"That's what I told my mom, but she insisted." Dash shrugged his shoulders. "You'd think I'd have a few more years before that white beard comes in."
"Wait…so your mom got you the job?" Chrissy asked.
He could see that she was tensing back up, sitting up further in the seat.
"Mom, are you working tomorrow?" Rudy asked, interrupting their conversation.
She shook her head. "No, honey."
"Oh, right. We have brunch!" Dash could see Rudy nodding in the rearview mirror.
"That's right, buddy! I can't wait! It's going to be so fun!" Dash chimed in as he turned into the apartment complex that Chrissy had been directing him toward. "Better save room, because it's a buffet."
"You're coming to brunch with us and Santa?" Rudy asked, leaning forward between the seats again.
"Uh…" Dash faltered.
"He is," Chrissy interjected. "He's…uh…he's Santa's driver."
"You are?" Rudy's eyes went wide. "Wait, so you can teach my mom to drive?"
Dash sighed, shaking his head. "Ah, shit."
"Mom, he said a bad word! I get two scoops of ice cream now." Rudy looked incredibly proud of himself as he sat back and pulled his backpack up off the floor in preparation for getting out of the car.
"Good job," Chrissy said with a slight chuckle as he pulled into a parking spot in front of her building. "I guess I'll be seeing you tomorrow—and Santa."
"Wait," Dash called after her as she climbed out of the car. Rudy was already on the front steps, buzzing himself into the building. "How the heck am I supposed to do that?"
Chrissy shrugged. "Guess you'll figure it out."
With a flash of a smile, she turned away and followed Rudy inside the building. Dash shook his head as he put the car in reverse.
How the hell he'd gotten himself into this situation, he didn't know.
Chapter Four
Chrissy
That suit must be a million degrees.
Chrissy smiled as she led Rudy toward the table where the mall Santa version of Dash was sitting at Hurts Donut—an oddly fancy breakfast cafe despite the name. It had long since been one of her favorite places to eat and so when he'd asked for a suggestion, that was her first thought.
She told herself there was no reason to be nervous, but she couldn't help feeling butterflies in her stomach as she approached him.
Rudy took off at a run, spotting Santa immediately. He threw his arms around him in a big bear hug the moment he reached Dash. "Santa!"
"Well, ho ho ho," Santa Dash replied. "You ready for some good food? Santa loves a good donut."
"They have my favorite donuts here," Rudy replied, moving to the other side of the booth and sliding in. "Mom, sit next to me!"
She moved into the booth next to him, though there was zero chance she'd have chosen to sit next to Santa the entire meal instead. "You know what you want to order for your drink already?" she asked her son, knowing he got the same thing every time they had come here—a chocolate milkshake.
"Yes, but we have to wait for Dash!" Rudy reminded her. "Santa, we met your driver and he's joining us. He said that would be okay with you.”
Chrissy glanced over at Santa Dash, biting the corner of her lip to keep from smiling. "Right. Did you tell the waitress that we are expecting a fourth person?"
Santa Dash shot her a look. "Must have slipped my mind. You know what…I think I just saw him go into the bathroom. I'll go tell him we're ready to order drinks.”
"You do that," Chrissy agreed, struggling to contain her smile. Worst case scenario, she'd tell Rudy that it was a fake Santa and the real Santa still existed. He'd bought that before, so she thought it might fly again…though he was getting older and asking more questions. "I'm sure Dash would love to come join us."
Santa Dash slid out of the booth, his fluffed-up stomach billowing over the table top. "I'll be right back."
She watched him head toward the bathroom, laughing lightly under her breath. "Well, Rudy, want to go get your first plate while we wait?"
Hurts Donut had a brunch buffet on Sunday mornings, and Rudy always made sure they got their money's worth. Or in today's case—Dash's money's worth. The young boy was growing faster than a weed and she wished she could stack books on his head and reverse time, but, damn it, he just kept growing.
She let him out of the booth and he ran up to the buffet. She followed behind a bit slower and grabbed some fruit and eggs to start with. Returning to the booth, she sipped on the coffee that their waitress had brought while she was gone.
"What did I miss?" Dash slid into the booth where he'd previously been sitting, but this time he was in jeans and a collared polo shirt. "Santa said you guys were ready to order."
"Oh, we've already started." She gestured toward the buffet table where Rudy was attempting to stack biscuits on top of one another on his plate. "Go, get yours."
He made a quick trip to the buffet and stacked his plate full of eggs, bacon, and sausage before sliding back into the booth.
"Hi, Dash," Rudy greeted him as he returned with two plates full of food.
"Hey, there, buddy," Dash greeted him, then took a bite of bacon. He nodded toward Rudy's plate. "That looks pretty good."
"Mom, can I get a milkshake?" Rudy asked, already shoving a biscuit into his mouth.
"Sure," she agreed, then grinned at Dash. "If that's okay with Dash. He's paying, after all."
The waitress walked up to their table.
"One chocolate milkshake for the kid, please," Dash asked the waitress. "Actually, you know, I'll have one, too. Chrissy, you want one?"
"Vanilla for me," Chrissy replied. "With an extra cherry on top, please."
"Sure," the waitress said as she scribbled on her notepad. "So, it's just the three of you for all-you-can-eat brunch?"
"Yup," Dash confirmed.
"What? No!" Rudy interjected. "There's four of us. Santa's here, too. Where did he go?"
The waitress looked between Dash and Chrissy for an explanation. "So…do I charge for three or four meals?"
Chrissy was grinning wide now, reveling in the look on Dash's face. "What do you think, Dash? Are you paying for Santa, too?"
Dash cleared his throat. "You know what? Why not? Sure, I'll pay for the old man, too. Ring us up for four meals, please.”
The waitress chuckled and nodded. "Okay."
When she walked away, Rudy finished the biscuit he was working on. "Mom, what if Santa wanted a milkshake?"
"Maybe we should ask him," Chrissy volunteered. "Dash, did you see where he went?"
He paused mid-bite on a piece of sausage, then swallowed slowly. "I think he mentioned something about the bathroom. Some stomach issues, you know? Too much milk and cookies. I think he’s lactose intolerant.“
"Maybe no milkshake for Santa then," Chrissy replied. "Should someone go check on him? Since he’s sick and all?“
Dash let out a loud exhale. "How about I go check on him? Make sure he didn’t fall in.”
"That would be so nice, Dash. Thank you." Chrissy popped a piece of melon in her mouth and tilted her head as she looked at him.
He slid back out of the booth, grabbing one more piece of bacon on his way out. With a wink, he headed toward the back of the restaurant.
Chrissy started in on her eggs, enjoying listening to Rudy talk about a project he was working on for school where he was learning about different types of architectural columns and pillars. He'd spoken about becoming an architect one day for years now, and though she wasn't sure where he'd first gotten the idea, she certainly supported him every step of the way.
"Ho ho ho," Santa Dash greeted them as he slid into the booth a few minutes later. His wig was slightly askew and she could see a pillow sticking out of the front of his suit just slightly as he breathed heavily.
She grinned, knowing he must have rushed to get the costume back on that fast. "Hey, Santa. Where's Dash?"
"He stepped outside for a phone call," Sant
a Dash replied smoothly. "He's a busy man, you know. Very important.”
"Hmm, yeah. Sure," Chrissy replied, then finished off the last of her coffee as the waitress came over with a refill.
Santa Dash scooped up a forkful of eggs and took a bite.
"Santa!" Rudy gasped. "That's Dash's food!"
He paused, mid-swallow. "Um, it is? Oh, sorry. I must have gotten confused. Santa has a lot on his mind this month."
Rudy nodded understandably. “I can get you your own plate from the buffet!”
"That sounds great, buddy. Why don't you fix me a plate with a little of everything? Give me a chance to talk to your mom for a bit." Santa Dash pushed Regular Dash's plate to the side.
Chrissy let Rudy out and kept an eye on him as he wound around the buffet.
"Everyone is looking at you, you know," she pointed out, nodding her head to whispering patrons who were pointing in their direction.
"They're looking at Santa," he clarified with a chuckle. "Dash Winters is invisible, believe me."
Chrissy frowned, taking in the tone of his voice. He wasn't being sarcastic in that moment, and she felt a sincerity in his admission that she wanted to match. "I feel that way more often than not. Though I don't walk around in a costume pretending to be two people."
He didn't take the bait, but just nodded thoughtfully. "What makes you invisible then?"
Chrissy chewed slowly on a piece of cantaloupe before swallowing as she thought of her answer. "It's a small town, you know? Once people label you as one thing, and it's pretty hard to change their minds."
He seemed to register with what she was saying, as if he personally could understand. She wondered if there was a lot more to this mall Santa than she thought.
"I wish a lot more people looked past labels," he replied.
She sighed. "Wouldn't that be nice?"
"I appreciate you saying yes to brunch today," Santa Dash admitted after a quiet moment. "I certainly hadn't expected to meet someone for a date while I was wearing this." He gestured toward the Santa suit and laughed.
"Who said this was a date?" she teased. "If anything, wouldn't it be a double date? Dash is outside making a call, remember?"
"He is, yes." Santa Dash lifted one brow and leaned forward on his elbows, smirking now. "Who do you like better? Saint Nick or his driver?"
"Hmm." She put a finger to her chin, tapping lightly. "It's a tough call. One drives a sleigh, the other a bucket of rust—oh, and lives with his parents."
Santa Dash made a gesture like she'd just stabbed him in the heart. "You don't pull punches, do you?"
She laughed and shook her head. "I'm probably pretty rusty on date etiquette."
"When was your last date?" he asked.
“Long before Rudy was born. I left his father before giving birth. He wasn’t a great guy. But, being a single mom now doesn't exactly lend itself to alone time or a social life." Not that she'd really tried to put herself out there over the last seven years. She had had her hands full.
"I can't imagine," Santa Dash admitted. "You're clearly doing an amazing job with him, though. Most kids who came up to me yesterday were asking for a video game or some type of toy. Rudy…he's different."
Chrissy smiled now, glancing over to where Rudy was standing in the buffet line piling eggs onto a plate for Santa. "He's a special kid. A really big heart. I got lucky with him."
"Sounds like he got lucky to have you as his mom. I wish I'd been that lucky." His voice trailed off at the end, and there was a depth to his words that pulled at her heartstrings.
"Are you and your mom close?" She had assumed that since he lived at home, he must be a bit of a mama's boy. But the look on his face right now was making her think otherwise.
He shook his head. "There's not much I remember about her, to be honest. She was in and out of prison for possession, narcotics, trespassing…we never stayed in one place long. The courts took away her parental rights entirely after the fourth or fifth prison stay. I do remember that she made the best waffles, but when I think back on it…they might have just been Eggo’s.”
"I'm sorry," Chrissy replied, a heaviness settling over her heart. While her own relationship with her parents was tense, at least they'd been present. She couldn't imagine a little boy—like her own son—experiencing so much instability and loss.
Santa Dash shrugged. "It led to me eventually meeting the Winters, my foster family. Or adoptive family now. Lilian is an incredible mom. You actually remind me a bit of her—similar fierceness. That Mama Bear instinct."
"Thanks." Chrissy looked down at her fingers playing with the stem on her mug. "Honestly, I'm just making it up as I go most of the time. Hell, I'm not even sure why I'm here today."
He tilted his head to the side, waiting for her to explain.
She let out a quick exhale. "Like I said…I don't date. And I definitely don't date mall Santas."
Santa Dash laughed slightly, but she could sense his discomfort. "I mean, I'm more than just a mall Santa."
"Oh, my gosh," she responded quickly, waving her hand. She immediately felt guilty as she realized how judgmental she'd sounded. "I didn't mean it like that. There's nothing wrong with being a mall Santa. I'm sure it's a great job. I mean, I'm a pretzel store cashier, so, believe me, I get it. We all do what we can to get by."
"That's fair. Being Santa has its benefits," he replied. "Working with kids is fun. In the end, it's just temporary, though."
"That's what I meant when I said I don't date mall Santas." Chrissy could feel heat rushing to her cheeks, and she wondered if she'd just completely insulted the poor guy who'd really only been nice to her and Rudy since they'd met. "The temporary aspect of it all. I can't be involved with anyone that's…seasonal. You know? Rudy needs consistency and dependability. I don't have the luxury of entertaining every passing whim, or having some sort of flirtation or fling."
He nodded, as if he understood what she was saying entirely. "Rudy has to be your focus. I get that."
"He's my entire life." She smiled as the little boy approached the table and slid an overfilled plate in front of Dash.
"Mom, they restocked the French toast sticks!" Rudy exclaimed, barely pausing to finish his sentence before shoving one in his mouth.
"Rudy! You got those for Santa," she reminded him.
He grinned, mushed French toast clearly viewable in his mouth. "That's why I got an extra one for me. Santa says sharing is a good thing. Right, Santa?"
Santa Dash laughed. "Yep. All the kids on my nice list know how to share."
"See, mom?" Rudy slid back into his spot in the booth and drank half his milkshake in a single gulp.
Chrissy laughed and snagged a French toast stick from Dash's plate as well, taking a bite. "Mmm, my favorite."
"You're welcome," Santa Dash teased as he tried one for himself. "Just spreading that holiday cheer."
After a few more plates of food and two more costume switches, Santa Dash said his goodbye to Chrissy and Rudy before regular Dash met them out front of the restaurant to drive them home.
"Dash, you just missed Santa!" Rudy said.
He shook his head. "No, I just said goodbye to him before I came out here. Good guy. You ready to go home?"
Chrissy took Rudy's hand. "Thanks for brunch, and the ride home."
"Mom, maybe you should drive us home!" Rudy suggested. "I bet Dash can teach you, too. Santa's probably really busy."
"Uh…" Chrissy paused and glanced at him. "Honey, we can't ask to drive other people's cars. That's not polite."
"Oh." Rudy seemed to understand that, but still looked unconvinced.
"How about I take you out for a driving lesson later this week?" Dash volunteered. "Maybe you could find a sitter for the night."
Slick. She shook her head as she made sure Rudy was buckled into the backseat. "I've got a pretty full schedule this week. I'm working extra shifts for the holiday season."
He grinned as she slid into the passenger seat and c
losed the door behind her. "Sounds like you might need a driver. If we're working similar times, what if I take you to and from work?"
"Yes! Mom, say yes, please!" Rudy called out from the backseat.
She glanced over at him as he moved the gearshift and pulled the car out of the lot. "I mean, I guess if we are going to the same place at the same time…it could be okay."
"Send me your work schedule and I'll get mine to match," he replied. "Easy peasy."
Chrissy furrowed her brow. "Why would you do that?"
Dash shrugged, but she could see the smile on his face. "It's the holiday season."
She smiled, wanting to accept his gesture but struggling to believe his intentions. She certainly was not an expert on dating, and it had been so long since she'd even considered it. What she'd told him earlier was true—a temporary fling was not in the cards for her. Not as a mother.
And yet, she wondered if she really wanted to say no to Dash.
Maybe she would get in line to sit on this mall Santa's lap.
Chapter Five
Dash
Dash pulled his car into the open spot in front of Chrissy's apartment building. After a quick text to let her know he had arrived, Dash yawned and grabbed the travel mug of coffee from his cupholder and took a long swallow. They hadn't spoken much in the last twenty-four hours since he'd dropped her and Rudy off after their brunch together. She'd briefly confirmed with him last night via text what time her shift was today, and he'd immediately coordinated with his boss to match his schedule to hers.
"Hey," she greeted him as she opened the passenger side door and slid into the front seat. "Thanks for being on time."
"That's my fatal flaw," he teased, pushing the car into reverse after she'd shut the door and clicked her seatbelt. "I am always early to everything. Lateness would make me break out in hives."
"Really?" She raised her brows as she turned to look at him. "Being late is my norm. It's hard not to be as a single mom. Kids run on their own timeline. Do you know how long it can take just to find a pair of matching shoes?"
Mall I Want for Christmas is You: A Mall Santa Holiday Standalone Romance Page 3