Page 56 of Kissed by Her Ex

Sure enough, dangling from a light on a long string was a bushel of mistletoe. For a while, Nic had spotted those little green plants everywhere he went in town. Lately, though, they seemed to have disappeared. But this particular bushel looked bright green and healthy, like it had just been plucked from the tree.

“It was nice meeting you,” Nic said, reaching out for a handshake.

Santa laughed and reached out a white-gloved hand. “Nice meeting you too.”

He shook Nic’s hand, then winked at Charity before walking around them in the opposite direction from where most of the cars were parked. They watched him walk away, completely ignored by the people streaming out of the building, before Nic finally turned back around to face his girlfriend.

“I guess we could take a few extra seconds under the mistletoe before we head to the truck,” he said.

Charity smiled. “Santa seems to think it’s a wise idea.”

He glanced around. Everyone was either heading to the parking area straight ahead or the one that wrapped around the right side of the building and all the way to the back. They’d been lucky enough to grab one of the few remaining spots in front.

The mistletoe took them away from that, which was good news because it also took them away from the crowd. Nobody seemed to even notice the bit of greenery hanging all by its lonesome over here. But as they reached the corner, Charity suddenly skidded to a halt, her shoes making a slight scraping noise.

“Where did he go?” she asked.

Nic stopped too, taking a step back to stand next to her. “Who?”

“Santa.”

Nic followed her gaze to the large field next to the church. On the other side of it was a row of trees, but no way could the man have gotten over there by now.

“He must have parked over here,” Nic said, scanning the area. “But how did he get away so quickly?”

Had Santa just disappeared? If so, how?

Nic puzzled over it for a few extra seconds before finally deciding some mysteries were just best left unsolved. Instead, he looked over at Charity.

“I think we’re wasting some good mistletoe right now,” he said.

She laughed, probably coming to the same conclusion he had. Of course, the man wasn’t really Santa, but sometimes they were better off not knowing the real story. They stopped under the mistletoe, turned to face each other, and enjoyed a long kiss that he knew would be the highlight of his Christmas Eve.

EPILOGUE

The square was jam-packed for this year’s Christmas tree lighting. It just might be the busiest ever.

Charity stood at the bottom of the steps next to the platform, scanning the crowd in front of the tree for signs of that goofy Santa hat Nic insisted on wearing. He was tasked with keeping their infant quiet and still while Charity and their three-year-old entertained the town.

“It’s time,” Noelle said.

As usual, Noelle wore an elf costume, but one thing had changed since that year Nic showed back up in town. Noelle’s husband was now the one leading the tree-lighting ceremony.

Nodding, Charity looked down at her daughter, Amity, who was clutching the microphone between her two hands. “Are you sure you don’t want me to carry that up to the stage?”

Amity nodded. “I can do this.”

Charity smiled and put her hand on her daughter’s shoulder, waiting patiently as she slowly made her way up the steps. As usual, she stayed close behind, keeping an eye on her as she struggled to get her short legs from one step to the next.

“I can do this” was Amity’s favorite saying these days. Those four words summed up her daughter’s stance on just about everything. Whatever challenge life threw her way, Amity wanted to tackle it…just like her parents.

But once Amity stepped into place and looked down at the crowd, the fear seemed to hit her. There were actual people out there, and they were looking at her, waiting to be entertained. They all had smiles on their faces and were immediately charmed by the little girl.

But Amity wouldn’t see it that way. She didn’t realize that, no matter what she said, they’d all think it was the most adorable thing ever.

“Hi,” Amity said, but her mouth was a little too close to the microphone.

Charity crept forward, as though trying to stay low like that would keep anyone from seeing her, and pulled the microphone down a little. Then she prompted, “I’m here to introduce my favorite policeman.”