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She shrugged, her gaze avoiding his. “Maybe it’s a mom thing.”
“Maybe so. Listen, I’m sorry I got roped into dinner with my family tonight, but if you’re not busy tomorrow, maybe I could swing back by and visit for a while. I should have time to replace the doorknob, too.”
Mia offered him a small smile. “Never apologize for spending time with your family, Alex. Especially with all you have going on right now.”
If you only knew.
“But so far, tomorrow afternoon is wide open. Come to think of it, Brooklyn might be going to catch a movie with her friends in Warsaw.” Mia stretched on her tiptoes to kiss him. “Maybe we can get in that celebration of your accomplishment this weekend after all.”
“How can I say no to that?”
Alex laughed, looked away, and swallowed hard. There was a lot he planned to tell her before their clothes came off again, and some of it might not be well received. But that was tomorrow—no sense in stressing about it today. Right now, he had a role to play in the Brooks Books holiday event, one that would hopefully bring both customers and revenue to their little store. The rest they could sort out later.
He finished dressing and gathered his things, then paused before the mirror over her dresser to check his reflection one last time. Mia came to stand beside him, looking radiant as ever. Her fingers interlaced with his, and he gave them a gentle squeeze.
“Ready?” she asked.
With her by his side, Alex was ready for anything. He prayed this time around, he wouldn’t be so stupid as to drive her away. “Let’s do this.”
Chapter Seventeen
Brooks Books hadbeen putting on holiday events for years, and despite not having their traditional ornament-decorating activity, this year still managed to top them all. Customers from all across the region, new and old, turned out by the dozens, eager to have Alex sign their books and Santa read to their kids. One family drove all the way down from New Buffalo, Michigan.
Even better? Large, beautiful snowflakes began to fall outside just as her father sat down to read. It was just a quick dusting, but Mother Nature really came through for them today.
Though Mia had planned and planned some more, there were two things that caught her by surprise. The first was how amazing a job her father did as Santa. His costume, found at a rental shop in neighboring Warsaw, was perfect and high quality, not like some of the cheaper knockoffs they’d seen at the malls when Brooklyn was a little girl. Then his crew at the fire house had helped dress him, donating reading glasses and just the right amount of stuffing for his midsection. The entire makeover looked so realistic that she hardly recognized him.
And, oh, did he have a ball, taking on the role of Santa.
From the ho ho hos to the bowl-full-of-jelly laughs, one would have thought he’d been playing Santa for years. The kids, of course, ate it up. They listened to his story with rapt attention, then begged for their turn to sit on his lap and tell him what they wanted for Christmas. Though that hadn’t been a part of the plan, her father hadn’t batted an eye at the requests. He simply set his book aside and asked the kids to form a line. And, because Santa was the one giving directions, they listened. That meant Mia, who had been designated as Santa’s assistant, had very little to do besides laugh and hand out cookies to children who had had their time with the jolly old elf.
She made sure to sneak looks at the rest of the family as she could, checking to make sure everyone had what they needed. It seemed that while the little ones were focused on Santa, their parents browsed, many buying books that they asked to be double-wrapped so their kids wouldn’t see the titles they were getting for Christmas. They definitely kept Del and Isaac busy at the cash register. And guests young and old made frequent stops to the cookie and hot chocolate station, manned by Brooklyn and Aunt Faye.
Unfortunately, that left Alex to fend for himself at the signing table. But frequent glances in his direction found him smiling and looking relatively relaxed as he chatted with customers about his books. Though he’d insisted on their way over that he’d be surprised to sign more than a book or two, by the time Santa left, he was down to his last three copies.
“Wow, look at you Mr. Big-Time Author—you’re nearly out of books!”
He looked to Mia as she approached, beaming. “I know! Can you believe it?”
“Well, when you write a book about bourbon and do a signing in a town named Bourbon Falls…”
He chuckled. “So, it’s kind of like real estate? Location, location, location?”
“Exactly. Did your parents make it yet?”
His smile dimmed. “Uh, no.”
And there was surprise number two. Sure, he’d said that it would depend on how his mom was feeling, but what parents wouldn’t want to come out and support their son? Mia tried not to judge, since her family was a little more tight-knit than most. But still, this was his first signing. How could theynotcome?
“Aw, Alex, I’m so sorry to hear that.”
He shrugged. “It’s all right. I knew it was a longshot, with Mom in the shape she’s in.”
“Well, I hope there’s nothing keeping them from attending your second signing.”
His gaze shifted from hers. “You and me both.”
A couple she knew from town approached his table then, and Mia stepped away so his attention wouldn’t be divided. After seeing that Del and Isaac had a good handle on customers checking out, she decided to offer her assistance at the snacks table.
