middle car dinged its arrival.
“Saint is pretty close,” I said.
My breath caught. There it was again. The lighthearted look that said he knew something I didn’t.
He cleared his throat. “It certainly is.” He pushed my suitcase to me, and I murmured my thanks. “But I doubt you’re a Grinch.”
I tossed him a look over my shoulder as I got in the elevator.
“I’d think blowing up Santa would be enough to prove you wrong.” I hit the button for the fifth floor.
One side of his smile climbed higher, causing a small dimple to appear on his right cheek. And just like that, the calm assurance I had began to melt.
“A Grinch wouldn’t have a smile as beautiful as yours.” He winked at me and my toes curled, that flare of heat pulsing to life deep in my stomach. “I’ll see you later, Holly.”
The doors shut before I could recover from his compliment or wonder how he knew he’d see me again.
“Here you go, Miss...”
“Holly,” I finished for the man who stood at the entrance to the Cirque Room where the holiday staff meeting was being held.
The meeting space lived up to its name with vibrant sunflower-yellow walls painted with horses and elephants and classic circus scenes.
“Just Holly,” I repeated with a quick smile, half-hoping he wouldn’t find my name on his list.
But he did.
He proceeded to hand me a blank name tag along with a Santa hat in a plastic bag. But as soon as I took the welcome gifts from his hands, a strange look came over his face—a look of recognition.
“Wait a minute, are you the one who blew up our Santa?”
Jesus Jolly, word spread fast.
“Thanks!” I squeaked and bolted into the crowd, my cheeks matching the hat in my hand.
Grumbling to myself, I pushed through the crush of people. I was a little late. As soon as I’d gotten to my room, I’d laid down and dozed off—dreaming of perfect proportions and mistletoe ties—and that had taken up far too much time.
Now that I was here and had proof in my hands that I’d made an appearance, I wondered if I could turn around and leave.
Meet your boss. Apologize about Santa. THEN you can leave.
Biting the corner of my lip, I skirted around the edge of the room, scanning all the hotel employees, many in their uniforms for the day, chatting and laughing with their Santa hats on. And that was when I saw it—the blow-up reindeer… sans Santa.
From this safe distance, I could see the smiles on their devilish faces—like they hadn’t attacked me in a pack in the middle of the lobby earlier. Honestly, if it was anyone’s fault that Santa was gone, it was theirs. And just as soon as I was finished blaming the inflatable icons, I caught sight of the bar along the wall in front of me covered with festive red and green drinks—and the trash can next to it.
“Great,” I mumbled, slipping through the merry mass of people and discreetly placing myself in front of the can. Like a thief, I made a hasty glance around me before shoving my Santa hat into the trash.
“Holly!”
I jumped and swallowed down a cry, whipping around with a smile plastered on my face, my hands frantically working behind my back to get rid of the evidence of what I’d just done.
Unlike most of the room, Noelle wasn’t wearing a Santa hat—she was wearing a bright green elf cap with her name in silver glitter along the front. Her hair pulled in low pigtails and the blazer she was wearing earlier was exchanged for a green vest covered with Christmas lights that popped through the fabric and actually twinkled red and green.
“Hey, Noelle.” I tried to keep it cool, hoping she hadn’t seen me just commit the greatest Santa sacrilege by throwing away his hat.
“I’ve been waiting for you.” She beamed, and then her face fell and she frantically looked around. “Paul!” she called over to the man who’d greeted me. “You didn’t give Holly a hat! Everyone gets a hat!”
I winced and averted my eyes when Paul walked over.
“I did give her a hat,” he began, hesitantly extending another Santa hat to me with a suspicious look on his face.
“Someone took mine...” I mumbled my excuse and thanked him, the plastic wrap crinkling like an evil laugh of hat determined to haunt me.
“You know she’s the one who blew up our Santa?” he questioned Noelle and my eyes went wide.
But Noelle just laughed and