All I Want For Christmas Is You - Penelope Ward Page 0,40
like a caress, and then his hand covers one of mine, engulfing it. “Look at me, baby.” I do, and my breath catches. “I don’t even know how you’ve managed to do what you’ve done.” He shakes his head. “Last year, Curt and Emilly we’re going to lose their house, and from what I head, they didn’t because of you.”
It wasn’t me. I mean, it was, but I had asked my father for money for a very expensive bag, and he gave it to me without even batting a lash, and since I already have a ton of purses, he never knew I didn’t use that money on myself. “You can’t tell anyone,” I plead, latching onto his hand.
“I won’t tell. I promise. Now tell me what we need to do.”
“We?” I repeat, feeling suddenly hot. I know I need his help, but the idea of spending the next few hours with him makes me feel anxious rather than relieved. “Umm…, you don’t have to.”
“Milly, it’s after midnight on Christmas Eve. The chances of you finding another truck to use are slim to none, so just let me help you.”
He’s right. I know he is, and if I have any chance of pulling tonight off, he’s my only hope. “Okay,” I give in. “We have to unload all the stuff in the truck. Then we need to hustle, because the sun is going to come up before we know it.”
“Right, let’s get this done.” He puts the engine in drive then spins the truck around. As we head back to my rental, I hope I can actually trust him with my secret.
Tyler
With Milly’s cute little ass in the passenger seat of my truck, and the back loaded up with trees, wrapped gifts, and bags of what I’m guessing is food, I try to wrap my mind around the fact that she’s Port Huron’s Santa. For four years, people have been trying to guess who the Christmas miracle worker could be, and I guarantee that Milly never even made the list.
No one would think that spoiled Milly Hendricks—with her blonde hair, big blue eyes, and appetite for expensive things—would go out of her way to help someone else. Then again, maybe none of us know her. I know I don’t, which is something I’m going to use the next few hours with her to change.
“So what’s the plan?” I ask as I follow the directions on the GPS.
“When we get to the house, you’re going to have to park down the street, since they have a dog, and I don’t want to wake them up.”
“How do you know they have a dog?”
“Research. I always scope out the neighborhood and the family, so I don’t have what happened my first year happen again.”
“What happened to you the first year?” I ask, knowing from her tone it wasn’t pleasant.
“My last family of the night had a dog, and it started barking, so they let it outside as I was finishing up. The giant beast was as big as me, and it chased me all the way down their driveway that had to have been a mile long. I thought I was going to have a heart attack or end up in the hospital.”
“Christ, Milly,” I groan, not liking the idea of her being in danger.
“It all turned out okay in the end, and that situation showed me that I need to be more cautious and plan a little.”
“How many of the families tonight have dogs?”
“All but two, but don’t worry. Most of them are small, and I’ve strengthened my ninja skills over the years, so we shouldn’t have any problems.”
“Ninja skills?” I chuckle.
“Laugh all you want, but I’m a professional,” she informs me hotly, and I glance over at her, thinking she’s even cuter with her cheeks pink from the cold and little to no makeup on her pretty face. My attraction to her isn’t anything new. I’ve always thought she was beautiful, but she’s forever been like an untouchable object at a museum. Something to admire from afar but know you will never be in a place to own it.
“You can park anywhere around here.” She breaks me out of my thoughts, and I recognize the street, because my grandmother lives a few houses down the block. After I park, we both get out, and then I follow her to the back and help her drag out a tree that already has a temporary base on it. Once it’s standing, she reaches