Chapter Eleven

Maci

“Who are you?” I asked again, panic rising in my chest as Alex shifted in place.

“What do you mean?” he asked, his eyes narrowing slightly. “Who am I?”

“I know your name. I know that you volunteer as a mall Santa. I know that you work for some tech firm. And now I know your family. But the entire night it was like—I don’t know—like everyone was keeping something from me. All these knowing smiles and then I find out you don’t even live here. When were you planning on telling me that?”

Alex sighed and ran a hand over the back of his neck.

“Alex! Just tell me what’s going on. You live in LA?”

He nodded and pocketed his hands. “I grew up here and moved out to LA several years ago. I come home to visit for the holidays. Everything else is true. My dad really did hurt himself and that is the only reason I’m playing Santa six days a week at the mall. I run a very successful tech company in LA and well—I’ve done well for myself.”

I cocked my head. There was still something, an undercurrent of secrecy in his answer. “Why didn’t you tell me about LA sooner? Why let me find out like this?” I waved a hand at the front door, horrified to spot three faces staring out at us from the large picture window. I grimaced and turned away. “You know what, nevermind. I’m sorry. This isn’t what I signed up for.”

Without waiting, I reached for the handle of the passenger side door. “Just take me home.”

He reached out and slapped a hand against the seam of the door, preventing me from jerking it open. “Wait!”

I paused and gave him a sharp glare. “You should have been honest with me, Alex. I’ve been thinking of all these things that already seemed crazy to me. Now, in the ultimate insult to injury, I find out that in a few day’s time you’ll be going back to the West Coast and I’ll probably never see you again. I have a daughter, Alex. I can’t be your little jet set booty call!”

Alex grimaced, a flurry of frustration in his eyes. “I never asked you to a booty call.”

“Then what were you expecting? Just a fun Christmas fling? A little hometown honey before you go back to the land of fake tits and ass implants?” I scoffed. “Yeah, in comparison, how could I ever compete with Silicone Barbie.”

“Stop it, Maci!” He ground his teeth and glared down at me. “If you’d stop talking for thirty seconds I could answer you.”

I crossed my arms and returned his fierce gaze.

He sighed, clearly struggling to retain a hold on his even tone. “You’re right. Okay? I should have told you that I don’t live around here. I wanted to. But I couldn’t find a good time, or way. As soon as you told me about Alyssa, I knew there wasn’t much chance you’d be interested in something long distance. I wanted to spend time with you, to get to know you, and I didn’t want any road blocks. Then it was too late. I was—I am—falling for you, Maci. I feel things for you that I’ve never felt before. You’re the first woman who’s ever made me question myself and whether or not I want to be this permanent bachelor. You make me want things, big things. I look at you and Alyssa and I want that.”

He broke off and looked away, past my shoulder, staring at the quiet street. A new flurry of snowflakes started floating down and I looked at the delicate white specks with wonder. It didn’t even feel cold enough to snow.

Alex’s eyes moved slowly back to mine and a pang clamped down in my belly. The surface of his deep eyes glistened under the soft lights. “The truth is that I’m dreading getting back on that plane to LA. I’m normally the guy who springs out of bed, can’t get to the office fast enough, and now, I hate the idea of going back to work because that will mean all of this is over.”

I didn’t know what to say. Words flitted through my head but I couldn’t settle on anything long enough to reply. The idea of saying goodbye—forever—in only a few days made my stomach curl into a tight knot.

He reached for me and cupped the side of my face. His hands were warm from being tucked in his pockets and I nestled my cheek into his touch. “I’m not ready to say goodbye, Alex.” I looked over my shoulder at his parent’s house. “Being here with you tonight, it felt right,” I said as we broke apart. “Your family is amazing. So warm and welcoming.”

A smile crossed his handsome face. “That’s because they know something I haven’t told you yet.”

“What’s that?”

The grin widened. “I’m in love with you, Maci.”

My heart surged from the pit of my stomach and fluttered in an unfamiliar pattern. “Really?”

He laughed softly. “How could I not be?” I started to object but he covered my lips with his finger. “You’re amazing, Maci. You’re beautiful and I love that smart mouth of yours. You’d do anything for your daughter. You make me laugh. You challenge me. In the past, the women I’ve been with have all been self-centered and only in the relationship for what they could get from me. You’re not like them. You’re not afraid to speak your mind and damn it, I love it when you do. You surprise me and keep me on my toes. I need that. I need you.”

Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes and when I nodded, one slipped loose. “I love you too, Alex.”

He smiled and lowered his mouth to mine, sealing the words with a steamy kiss.

I didn’t care who was watching.

“What do we do now?” I asked with a laugh as he pulled back. This was uncharted waters on a whole new level.

“We’ll figure it out,” he assured me, smoothing his fingers through my now-ruined curls. He kissed me softly and something shifted. The world snapped back upright and left me reeling for a moment, scrambling to find my balance. This was real. Alex was real. The way he felt about me—the way I felt about him—it was all real.

We broke apart and my lips missed his instantly. He smiled softly at me. “For now, it’s time to get you out of this cold.” He reached past me and pulled the door open. Reluctantly, I slid inside and he closed the door gently behind me. He jogged around the front bumper, sliding through the snow as he rounded the fender. My hand flew to conceal the gasp as he skidded along the driveway and then it turned into a laugh as his face registered the shock.

He was chuckling at his near fall when he got behind the wheel.

“I didn’t know we were ice skating,” I teased. Peeking into the back seat at my already sleeping daughter, I added, “Lyss will be so sad she missed all the fun.”

Alex laughed and reached over to set one hand on my thigh as he craned around to back out of the driveway. The streets were caked with fresh snow and the wheels slipped as we hit a patch of ice on the sidewalk.

“I’m glad you’re driving,” I told him as he maneuvered onto the street. “If my clunker was pissed off at me before the snow storm, I’m sure this wouldn’t improve things. As it is, I’m going to need some new tires come spring.”

Alex grinned at me. “You know, there’s not a whole lot of snow out in LA.”

I laughed but the idea resounded through me as we idled at a stop light. My mind was still buzzing and spinning with everything that had been said in the last ten minutes. I had no idea what the future held but the longer I sat with the invitation, the better it started to sound. Trading in the snow and rain for the beach and eternal sunshine couldn’t be a bad thing. Especially if Alex was there beside me.

My apartment was about fifteen minutes from Alex’s parents and I smiled to myself, wondering if I’d passed Alex’s mother in line at the grocery store or seen his dad at the gas station on my way to work. I’d have never known how important they might someday become to me.

Alex carried Alyssa up the stairs and I gathered the gift bags from the back seat. I unlocked the door and then set my keys on the kitchen counter. I got Alyssa changed and settled in. She stirred as I peeled away her party dress and slipped her favorite long t-shirt that doubled as a nightgown over her head and shoulders. She never woke up long enough to say anything but, “Is Santa here?” I assured her he was on his way and then tucked her in, kissed her cheek and slipped from the room.

Alex was in the kitchen and straightened at my entrance, an almost guilty look on his face. I wrapped my arms around myself and noticed he hadn’t slipped out of his coat or shoes. He wasn’t planning to stay.

“Do you want to stay for some wine?” I prompted. “I’ll be up all night, wrapping the last of the presents.”

“I’d love to but I promised I’d help my mom clean up after the party.”

“Right.” I nodded, trying not to let the disappointment show through my expression. “What’s your plan for tomorrow?”

He smiled and took a long stride toward me. He grabbed my hips and tugged me close. “I’m planning on escaping my family as soon as humanly possible and coming to spend the day with you and Lyss.”

“Are you sure? Your family won’t be mad?”

He laughed. “After meeting you both tonight, I’ll be surprised if they let me stay through breakfast. They’re crazy about you, Maci. Just like I am.”

He kissed me slowly and I was tempted to drag him to my bed, but I had a lot of work to do and didn’t want to risk Alyssa waking up looking for Santa and getting an eyeful of Santa Uncovered.

I walked Alex back to the front door and said goodnight. He pulled open the door and then gave me a final kiss. “Goodnight, Maci.”

From the window at the door, I watched him drive away and wondered what the next day would bring.