Page 54 of Christmas Magic

They started down the concrete path leading to the crowd at the castle entrance.

“Please,” he said. “What does this Santa mean to you?”

Her eyes sparked. “He means nothing.”

Lucian shook his head. “We both know that’s not true.”

“As I said before, Fred and I saw each other a few times.”

“Fred is his name? Not Santa?”

“Fred is Santa.”

“Enlighten me, if you will. Santa is a formal title, then? As in Lord Santa?”

Cora’s lips twitched. “You say the strangest things, Lucian.”

They passed through the entrance and into Coquina Castle. A short distance to his right, a platform decorated with enormous, ribbon-wrapped boxes held two large wooden figures that resembled soldiers. They stood behind a magnificent white and gold throne. A white-haired and white-bearded man dressed in garments of red and white sat in the chair. He must be Lord Santa.

Guards wearing hats tipped with bells and red, green, and white livery—the elves the sign had mentioned—stood on either side of Lord Santa. More elves were directing folk in line waiting to see him.

A little girl sat on his lordship’s lap, gazing up at his face. How curious, that Santa allowed such familiarity…but perhaps that was the custom in Cat’s Paw Cove. No one else seemed to find the situation unusual.

He glanced at Cora, to find her gaze on Santa. Her expression held both yearning and anguish.

Resolve settled within Lucian. Once, Santa had been important to Cora. Whatever their relationship, his lordship had hurt her.

Lucian was going to have to meet this Santa face-to-face.