Page 7 of Holiday Promise

“It’s the funniest game, Dad. You have to wear a Santa beard and put a cookie on your forehead. Then you make faces to get the cookie to fall into your mouth.” He climbed down from his chair and grabbed a new sheet of white foam from the table. “You want to try?”

Melody spun around. “I don’t think your father wants to?—”

“Sounds like Miss Melody is scared that I’m going to beat her.”

She snapped her mouth shut, but her eyes widened.

Blake picked up a pair of scissors. “Does it matter what kind of beard I make?”

Max shook his head. “You just need to look like Santa. That’s the rules.”

“That’s the rules, huh?” He glanced once more at Melody, his gaze lingering on her. He couldn’t tell what she was thinking in this moment. And perhaps it didn’t matter. Right now, he wanted to be here for his son. She’d helped him realize that. Blake would have to make sure to give her his appreciation for the nudge she’d given him.

He snipped and clipped, but ended up miscalculating what he was working on and ended up with just an oversized moustache.

At least Max found it humorous. He handed Blake the tape dispenser. “Now, tape it on and get a cookie.”

Blake did as he was told. He pried one side of the cookie from the other, then glanced at both of the individuals in front of him. “Are you going to join us, Miss Melody?”

She blinked once, then again.

“You have to, Miss Melody. It was your idea.”

She retrieved her beard with an embarrassed smile. “Yeah, well, I didn’t think I was going to have to go up against your father.” Her eyes locked with his and for a moment, he forgot all about what they were going to do. In her gaze, he saw somethinghe hadn’t thought he would ever experience again. He found the possibility of a future.

That was crazy, right? So farfetched, in fact, that he startled himself into looking away. His heart pounded harder than it had a right to do. Melody was his employee. And he had a rule about dating his employees. As the boss, he simply couldn’t.

One glance more in her direction was all it took for him to realize that his heart had other plans.

FIVE

Melody leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to Max’s forehead. “Goodnight, bud.”

He snuggled under his covers a little deeper and smiled. “Goodnight, Miss Melody.”

She straightened and moved over to his lamp, her fingers curling around the metal cord that dangled from the lightbulb. Before she could tug on it, Max spoke.

“Miss Melody?”

“Yeah, bud?”

“Do you think that Dad will take us ice skating tomorrow?”

“I’m not sure.” There were a lot of things she wasn’t sure about, now. For one, she hadn’t in a million years dreamed that Blake would lower himself to her level to play a childish game such as ‘Cookies for Santa’. Not only that, but she hadn’t expected him to win.

“I think he will,” Max said resolutely. He said he had fun today.”

She offered the boy a smile. “I think we all had a lot of fun today. I’ll go get him so he can tell you goodnight, okay?” She turned and sucked in a sharp breath when she found him already standing in the doorway. Her heart thundered, a reminder forthe way he’d managed to make her pulse quicken with those looks he’d given her earlier.

Melody ducked her head, murmuring, “Goodnight,” to him as she attempted to pass him.

Blake remained in the doorway for a moment longer than was necessary, making her wonder if he expected her to say something more. But then he stepped aside, only he didn’t give her quite enough room and their arms brushed against one another.

Goosebumps exploded all over her arms and she was grateful that her long sleeves hid all the evidence of his effect on her. She darted into the hallway, feeling a little out of breath even though she hadn’t exerted herself.

Normally, she would head down the hallway to her room, but this time, something made her pause. She stood right outside his bedroom door, her ears straining to hear their conversation. Unfortunately, their words to each other were so quiet and so muffled that she didn’t get anything before Blake’s footsteps approached the doorway.

She gasped and took a couple hurried footsteps away so she didn’t give off the appearance that she’d been spying.