Page 56

She opened her eyes, squealing with delight. “Charles, look!” She grabbed Grayson’s arm, pulling him back to Charles.

“Lucinda, do not do this to me, I implore you,” he said, dragging his feet. She giggled.

“Come on! You look so cute!”

She deposited him in front of Charles, who burst out laughing, the perfect picture of a jolly Santa Claus.

“That’s it.” Grayson glowered. “Give me back my clothes.”

“Too late,” she replied, lifting her nose. “I spelled them to a secret location, so you have no choice but to wear this.”

His mouth fell open. “My clothes!”

She waved an unbothered hand. “I’ll bring them back at the end of the day.”

He scowled, and she clapped.

“See! Can’t even tell that you’re acting!”

He glared, which only made her happier, and funnily enough, seeing her happy made him feel … warm and fuzzy. And it wasn’t just because of the heavy costume.

“Fine. But I deserve hot chocolate after this.”

“Coming right up!” She skipped away, the bells on her outfit tinkling. Soon, the store opened, and he didn’t have time to argue with her, anyway. Not to mention, she was so pleased with his look that he found he didn’t even mind the itchy costume.

Throughout the day, he received his fair share of laughs from customers and even succeeded in making a few children cry, which Lucy thought was absolutely hilarious for some deranged reason.

“This is terrible!” Grayson cried as another sobbing toddler was carried away from his vicinity. “Look how much distress I’m causing!”

“It’s brilliant!” Lucy cackled, which made Grayson smile. She had the most ridiculously loud and obnoxious laugh, and he couldn’t help but love the sound of it.

The store was busy throughout the day, and she flitted around, talking with everyone. He couldn’t get over her little elf outfit, which was alarming to say the least. She definitely noticed him staring, and at one point he swore she was giddy because of it, twirling to make the tiny dress lift just to torture him.

When she wasn’t filling his mind with images of how she might react if he slipped his hands under that skirt, she made sure everyone took plenty of treats from the station of free goodies she had set up: a massive percolator of hot chocolate along with whipped cream, candy canes, mint chocolates, and peppermints.

Everyone was having a wonderful time, which only made her happier: She was practically floating, face radiant with joy. He couldn’t keep his eyes off her for longer than a moment.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t the only one enraptured.

“Hey, that’s a cute outfit you got on,” one man said to her.

Grayson stalked over, thankful for the Grinch costume, because it meant he could don his worst scowl. He simply stood behind Lucy, glaring until finally the man noticed and laughed nervously before retreating. She glanced back at Grayson, smiling, her cheeks pink, and he felt an ache in his chest, bright and painful.

It stayed with him throughout the day.

At the end of the evening, they were exhausted. Grayson was taking a break before going back to cleaning when he heard Lucy gasp. His eyes shot open with the desire to see what had made her so pleased.

“It’s snowing!” she said, running to the windows. Her dark eyes were wide with wonder.

She pressed her hands against the glass, a smile playing at her lips. Grayson and Charles joined her, watching the soft descent of snow from the sky, gorgeous flecks of white against their town lit up with lights. It was so peaceful, the sight picture-perfect.

“Charles, you should head home before the roads get bad,” Grayson said, voice practical. There was also a slight possibility that he was plotting to send Charles off so he might spend some time alone with Lucy in the quiet bookstore, but no one needed to know that. “We’ll clean up.”

“Are you sure?” Charles asked, frowning. He had gotten rid of the wig and beard but still wore his Santa costume. “How will you get back if I take the car?”

Before Grayson could come up with a response, Lucy answered.

“I can drop him off,” she said, tearing her gaze away from the snow. “It’ll take us a bit to clean up, and I know you must be tired.”