What did it matter as long as everyone left happy? She glanced around at the moms and kids now moving into groups oohing and aahing over their gifts and Syd’s heart opened up. Just expanded in her chest because all the work they’d put into this had paid off.
She turned to Mitch and Caroline. In this twisted world of Grey’s Justice Team, they’d become her family. Finally, after years of being raised by a single mother and then losing her mom to mental illness, she finally had an extended family.
Even if it was a weird one.
Mitch looked at her, his eyes a little wary. “What?”
Grasping both his and Caroline’s hands, she squeezed. “Thank you. I love you guys.”
“My life is made,” Mitch said. “I got two hot women in love with me.”
Caroline blew out a breath. “Ignore him. He’s an ass, but we love him.”
“Okay, kids,” Santa said over the growing chatter in the room. “I have one more gift. This one is for Sydney. Where’s Sydney?”
All at once, the kids went crazy, screaming Syd’s name and pointing to her. Rolling her eyes, really playing up her shock, she laughed. He’d gotten her a gift. How sweet was that?
Santa patted his lap and oh, boy, he was pushing it with this one. She perched on the edge of his knee, her back to him while she grinned at the kids. God, this was fun. And then Santa grabbed hold of her legs and shifted her crossways across his lap. She leaned in and whispered, “Hey, Santa, let’s keep it clean here. We have a room full of kids.”
All of whom now crowded on the floor around them.
He handed her the box. “You’ve been a very good girl, Sydney.”
After that Twelve Days of Christmas thing, he wasn’t kidding. For kicks, she placed one hand on her cheek and gasped, sending the kids into fits of laughter. “For me, Santa?”
“Yep.”
“Why, thank you. Should I open it now?”
Because, knowing her man, he probably had something naughty in that box. And the smile behind that stupid beard only confirmed Grey was enjoying this.
He leaned in, got right next to her ear. “It’s okay. The kids can see.”
Going to work on one end of the box, she lifted the tape, peeling back the paper. “I knew I didn’t recognize this box.”
“I had it in the car. I sent Monroe out to get it while you were setting dessert out.”
“You sneaky boys.”
“That’s us.”
Under the wrapping paper was—she guessed it—a shoebox. For a pair of men’s size twelve dress shoes. Grey’s size. “Fed Boy, I hope you’re not giving me a pair of your shoes.”
“Nope. The box is a decoy.”
A decoy. Excellent. She set the box on her lap and flipped the top off. And, oh, this man.
A surge of emotion shot clear up her throat and trapped all her air. She squeezed her eyes shut, held one hand over her mouth because he’d remembered. He’d remembered.
Months earlier they’d taken an impromptu trip to New York City. While there, they’d strolled past Tiffany’s and she’d casually mentioned she’d never bought or received anything in a Tiffany blue box. And, hello, there’d been one pair of diamond earrings that had caught her eye. She couldn’t imagine what they cost though and—wow—if he’d bought her those earrings she’d fall right off Santa’s lap.
“What is it?” one of the kids yelled.
She reached in, grabbed the small gift box and held it up. “Girls, all of you take note of this box. I don’t know what’s in it, but I’ve always wanted one of these boxes.” She turned back to Santa, gave him a peck on the cheek. “Thank you for remembering.”
He shrugged. “I do what I can. Open it.”
“Is it the earrings?”
He winced. Not a good sign. “No, I’m sorry. It’s not the earrings. Those were a hundred thousand dollars. Still, I hope you like it.”
Whatever it was, she’d love it. Simply because he remembered she wanted a Tiffany blue box. “You know I will. If you gave it to me, I’ll love it.”
She tugged on the white ribbon and Grey grabbed it from her, set it down on the floor next to him. Taking a deep breath, savoring every second of receiving her first gift from Tiffany’s, she lifted the lid off the box only to find another box. This one velvet and Syd’s pulse kicked up.
From the corner of her eye, she spotted him watching her, his gaze focused in that intense way he did when working an assignment, sorting and prioritizing evidence. “For the love of God, Syd, open the damned thing before I have a stroke.”
She dug the smaller box out and flipped the lid open. “Holy shit.”
Grey burst out laughing and Syd slapped her hand over her mouth. After all the lectures she’d leveled on staff members about salty language, she’d just let it fly in front of a bunch of little kids.
But, holy, holy shit.
Her eyes feasted on a brilliant and sparkling diamond ring. Platinum and easily three carats, the large center stone was surrounded by smaller ones that cascaded down either side of the band. Damn that thing was gorgeous. She reached up with her free hand, but stopped, almost afraid to touch it as her pulse hammered and, ohmygod, she might be the one having a stroke.
Growing up, she’d dreamed of diamonds like this. Diamonds and a man that would love her and take care of her. Cherish her. Then life fell apart and her mother was hospitalized and suddenly her dreams didn’t matter anymore because Sydney Banfield obviously wasn’t meant for diamonds and princes. Sydney Banfield would scrape and claw her way through life alone.
Which she’d done.
Until Grey.
“Sydney swore, Mama!” one of the kids yelled, sending the room into an uproar of laughter.
“What is it?” another one hollered.
Ohmygod, ohmygod, ohmygod. She opened her mouth, croaked out a word and stopped to clear her throat. It’s a ring.
For me.
She tilted the box so the kids could see it. “It’s a ring. Isn’t it beautiful?”
The kids all oohed and aahed again as she recovered from being knocked stone cold. What had he done?
With his left hand, the one behind her, he patted the upper part of her rear. “What do you think? Wanna marry me?”
“I’m… I’m… Oh. My. God that’s the most amazing ring I’ve ever seen.”
He nuzzled closer to her ear. “I’m sorry. My plan had been to do this differently. I know you don’t like to advertise our relationship around here. I figured I’d wait until the place cleared out and the two of us were alone. I wanted to do it here because you love this place. You change lives here and I thought maybe, if I got really lucky, you’d change mine here too. So, that was the plan. At least until you started threatening to kill my buddy and we went to plan B. As usual, anything involving Monroe usually blows up.”
Syd laughed. “That’s true. He’s like crack though. We can’t stay away.”
“Yeah. So here I am, waiting for you to answer. And let me add that it takes a giant set of balls to ask you to marry me in front of all these people. I mean, you know me. I never do anything without analyzing it to death and I took a flyer here. And, well, are you gonna answer me sometime today?”
She nodded.
“Is that a yes?”
Leaning into him, she snuggled into his neck, breathed in his soapy, clean scent and finally let her tears fall.
Maybe Sydney Banfield did get to live her dream after all.
“Yes,” she said. “Giant yes. I can’t believe you did this for me.”
“I love you, Syd. I’d do anything for you.”
“I love you, too, Santa.”
Grey snatched the ring from the box and slid it on Syd’s finger. She held her hand up so the crowd could see it and more oohs and aahs filled the room. The moms in the back clapped. These women whose lives had fallen apart still found it in them to be happy for her.
Syd waved at them, threw them all a kiss. “I guess Santa and I are getting married.”
“But,” Lucy Jones said, “I thought Santa was already married.”
“Ah, Christ,” Grey muttered. “We just made Santa a bigamist. Should have went to plan C.”
“What was plan C?”
“Hell if I know.”
Mitch called from the back. “This guy? He’s really the Grinch dressed as Santa, and today, he finally found the true meaning of Christmas. His heart grew three sizes today.”
Someone in the crowd started clapping again and the rest joined in. Grey, though embarrassed, smiled and Syd smiled back. The Washington Post was right…they were holiday heroes. And her hero—this man who put serial killers behind bars and played Santa for a group of shelter kids—was the best of them all.
THE END
About the Authors
USA TODAY bestselling author Misty Evans writes the award-winning Super Agent romantic suspense series, as well as an urban fantasy and paranormal romance series. She likes her coffee black, her conspiracy theories juicy, and her wicked characters dressed in couture. When her muse lets her out to play, she’s on Facebook and Twitter. Read more about her and her stories at www.readmistyevans.com.
USA TODAY bestselling author Adrienne Giordano writes romantic suspense and mystery. She is a Jersey girl at heart, but now lives in the Midwest with her workaholic husband, sports obsessed son and Buddy the Wheaten Terrorist (Terrier). She is a co-founder of Romance University blog and Lady Jane’s Salon-Naperville, a reading series dedicated to romantic fiction. For more information on Adrienne’s books, please visit www.AdrienneGiordano.com. Adrienne can also be found on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/AdrienneGiordanoAuthor, Twitter at http://twitter.com/AdriennGiordano and Goodreads at http://www.goodreads.com/AdrienneGiordano. For information on Adrienne’s street team, Dangerous Darlings, go to http://www.facebook.com/groups/dangerousdarlings.
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Thank you for reading Holiday Justice. We hope you enjoyed it. If you did, please help others find it by:
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Books in the Justice Team Series
Stealing Justice
Cheating Justice
Holiday Justice
Romantic suspense books available by Adrienne Giordano:
The Private Protectors series
Risking Trust
Man Law
A Just Deception
Relentless Pursuit
Opposing Forces
Negotiating Point (novella)
Harlequin Intrigue
The Prosecutor
The Defender
Justifiable Cause series
The Chase (novella)
The Evasion (novella)
Dog Collar Crime (Romantic Mystery)
Romantic suspense and mysteries available from Misty Evans:
The Super Agent Series
Operation Sheba
Operation Paris
Operation Proof of Life
The Blood Code
The Perfect Hostage, A Super Agent Novella
The Deadly Series
Deadly Pursuit
Deadly Deception
Deadly Force
The Secret Ingredient Culinary Mystery Series
The Secret Ingredient, A Culinary Romantic Mystery with Bonus Recipes
The Secret Life of Cranberry Sauce, A Secret Ingredient Holiday Novella
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
About the Authors
More from Adrienne and Misty
Holiday Justice Page 4