination of clothing he’d seen her in. More odd than her misshapen, oversized sweatshirts. She wore a tank top, even though the air in the rec room was cool, a pair of gym shorts, running shoes and red and white striped tube socks reaching up to her knees that vaguely resembled candy canes. “What’s with the outfit?”

  She glanced down a moment, as if she didn’t even remember what she was wearing and had to check. Poor thing. “Oh. Part of my costume. I’m not done yet obviously. Not getting dressed until the last minute so I don’t mess up the costume.”

  “Ah.” He should have known she would have been right in the thick of things as far as costumes. “And who are you, head elf?”

  She laughed. “No, nothing quite like that. I’m actually Mrs. Claus.”

  He could see her in the role easily. Then, when her smile only grew, he had a feeling in his gut that he should have run when he had the chance. Cautiously, he asked, “What exactly was Geoff signed up to do, again?”

  She broke into a full out grin. “Santa Claus.”

  * * *

  “No way.” Dan shook his head and backed away from her like she’d tried to hand him a poisonous snake.

  Anna felt her smile slip a little, but she rallied. “You already agreed.”

  “Which was complete entrapment,” he pointed out, face darkening. “You got me to agree without knowing the details.”

  “This isn’t a courtroom, Dan. No jury to sway. I just need a few dozen little kids to not be disappointed that there’s no Santa in Santa’s workshop. I don’t have any other male volunteers until later tonight.” She mentally crossed her fingers and prayed he would step up to the challenge.

  But he shook his head and started to walk away. “I’ll finish cleaning up. You’ll have to find someone else to play the jolly fat guy.” The words were shot at her, each one hitting her like BB pellets. Then he turned and started loading tools back in his toolbox, avoiding meeting her eyes like a little boy who knew he was in trouble.

  He wasn’t going to help. Had she seriously been so wrong about him? It hurt, just a little. Mostly because the kids would be so disappointed. But a tiny piece of her ached for whatever was holding Dan back from experiencing the holiday like he could...full out, without any dark spots holding him back.

  She sighed. “Beth?”

  Beth hopped over, bells on her ankles jingling merrily. “Yeah?”

  She gritted her teeth, hoping it would look somewhat like a smile. “I’m gonna need you to switch costumes.”

  * * *

  Dan watched from the corner, partially shaded by one of the decorated trees. He should have left. Really, he should have left. But damn, the look in Anna’s eyes when he’d said no to playing Santa had bored into his gut and left him wondering if he’d finally gone too far.

  Beth, the tallest of the sorority girls, was doing her best to play a convincing Santa. The first few kids seemed too small to even realize what was going on. They mostly were staring off into the distance at the lights, or clapping in delight at being fussed over by so many new people. A few cried, too shy to want to go near anyone.

  But even the few toddlers that were—he estimated—preschool age gave Beth a pretty skeptical once-over. The girl could only drop her voice so low, and she didn’t even come close to sounding like a male. Not to mention, she was slender as a two-by-four. He figured at that age, the kids mostly still believed everything at face value. So if the preschool age kids weren’t buying it, nobody else would.

  “How much longer until Santa?”

  His father scooped down and lifted him up to sit on his shoulders. “Can you see him, Danny? He’s up there. We just have to wait our turn.”

  His mother rubbed his leg. “What are you asking for?”

  Dan grinned and shook his head. “Surprise.”

  His mother smiled up at him with laughing eyes. “If you have a minute to spare, how about you put in a good word with the big guy for your mother? There’s a heart-shaped necklace I’ve been thinking about...”

  “Mooooom,” he whined. “Santa only brings gifts for kids.”

  “We’re all kids at heart,” his father reminded him.

  Dan shuddered a little, the memory passing through his mind like fog. And immediately a wash of shame flooded him. His parents loved Christmas. Visiting Santa was one of the most fantastic parts, and his parents would pump him up for it every year, encouraging him to believe as long as possible.

  And that might be ruined for some sick kids this year, because he had a stick up his ass about Christmas and not enjoying himself.

  No. He couldn’t do it. Couldn’t let the opportunity to pay back his parents in some small way pass him by. Dan crept over to the Kappa standing at the door, helping control the crowds. Leaning down, he whispered for her to close the doors after the last child already in line was through, for a ten-minute break. She smiled, picking up on his hint, and then nodded.

  Time to face his demons, or at least one of them. Dan sucked in a breath and let it out slowly. He could start by putting on a rental Santa suit.

  * * *

  Two hours into the first afternoon of the Workshop, Anna was still smiling. He’d come through. She hadn’t been wrong after all. Dan, though clearly flying blind in the whole situation, was doing an admirable job.

  Beth had been relieved to switch back to her elf costume. Dan’s first few Santa visits had been touch-and-go, but the kids were so young that they didn’t look past the costume to see if Santa had any actual enthusiasm for the job. With each child that left his lap with a smile, he relaxed just a little more. Joked just a little more. And after a little bit, started developing his own dramatic Santa voice and belly-deep Santa laugh. The entire thing was completely charming.

  And, she had to admit to herself, more than a little erotic. The laugh and the attitude that went with it were doing things to her. And, oh God, she was totally hot for Santa.

/>   Finally, the last child was ushered out the door with the promise that Santa would be back and the Workshop would open again after the Claus crew had a milk and cookie break. Dan stood at the door, waving to the last group of children with his large white mittened hand, then walked back to his official throne and slumped into the chair.

  Anna looked to Beth, who had resumed her post as Crafty Elf. “So, from your perspective at the craft table?”

  Beth gave a thumbs-up. “Looks like a hit. The kids loved it. And they made some super cute stuff.”

  “Yes!” She danced a little jig, lifting her long petticoats and velvet skirt so she didn’t step on them. Dan’s laughter from behind reminded her she wasn’t just with her Kappa girls. Whoops. She turned sheepishly, but Dan was smiling and clapping.

  “Why, Mrs. Claus, you’re as spry as the day I married you.”

  She gave him a wry smile. “Some centuries ago. Naturally. Must be all the milk to go with those cookies, keeping my bones healthy.” Removing the wig and attached hat, she bent at the waist and shook out her hair, which was plastered to her head thanks to the heat. She wouldn’t win any beauty contests, but that wasn’t the point. “You can change out of the suit now.”

  He actually looked a little reluctant. “I can just take the beard off. It’s a little itchy. How long is my break?”

  “The kids will get to come back in an hour. But we have someone else taking the late afternoon and evening shift as Santa.”

  “Ah.” He stood and started walking back to the screen in the corner where he’d left his clothes. “Are you changing?”

  “Yup. Someone has my job later today, as well. So I’m purely supervisory after this.”

  He gave her a long look. The entire thing should have been ridiculous, Santa checking her out. Instead, the heat of his gaze from between his puffy hat and bushy beard had her feeling extra toasty inside her costume. “Will the workshop survive without you for a few hours?”