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“Maybe just a little,” British admitted. The morning after she and the Tiara Squad had finished decorating, British thought she’d gone back in time.
“Have you ever met them?” Donovan asked.
“No. I wouldn’t want to embarrass myself.” She lifted her head to find his eyes filled with amusement.
“The next time they’re in town, I’m flying you in,” he said before continuing their route to the bed.
The words played over in British’s head. Not the exciting news about possibly meeting her all-time favorite boy band but the idea that Donovan was going to leave her. But this was what she’d wanted. Right?
Chapter 9
“You’ve got this,” Stephanie said, closing her eyes and reaching for the hand beside her.
“We’re all supporting each other,” added Lacey.
Kathleen cleared her throat and nodded. “Ms. B told us we can do this. You can do this.”
Touched by being mentioned in this pep talk slash motivational speech the Saturday morning after Thanksgiving, British placed her hand over her heart. Screams of excitement from the unexpected crowd rose from beyond the red curtain of the Christmas Wonderland scene created in the town center in Southwood. A line of eager children stretched down Main Street. The girls, dressed in red and green elf costumes, decided to pray for Donovan before he made his debut as this year’s Southwood Santa.
“Let’s bow our heads,” Natasha nicely ordered everyone. “Dear Lord, we ask you to take time out of Your busy schedule today and make today as successful as possible.”
Everyone ended with a soft amen, except for one in the prayer circle.
“Amen,” Donovan shouted and clapped his white-gloved hands together.
The white beard of the Santa suit he wore billowed with his breath. Despite the heaving padding against the eight-pack abs she’d caressed this morning, Donovan made playing Santa look sexy. Every visitor to sit on Santa’s lap was allowed to do so if they donated a can or nonperishable item to help the Winter Harvest food bank. The event made sure everyone in Four Points had a holiday meal. British thought it was a great idea and even better with her STEM for GRITS team here now.
“I feel stupid,” said Donovan.
Natasha squared off with Donovan, grabbing him by the shoulders. “You get out there and you be the best damn Santa Southwood has ever seen.”
“’Tasha,” British warned softly.
“Sorry,” said Natasha. “You’re going to be great.”
The other girls, dressed in various combinations of elf outfits, rallied around the hot Santa and patted his red coat. The bells on the top of their pointy crescent-shaped hats jingled.
Donovan took a deep breath. “How did I get myself into this mess?” he asked British.
“You fell for my mother’s charm,” British explained.
Laughing, Donovan couldn’t do anything but nod. “She can sell anything.”
An emcee out front hyped the crowd a little more and brought in a roar of cheer and applause. British patted Donovan’s back with her gloved hand. Like Donovan, she, too, had been manipulated by Joan, which explained why she stood behind the curtain ready to be called out to meet the waiting children.
To help sell the Winter Wonderland scene, British had recruited the girls to act as elves. Some of the fellows from the middle school’s team built the set and created a spectacular snowy scene kids and adults would vi
sit. The girls stepped out first and egged on the crowd, leaving Donovan and British alone for a brief moment. Their hands touched and even through the fabric, the heat rose.
“I really can’t believe you’re going through with this,” British teased. She straightened the black rims of the glasses hanging low from Donovan’s ears. He reached to wrap his arms around her waist but the padding prevented it.
“Damn this suit,” he growled. “Can I get an IOU on the kiss?”
The emcee announced the arrival of Mrs. Claus. British patted Donovan’s belly. “Let’s see how you do with the kids today.”
Before he could agree or not, British stepped out onto the stage for a warm welcome from the locals and visitors alike. She spotted her parents in the front with the grandkids and began to wave before realizing she didn’t want to spoil the magic of Christmas for the little ones. The high school band played “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town” and at the drum solo, Donovan burst through the opening in the curtains. Everyone went wild.
The morning went by in a blur. Kids of all sizes came to sit on Santa’s lap to tell him what they wanted. Stephanie walked the kids from the red, licorice-like path lined with giant red-and-white candy canes up to Santa’s throne, where she handed British a card with the child’s name so she could introduce Santa.
