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“Well… I’m Santa’s office manager.” The on-the-fly response was thankfully acceptable to the tiny interrogator. She hopped down, and Josie watched the fall of Kevin’s chest beneath his white beard.
“Are you okay?”
He adjusted his gloves, his belt, and any other things he could look at besides Josie. “Yeah. Totally. She just wouldn’t let it go, ya know?”
“Yeah. Kids these days, right?” She shrugged. Kevin seemed more rattled than a bossy child would warrant. But what did she really know about the man? Besides, her own emotions had certainly been all over the place in the hour she’d been here. She was in no position to judge.
“I’m good.” He shimmied in his velvet chair and boomed a hearty, “Ho! Ho! Ho!” like the last two minutes had never happened.
Josie rubbed her chin and turned to walk back to the toy donation table. Crisis averted, and everything was back to normal. But a white-gloved hand grabbed hers and froze her to the spot.
“Thank you, Josie.” Kevin’s voice was thick with emotion, completely different from the one he’d used since he’d donned the red and white costume.
He dropped her hand as quickly as he’d grabbed it and welcomed children to meet with him once again.
Josie touched her wrist as she walked face-first into an adult-sized cardboard gingerbread man she hadn’t seen until it nearly toppled onto her. She felt as unbalanced as the poor decoration. The old Josie would have been in heaven. Holding hands with a handsome Santa and feeling dizzy as a result? It had all the makings of a magical holiday love story.
Good thing she didn’t believe in those kinds of fantasies anymore.
* * *
Kevin breathedin the sweet scent of warm caramel inside Mountain Brew. Though tempted to order the sinfully decadent warm drink he smelled, the last two hours in that Santa get-up had left him parched. He felt like he’d spent the afternoon in one of those sweat-inducing suits people used when they were trying to lose weight. On second thought, maybe he’d earned a sugary drink. Nah, a fruity herbal tea—iced, of course—was calling his name.
“A Mango Muscle Smoothie for Johnny Carson.”
Josie shook her head. “Why, Johnny?”
He shot her a smile and shrugged. “Why not?”
The North Pole crew gathered at the coffeehouse after the toy drive, and to his surprise, they’d invited Kevin to come.
“One peach iced tea, please,” Kevin said as he approached the counter.
The barista held a Sharpie to the paper cup. “What’s the name?”
Kevin nudged Johnny with his elbow. “Kevin McCallister.”
“Not you too,” Josie groaned.
“Hey,” Johnny piped up. “It’s seasonal, it’s clever, andHome Aloneis a classic. Well done, bud.” He extended his fist for Kevin to bump.
The three of them waited for their orders, then joined Max and Hannah at the back of the shop, where they’d pushed two tables together.
“To a successful toy drive,” Max said, as he held up his cup. They all tapped their drinks to one another.
Johnny raised his cup again. “And cheers to the real MVP, our stand-in Santa, who, after today, has a standing invitation to don the red-and-white suit for years to come.”
Warmth spread throughout his chest, a feeling more comfortable and less sweaty than the heat from earlier. He wasn’t used to receiving praise. “It was no big deal.”
Hannah set her cup on the table with a plop. “No big deal? Kevin, you were anenormousdeal. The children loved you.”
“No, they loved Santa.”
“Either way. You fit the role well. Had you done it before?”
Kevin shook his head. “Definitely not. I’ve never even visited Santa before.”
“What?” Hannah gasped, and four sets of wide eyes stared at him.
