Santa's Secret

Aiden’s head tilts to the side briefly before shaking his head again. “I just—”

“It’s on me, okay? You rescued me and this is the way I can repay you, so you order what you want and be prepared for me to pick off your plate.”

He smiles and leans forward. His hands are under the table and I can feel his fingers brushing against my knees. They’re just as ticklish now as they were in high school. I wonder if he remembers this.

“Let me get this straight. Little Miss Hollywood still picks food off others’ plates?”

I lean forward, so we’re closer. “First, don’t call me that ridiculous nickname. Second, only the plates of people I like. Third, you know I’ll order a salad and hate it so you best order a monster cheeseburger with bacon and fries so I have something to eat. I may have been gone for ten years, but I haven’t changed.”

“That much,” he adds.

My mouth drops opens, and I lean back until I’m resting against the booth. “What do you mean?”

Aiden shrugs. “I see the magazines every now and again, listen to what Dom says.”

Shaking my head, I narrow my eyes at him. “I haven’t changed, except for the fact that living in the land of sun is the most amazing feeling ever. Although, I never thought I missed the snow until I was standing in the dining room the other day and saw a deer cross my parents’ backyard. I don’t know, there’s something about fresh snow…”

“It’s magical.”

I smile. “Yeah, it is.” Before I can say anything else, our waiter appears. He asks for our drink order, which we give, but also tell him we’re ready to order. Of course, I stick with my Cobb salad and Aiden orders the bacon double cheeseburger with fries and onion rings. As soon as he adds the onion rings, my lips purse. I like his style. Once the waiter leaves, I lean forward again. “So tell me what your daughter likes.”

“You,” he says.

“Excuse me?”

Aiden laughs and fiddles with his napkin. “My daughter is obsessed with you. She yelled at me after she heard I pulled you over. It’s as if I ruined her life. Funny thing is, I had no idea she even knew who you were until the other day, but she hasn’t stopped talking about you since.”

“Well, I’ll have to make sure you look like a hero to her then, won’t I?”

His eyes pierce mine, making me want to ask him what his story is. I know him, but people change. What makes Aiden Fisher tick these days? I’m here until after the New Year, I might as well spend it with my friends from high school. It just so happens that Aiden is one of those.

Eight

Aiden

Each morning I wake up, determined to make today a better day than yesterday. It’s not that all my days are bad, but the holidays seem to increase my stress level. It’s hard, when every day I worry about my financial situation, but add the pressure of being S

anta, and the strain goes through the roof, especially when I know that what little savings I have could be used elsewhere.

As much as I’d like to tell Holly about Santa, I can’t. She’s already lost so much in her young life, destroying what little magic she believes in would devastate her. But being at the mall, and seeing all these other people with their arms full of bags really does something to one’s psyche. Nothing like driving home the stake in the middle of my chest, pointing out that I can’t afford the best new toys on the market.

Each store I step into, my blood pressure rises. Even the sale prices seem to be over the top, but I’m not left with many choices. Santa has to have something under the tree for Holly, and it can’t be coal because that’s what he’s leaving for me.

I’m overwhelmed by the sheer amount of “must haves” and “every kid’s dream” displays. They’re enough to drive me out of the store and back into the masses of holiday shoppers. I stop and look into the windows of each store, hoping that something will jump out and scream at me, telling me Holly needs whatever it may be. But nothing does.

What does catch my attention is the group of people who all have their cell phones raised in the air. That right there is enough to heighten my senses that something is going on that shouldn’t be. I look around for security, shocked to find no one. I can’t, in good conscience, walk away.

A group of onlookers is one thing, but when you have a cluster of people together, speaking loudly with their cell phones out, it usually signals trouble. “Hey, what’s going on here?” I ask as I push my way through the crowd while telling them to step away. These people though, they’re persistent and push back, determined to get to whatever or whoever they’re surrounding. “Back up. There’s nothing to see here. Get moving.”

Except, there’s everything to see. Laney is cowering in the corner, pressed against the wall with nothing but fear in her eyes. My instinct is to pull her into my arms, to shelter her from these women, but she’s used to this, right? Maybe not this aggressively, but surely she’s accustomed to people acting in this fashion.

“Laney,” I say her name softly. I don’t know if it’s because I’m shocked to find her like this or because she’s simply one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever known. It took me a long time after she left to realize what I let slip through my fingers. Her brother was and still is my best friend, and I don’t think he took too kindly to us dating. Dominic never came out and said as much, but the side comments were there.

She broke up with me. Even though we had only dated for a few months, I was heartbroken. It wasn’t long after Laney moved to Los Angeles that I met Heather. Our first date was one of Laney’s movies. That’s when it hit me. I would never be her leading man.

Without turning around, I hold my badge up while my eyes are trained on Delaney’s. “All right folks, get moving.” I finally turn around and use my free arm to shield her, and when she uses my back to hide, wrapping her arms around my waist, I feel this crazy surge of energy.

Once everyone has dissipated, I tap her hand to let her know it’s safe to come out from behind me. When I turn around I see a look of panic in her eyes and I hate it. I hate that someone put her in this situation, despite her profession. My hands clench at my sides as my temper starts to flare. I want to shake those people, demand they give her an apology, but it would likely fall on deaf ears.