“Did you bring the list?” I blew my breath into my hands and rubbed them together.
“Yep.” Andy held up his phone. “I emailed you a copy to you.”
“Perfect.” I pulled out my phone and scrolled through it. “Wow, these kids really don’t ask for much do they?”
“No.” Andy sighed and shook his head, but then a smile formed on the edge of his lips. “I guess we’re going to deviate from the list a little bit.”
“Whatever we’re going to do, let’s do it. It’s freaking cold out here.” Holly hopped on her toes and pulled her jacket close around her body.
“Okay, come on.” I motioned to them and started walking towards the store.
We could have found a lot of what they wanted in the mall, but I really didn’t want to deal with the crowd, especially since we were making a large purchase. A department store was a much better option. The three of us walked in and started going through the list, grabbing everything we could find. There were a few moments where my hand touched Holly’s or she brushed against me, and the sparks ricocheted from our contact like a lit fuse burning towards a stick of dynamite. I was doing my best to not think about that and focus on what we were doing, but it was almost impossible. One look at her was
enough to make my throat try to close up. I kept reminding myself that falling for her was the worst mistake I could make, but it sure as fuck wasn’t easy to ignore her gorgeous smile when it was cast in my direction.
“This is a lot of fun.” Holly giggled and dropped a couple of items in her cart. “Those orphans are going to be so excited!”
“Yeah, I guess this about does it for the list.” I looked at the stuff we had, which was mostly clothes and other necessities.
“Toy section?” Andy cocked an eyebrow and grinned.
“Hell yeah.” I turned my buggy towards the rows of toys.
“That’s going to be even more fun.” Holly started pushing her buggy past us. “Race you there.”
“That’s not safe—fuck it.” Holly was already pushing her buggy faster than she should have, so I just joined in.
I’m sure the people in the store thought we had lost our minds, and we had, but it wasn’t madness driving us to act crazy. It was the blossoming flower that begged not to be plucked off the vine before it had a chance to see the sunlight and grow. Andy had a look in his eyes that mirrored mine. Was he falling for the amazing woman too? That could be madness. We made it to the toy aisle and I watched Andy interact with Holly. I had been so caught up in my own moments with the brunette bombshell that I ignored what was right in front of my eyes—they were having those exact same moments. We were tumbling down a rabbit hole and if one of us didn’t stop us before the momentum was out of control, we were going to be filled with a lot more regret than any of us realized when the holiday season ended.
“What do kids like these days? Ninja Turtles?” I shrugged and looked around the store.
“Probably Pokemon or something.” Andy’s shrug mirrored mine.
“How much money are you looking to spend?” Holly turned towards the two of us.
“Well…” I raised an eyebrow in contemplation. “I want them to have a nice Christmas.”
“We can afford to spend a little bit of money.” Andy nodded quickly.
We counted out the kids on the list, looked at their ages, and started picking out toys that appeared to be popular while Holly scrolled through her phone to tell us whether or not the fad for them was over. Fidget spinners were out. Barbie dolls were still in—somehow. Some sort of animatronic baby monkey was popular, so we grabbed a couple of them. Elmo was still popular, so a few dancing ones went into the buggy. I picked out a few Lego sets, Andy grabbed some Star Wars toys, and Holly picked out some Wonder Woman stuff. We found some foam swords along the way and had a quick battle in the aisle before a concerned employee came over to stare menacingly at the three of us. I felt like a kid again, except I could buy anything in the store that I wanted instead of waiting for Santa to deliver it.
“If we keep going we’re going to need a new buggy.” I pushed mine forward and heard a weak wheel squeak like it was giving up on life—or in need of oil.
“Yeah, you guys are being more than generous at this point.” Holly chuckled and nodded.
“Nah, I want to get some more stuff. Let’s go look at the board games.” Andy motioned towards us. “Let’s at least get some gifts that everyone can play with.”
“We can do better than this—I mean, get them, but let’s go pick up something else too.” I stared at the assortment and nodded.
“What did you have in mind?” Andy tilted his head inquisitively.
“Let’s get some gaming systems. They can share those, right?” I shrugged and smiled.
“We’re about to go way, way over budget.” Andy chuckled and nodded. “Let’s do it.”
“Kids are going to be begging to get abandoned by their parents so they can live at this orphanage.” Holly shook her head and giggled as she pushed her buggy.
“Giddy up.” I leaned over and slapped the back of her dress. “You like to race, right?”