by Shana Norris
I shot him a confused look, but he nodded at something behind me and smiled.
I turned around and there was the round Santa with the thick beard, the one who had sat in the chair and listened to the kids tell him what they wanted for Christmas. I walked toward him, my heart thudding against my ribs.
“Ho, ho, ho,” Santa boomed in a deep voice. “Merry Christmas, young lady.”
“Merry Christmas.” I frowned. “I don’t think I’ve been good this year, Santa.”
“No, ho, ho?”
I scuffed my shoe along the pavement and ducked my head to avoid his gaze. “I was a jerk to my boyfriend. Maybe I’m still just as insecure and controlling as ever.”
Santa scratched at his beard and studied me with his dark brown eyes. “Maybe being willing to admit you were wrong and apologizing means you’ve grown more than you think.” He paused, then added, “Ho, ho, ho.”
“Do you think he’ll forgive me?” I asked.
Zac pulled the white beard and Santa hat off. “It is Christmas Eve. Miracles do happen.”
I laughed and leaned forward to kiss him. A thrilling shiver swept over me at the touch of his lips on mine.
“I really am sorry for everything I said,” I told him. “Your idea wasn’t stupid. It was genius. You got people interested and we collected way more cans than I could have done on my own.”
Zac smiled. “I only did it for you, because it was important to you. I’m sorry I took over your project and didn’t listen when you said you were afraid to dance in front of everyone. I thought because you’d done it before, you’d be fine. Sometimes I forget that not everyone is as willing to get onstage and embarrass themselves as I am.”
“Molly told me that the costumes were your idea,” I said. “I can’t believe you got her to dress up as a bottle of mustard.”
“I hoped it would make things easier on you,” Zac said, shrugging. “I called everyone I knew and asked them to dress up too. If there was a whole room of people in silly costumes, maybe you wouldn't feel so out of place.”
I laughed and wrapped my arms around his neck. “You really are a genius.”
The tips of Zac’s ears turned pink and he ducked his head. “I don’t know about that. But I’d do anything for you.” He gestured toward the diner, where Mr. Throckmorton was turning off the lights. “I even gave you snow right here in Willowbrook. Sorry it took a few days.”
“A Christmas miracle,” I said, grinning as I leaned toward him for another kiss.
Thank you for reading this short story about Avery and Zac! You can check out more of my books at my website, www.shananorris.com.
Find out how Avery and Zac first got together in
THE BOYFRIEND THIEF
Available now in all ebook formats
Avery James has her life planned out: this summer she'll work with a humanitarian program in Costa Rica, next year she'll graduate at the top of her class, and after that, college and medical school. Perfect, planned, total order.
The only problem: getting the rest of the money she needs for the trip before the deadline. Hannah Cohen, her biggest competition for the valedictorian title, makes an unexpected offer: If Avery can win over Zac Greeley and make him break up with Hannah before the end of the school year, a check for five hundred dollars is all hers. Faced with the prospect of spending yet another summer working as a giant hot dog, it's an offer Avery can't refuse.
Zac is nothing like Avery expected. Within his chaotic world of midnight slushie runs and spontaneous dance parties, her total order is quickly falling apart while Hannah seems poised to get everything she wants. But just how much is Avery willing to give up for the perfect life?
To learn more visit: www.shananorris.com/the-boyfriend-thief
Behind the scenes of The Boyfriend Thief
While the original idea I had been trying to write about a girl dealing with her mom walking out on her family first started back in 1996, the story that ended up becoming The Boyfriend Thief began around 2007. I had an idea for a guy who pays a girl to be his girlfriend. I knew the guy was funny and a bit of a clown, and I knew that the girl was uptight and dedicated to being the best in everything she did, but that was about all I knew. I decided to bring in the other story idea about the deadbeat mom to add another layer to the female character. I wrote the original draft of this story and tried to revise it, but something just wasn’t working. I couldn’t ever figure out why the guy I had created would go along with the whole plan to fool everyone into thinking this girl was really his girlfriend.
When I had the idea to have someone else hire her to be his girlfriend, I liked that much better. And when I realized that the person doing the hiring was his current girlfriend, it added even more complications to the story—why would a girl hire someone else to steal her boyfriend? Why would the second girl go along with it? What would the guy do when he found out?
So that was the birth of The Boyfriend Thief. I wanted to write a story about a girl who is very intelligent, very determined to succeed, and isn't afraid to go after the things she wants—the valedictorian title, medical school, the trip to Costa Rica. But even as smart as she is, there are things Avery doesn’t know about people and things she’s too afraid to admit about herself. Avery was one of my most difficult characters to write about because she tries to hide so much throughout the story. She distances herself from people to keep from getting hurt and at times it was hard for even me as the author to get under her skin and see who she really was.
On the other hand, Zac was much more open and honest, yet he also caused me some problems. He’s very hyper and constantly on the move. His brain moves a lot faster than mine does and he has a lot of crazy ideas I would never attempt.
Despite their differences, I love writing about Avery and Zac and how they compliment each other. Throughout the story, they each peel away at the little parts of who they think the other person is until the truth is revealed. That’s what this book became to me as I wrote it—a story about the way we see ourselves, the way we want others to see us, and the way we really are underneath.
I’ll leave you with two fun facts about the book: Molly was originally a character in my first published book, Something to Blog About. She was a third friend of my narrator Libby, but was eventually cut from the final book. I gave her a makeover and revived her for The Boyfriend Thief.
Also, the original title of the book was Girlfriend For Hire. But I eventually threw that one out because I thought it sounded like the characters were running an escort service!
-Shana
www.shananorris.com
About the Author
Most days, Shana Norris still feels like she’s stuck at sixteen, which is probably why she enjoys writing about teens. Thankfully, she’s never had to work as a giant hot dog. She lives in a small town in eastern North Carolina with her husband and small zoo of pets, which currently includes two dogs, five cats, and five grumpy chickens. Visit her online at www.shananorris.com.
Acknowledgments
Thank you to all the readers of The Boyfriend Thief and my other books! I’d also like to give a big thank you to the ladies of the Bistro Table for all of the encouragement, feedback, and support.
And as always, love to M.B. from M.N.
Happy holidays!