“That was nice of you,” Alex said after she left.
“It’s no big deal.” I shrugged it off. “They are good people, and I liked the fact that they were including the kids.”
“It is a big deal to them.” Alex nodded toward the happy couple. Suddenly, his phone rang, and he fished it out of his pocket.
“Yeah?” I signaled to the next child that we would be just a moment. “Aww, perfect. Give me a minute.” He hung up the phone and leaned over. “Can we take a small break?”
Confused, I looked around. “Yeah, sure. I guess so. Everything okay?”
“Yes.” He smiled. “Come with me.” Taking my hand, he pulled me toward the front doors. When I walked outside, I was surprised to find my brother standing next to his truck, that was loaded down with several children’s bikes. A man I’d never seen before was leaning against the truck next to him.
“Noah?” I was shocked to see my brother at the wedding, since he didn’t show up to play Santa.
“Hey, Sis. I’ve got a special delivery.”
“Where did these come from?” I had a suspicion, and it was confirmed when Noah hitched his chin at Alex.
Smiling at him, I felt a rush of gratitude for the man and his generosity toward the children. “Thank you, Alex. They will love it.”
We helped unload the truck and took all the bikes inside to surprise everyone. I’m sure Alex cleared out every store within three towns to get that many bikes, but it was so worth it to see all the smiles on the kids’ faces.
Turning to Alex, I gave him a smile. “So, you ready to take off the Santa suit?”
5
Xander
“That’s a loaded question,” I teased, grinning when Everly’s cheeks flushed a pretty pink. I loved it when they did that. The woman was beautiful, and those lips had been just as soft as I thought they would be when I kissed her earlier. I wanted nothing more than to close the distance between us and do it again, but decided that might not be the best idea when I noticed her brother seemed to be watching us closely.
“The party is winding down, and I need to get to my next wedding.” Everly ducked her head, then met my gaze again. “Thank you for everything, Alex. You were wonderful with the children. I really appreciate it.”
Disappointment flooded me at the thought of her leaving, but I shrugged it off. As much as I wanted to spend time with her, she had a job to do. I couldn’t interfere with that. “What about tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow?”
“I’d love to spend the day with you, unless you have plans?”
“Like, on a date?” When I chuckled softly, she bit her lip, then nodded slowly. “No. Sure. I mean… I don’t have plans and I would like that.”
“Meet me for lunch at that diner with the huge Snowman out front around noon?”
“Noon at the diner.” Everly nodded, taking a step back from me. “I’ll be there.”
I glanced around, smiling with satisfaction when I noticed Noah had gone back inside, leaving me alone with his sister. Before she could move farther away, I stepped forward and cupped her chin in my hand. Tilting her head up slightly, I placed my lips on hers. Taking it a little further than before, I tentatively licked at her fuller bottom lip, groaning at the sweet taste that was all her.
When Everly’s mouth opened in surprise, I slipped inside, past those addictive lips, finding her tongue with my own. Her hands came up to clutch at the velvet material of the Santa suit, and she leaned into me, a low moan escaping.
“Mama, why is Santa kissing the elf?”
Everly pulled back with a gasp, her hand going to her mouth, hiding her luscious lips from sight.
“Come on, Aria. It’s time to go home.”
“But, what about Mrs. Claus?”
“Oh my God,” Everly whispered, closing her eyes and bowing her head in shame. “I think we traumatized that poor child.”
“That’s just one of Santa’s helpers,” the mother explained, their voices leading away from us. “The real Santa is at the North Pole getting all of your presents ready for Christmas.”