AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“God forbid you break tradition,” James replied. The strangest flash of emotion passed through him when she mentioned Kevin. Not jealousy—he hadn’t known Noelle long enough to feel possessive—but the sensation had the same sharp kind of pang. Like a tear in the center of his chest.
He’d been feeling a lot of odd things these past two days. Maybe that drone had jarred something loose when it struck him.
All he knew was the idea of Noelle and her beloved late husband strolling through the Christmas fair made his sternum ache.
* * *
“I owe you an apology. That was the most organized chaos I’ve ever seen.”
Noelle’s chest puffed with pride. Store management had spent years perfecting their Black Friday routine, so she knew James would be impressed. What she hadn’t counted on was how his positive reaction would make her feel. She took his compliments as a personal victory. Unable to contain her smirk, she let the smile spread as she looked to the passenger seat. “I take it you no longer think of the castle as a fading tourist attraction then.”
“I still think our retailing future lies online,” he replied, “but I’ll concede that you all know what you’re doing here. Those handheld wish list scanners are genius.”
“Thank you. Ned installed them shortly before he passed away.”
Borrowed from the supermarket industry, the scanners let kids record items they fell in love with. The lists were downloaded to share with Santa as well as their parents. Moms and dads could purchase the items then and there and have them stored for pickup at a later date.
“We’ve boosted our Black Friday numbers by thirty percent since installing them,” she told him. “Of course, our numbers drop a little at the back end, but we prefer to start the season high rather then sweat it out at the end of the quarter.”
“Don’t blame you there.” He smiled again, and this time Noelle got a little flutter in her stomach.
Her assessment of his smile hadn’t changed in the last twenty-four hours; if anything, she was finding it more magnetic. Especially when he let the sparkle reach his eyes. That didn’t always happen. Noelle found those smiles—the ones with shadows—intriguing too.
Despite the voice warning her the shadowy smiles were the more dangerous of the two.
“When I was a kid, the store made paper lists. Kids wrote down ten items and put the letter in a mailbox for Santa. Parents could come by and pick up their child’s list at the front desk.”
James had taken out his phone and was typing a note. “This is much more efficient,” he said. “I’m sending a message to our logistics department about the scanners right now.”
“I had a feeling the system would appeal to you. Although, I’ve got to admit...” She paused to back out of her parking space. “There was something special about folding up the letter and dropping it into that big red-and-white mailbox.” Christmas always brought out the nostalgic in her. “Scanning bar codes doesn’t feel the same.”
“Even Santa’s got to keep up with technology,” James replied.
“Yes, he does. By the way, did you see how popular Fryer was with the crowd? I had a half dozen people ask me if we were bringing back our stuffed animal version.”
“So you told me in the store. Twice,” he replied, as he tucked the phone back into his coat. “I take it this is your way of saying ‘I told you so.’”
“You’ve got to admit. I did tell you.” A chuckle bubbled out of her, cutting off the last word. Didn’t matter. He got the point.
In the grand scheme of things, Fryer’s continued existence was a small victory, but one that made her happy. She’d saved part of Fryberg’s, which was like saving part of her family.
“Don’t hurt yourself gloating,” James said.
His comment only made her chuckle a second time. Heaven help her, but she was starting to enjoy their verbal jousts. “I’m trying, but it’s hard when I was so right. People really love that elk. We should have taken your picture.”
“Why? For you to hang in your office?”
“Uh-huh. With a piece of paper underneath that reads The Time I Told James Hammond So.” She waved her hand over the wheel as though painting the words in the air.
“Oh, well. Guess my memory will have to do.”
From the corners of her eyes, she saw him shifting his position until he faced her. “Anyone ever tell you that you’re cute when you’re being smug?”
“No,” Noelle replied.
The feel of his eyes on her turned her skin warm. It had been a long time since a man had studied her, let alone one with eyes as intense as his. She’d be lying if she didn’t admit she found his scrutiny flattering. All morning long, she’d sensed him stealing glances here and there, checking her out as she reached for an item from a shelf or adjusted her rearview mirror. The sensation left goose bumps on her skin, not to mention a warm awareness deep inside her.
