He couldn’t help noticing Troy didn’t look particularly happy about that. Too bad.
“Is it my turn?” Lydia asked, an edge of impatience in her voice.
Holly winced. “Oh yes. Sorry,” she said.
Lydia climbed back onto Santa’s lap.
“I know you, Miss Lydia,” he said. “I don’t even need to ask if you’ve been good. I know the answer already. Of course you have.”
Lydia beamed at him, though Ryan thought she suddenly looked a little nervous.
When Holly took some pictures with her phone, Ryandecided to snap a few of his own. They might be nice to look at after he returned to California, so he could remember this unique Christmas.
“Tell Santa what you would like,” her mother urged, when Lydia remained silent.
“A dollhouse,” she whispered.
“A dollhouse,” Santa repeated. “I’ll see what I can do about that. Anything else?”
She went through her list quickly, then with another sidelong look at her mother, she added, “And a yellow puppy, if you can take it on the sleigh.”
The guy in the Santa suit must have seen Holly’s sharp head shake. “I’m not sure about that one,” he said kindly. “Christmas isn’t always the best time to get a new puppy. That’s probably something you should ask your mommy for, not Santa Claus.”
She again pouted briefly but smiled one last time before hopping down again.
“Thank you,” Holly murmured to the man.
“You’re welcome, Holly,” he replied, confirming Ryan’s suspicions that she and the man behind the beard and spectacles knew each other.
“He knows your name, Mommy,” Lydia said, an expression of astonishment on her features. “Does he know yours too, Ryan?”
“Sure do,” Santa said. “That’s my old friend Ryan. Good to see you again.”
Ryan had to admire the guy’s quick thinking.
As they walked away from the grotto, Lydia seemed giddy about the interaction, chattering a mile a minute, only about half of which Ryan could follow.
“Thank you for coming with us,” Holly said.
“It was fun. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Santa Claus.”
She smiled up at him and Ryan again had to fight the urge to lean down and capture her mouth with his.
He had to get a handle on his growing attraction to Holly Moore or he was going to end up doing something stupid.
He didn’t belong here in this small town filled with Christmas markets and curious neighbors. The sooner he remembered that, the better.
It was tough not to fall for Holly—or for her adorable daughter—but he needed to remind himself that his time here in Shelter Springs was temporary. As soon as Kim returned to pick up the pieces of her life again, he needed to head back to San Diego and do the same.
Chapter Sixteen
AS TIRED AS SHE WAS FROM HER LONG DAY, HOLLY DIDN’Twant the evening to end.
She had loved every moment spent with Ryan and Audrey. For a few moments, she hadn’t felt like a tired mother or a frazzled small business owner. She only felt like a woman in the company of an attractive man who made her feel like she had sparklers going off inside her.
As much as she had loved being with him and Audrey, she was aware of a little niggle of worry on the edge of her subconscious.
If she wasn’t careful, she was going to make a fool of herself over him and end up finding a broken heart in her stocking this Christmas.
