Justin let out a deep breath, and his pillow belly sank. Pretending to be Santa and not breaking character for hours was tougher than practice in the major league.
Caroline met him by the chair he’d been sitting on all day. She was beaming as much as the kids. “Thank you so much for doing this. You really saved the day.”
“No problem.” He scratched at the beard that had been pulling at his cheeks all morning. “Let me get out of this and find us some lunch. You and Skye decide what you’d like.”
She clasped her hands to her chest. “That would be amazing.”
Justin practically jogged to the bathroom, pulling his arms out of the coat before he closed the door. How exactly did he get to this point in his life when he wished Mrs. Burrows was in the bathroom with him? He had to take the pillow belly off before he could bend over to get the boots off. The beard was a nightmare to remove, but fifteen minutes later, he’d completed his transformation from Santa to regular man. Albeit, a man with a shirt soaked through with sweat and patchy red glue marks on his cheeks.
After hanging the costume in the stock room, Justin headed back into the bakery. Caroline stood behind the checkout counter looking down at her phone. Her usual smile was replaced with straight lips and two shallow creases between her brows. Was she concentrating or was she frowning?
Justin flattened his hands on the counter as he stopped in front of her. “What’s wrong?”
Her head shot up like a whack-a-mole, wide-eyed and startled. She stuffed her phone into her apron pocket. “Sorry. I didn’t see you walk up. What do you mean?”
“You look like your bakery at Christmastime isn’t the best place in the world.”
That brought her smile back, and he couldn’t do anything but stare. Caroline was happiness in motion, and she had a way of passing it on to anyone around her. “It is. I’m fine. What a morning, right?”
“I think it went well.”
“It was amazing. You’re so great with kids. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before.”
The time they’d spent together when they were younger was mostly spent in private, sneaking around whenever they got the chance.
“I hosted a few baseball training camps for kids. They’re a whole lot easier to work with than adults.”
Caroline chuckled. “Not everyone thinks so, but I agree with you.”
With the bakery experiencing a short break frombustling customers, Justin leaned his elbows on the counter between them, pulled toward Caroline like a moth to a flame. “What do you want for Christmas?” he asked.
She mirrored his stance and leaned over the counter until their noses were a mere breath apart. “I don’t know. What about you?”
The pull was too strong to ignore, but he’d waited ten years, he could wait a few more days or weeks or months until Caroline was sure she was ready for more.
“I have everything I could possibly want.” He grinned when he saw her gaze dip to his lips. “This is the best Christmas ever.”
17
CAROLINE
Caroline wrapped her hand around the lower half of a cupcake, careful not to squeeze the soft cake as she moved it from the tray to the bakery case. The bakery could have put Grand Central Station to the test the last couple of days, and she was running on fumes.
Actually, she’d barely slept the last two nights. Between jumbled thoughts of Justin and dreams of the register’s high-pitchedChing!sleep was evading her.
Skye leaned on the counter beside Caroline and let her shoulders sink. “What a day.”
For the first time since they’d opened the doors, there wasn’t a single person in line at the register. News had gotten out about their special visit from Santa Claus yesterday, and now quite a few of Justin’s male fans decided it would be a good idea todrop by the bakery in hopes of catching a glimpse of Redemption Ridge’s very own pro athlete.
Caroline had filled more orders for drip coffee than in the last week combined. A few men still hung around the tables, watching the door for any sign of Justin.
When she’d placed the last cupcake in the display case, Caroline stood from her hunched position, stretched her back, and handed the empty tray to Skye. “I’m going to refill orders.”
“Leaving me again. It’s a good thing you’re sweet, or I’d be a disgruntled employee.”
Caroline bumped her friend’s shoulder as she passed. Skye was all talk. She loved working the register almost as much as she loved icing the cakes.
The bell above the door chimed, and Caroline looked up as she finished refilling the last cup of coffee. “Welcome to?—”
