Kitty Valentine Dates Santa

by Jillian Dodd

  We both turn toward the front hall when the doorbell rings.

  To my surprise and complete confusion, Hayley just about flies over to the door. “It’s time for the surprise!” She throws me a knowing grin before flinging open the door.

  “Ho, ho, ho!”

  Oh my gosh. She totally planned this. Because here comes Santa Claus, decked out from head to toe. Everybody bursts out into laughter and applause at the sight of him, and immediately, people start taking pictures.

  “Did Hayley tell you about my Santa book?” I mutter to Kylie, watching as Santa works the room. He’s even wearing the big, bushy beard and little wire-rimmed spectacles.

  Which is going to be awkward, having a Santa here. Mostly because I haven’t had the heart to tell Hayley about me and Matt yet. Or that I already found my sexy Santa. Or that the book is almost already written. I invited Matt to the party. I thought it would be a good way to ease into the conversation, but he had some work crisis.

  And now is probably not the time to spring the news either. Not when she and her sister went to the trouble of hiring someone.

  Kylie only shrugs with a smile before heading over and directing Santa toward a chair near the Christmas tree. “Here you go! Now, everybody can take a turn telling Santa what they want this year!”

  I don’t want to upset anyone, so I figure I might as well have fun with it. Especially since everybody else is lining up to take pictures and sit on Santa’s lap.

  “Come on. You’d better get in line! Santa doesn’t have all night.” Kylie isn’t exactly gentle when she pushes me toward the line.

  Hayley joins us, handing me a cup of spiked hot chocolate and looking down the line to where Santa’s posing for pictures. “I couldn’t help myself. When Kylie decided to throw the party for Nicholas, it just fit.”

  I want to tell her. I know I should. Right now.

  “So, you had nothing to do with this party? She just moved in!”

  “Okay, okay.” She blows out a huge sigh. “It was a collaborative effort, and maybe I spent last night and today putting up the tree and the decorations and everything. So what?”

  “I love you. That’s what. You are a good friend.”

  “I love you, too.” She takes my cup and guides me forward. “It’s your turn.”

  I step up to the plate, so to speak, and hold my arms out to the sides. “I guess I’m up.”

  “Come on.” Santa’s voice is deep and booming as he pats his lap. Not a bad sign, though I get the feeling he’s putting the voice on for show.

  I also realize this Santa looks like he’s built pretty well under that red suit. Although I wouldn’t expect anything else from Hayley.

  I settle down on his thigh.

  “Do you want to know whether I’ve been a good girl this year?” I ask.

  Santa’s eyes twinkle. “I think I know the kind of girl you’ve been this year, Kitty.”

  Oh my God. It’s Matt.

  “You lied to me about work,” I mutter to him.

  “And apparently, you still haven’t told anyone about us,” he counters.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  “Kitty”—Hayley nudges me—“surprise! It’s your Santa!”

  I jump off Santa’s lap, freaking out. I’m upset with myself for not telling Matt why I haven’t told anyone yet. Now, I’m sure he has to wonder if I’m even serious about loving him.

  But it’s so incredibly sweet that he came anyway.

  I would have loved to shock Hayley by giving Santa a great big kiss. But now is not the time. Honestly, I’m not sure how I let myself get into these awkward situations. Always.

  “Kitty?” Matt looks concerned now. He pulls the fake beard down under his chin. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

  I have to get out of this apartment. The balcony will have to do for now even though it’s freezing outside. Fresh air might be just what I need anyway. Because Hayley is going to be mad at me. And I can’t handle that.

  There are murmurs all around me as I elbow my way through the crowd, but that doesn’t matter. I don’t even know most of these people.

  “Kitty!” Matt’s voice rings out behind me once I reach the balcony.

  My arms immediately break out in goose bumps, and my teeth chatter, but the cold air brings a little clarity to my fuzzy brain.

  “Hey.” Before I know it, there’s the top half of a red Santa suit being draped over my shoulders. “Why did you run off?”

  “Because you did this.”

  “And why wouldn’t I?”

  I suddenly realize something. “Wait. Who was the little birdie who told you about me spinning Santa the other day?”

  He grins. “It was Hayley—when she asked if I would come to this party, dressed as Santa. For you. But I figured, how much fun would that be? I mean, here, I wouldn’t be able to do what I did to you then. At least, not right away.”

  “So, you already knew I hadn’t told her about us. Why didn’t you say something?”

  “Kitty, in case you haven’t figured it out, I’ve been in love with you since the night you stumbled across the hall with your laptop and made me read what you had written.”

  “I didn’t make you. You read that on your own.” Crap. That’s the wrong thing to say. For heaven’s sake, how many scenes like this have I written?

  “What difference does it make? I fell for you, and I’ve been in love with you ever since then. Even when you drive me out of my mind. Even when you’re stubborn. When you pick fights for no good reason. When you have to have the last word. My real dilemma though is that I’m in love with a girl who has to date random guys or else, I don’t know, risk giving up her career. And I would never, ever ask you to do that. I want what you want. And I’m proud of you.”

  “You are?”

  “Yes, I am.” He reaches out to run a hand over my hair. And it feels good. “You’re a hard worker. You’re a talented writer. And you’re a good friend. You have a huge heart, you’re generous and thoughtful, and you support the people who matter to you.”

  I can’t think of anything to say, so I shrug. Because even though we’ve slept together and we’ve said we love each other, we haven’t talked about this. He hasn’t told me all this. And I’m really touched.

  My mouth opens. Then, it closes. “You’d think a writer would be able to come up with something to say in a situation like this.”

  He grins. “This isn’t our happily ever after yet, so I’d go with something simple.” His hands find my arms. “Why don’t I give it a shot?”

  “I’d like that.” I take a step closer to him, the whole world fading away.

  He purses his lips. “Hmm. I think the girl in the story would accept the fact that her totally awesome, freakishly handsome, wildly successful, wickedly funny, stallion-in-the-sheets neighbor is the perfect man for her.”

  “He does sound like the total package.”

  “He definitely is.”

  “He sounds pretty humble too,” I tease.

  “I’m only being honest,” he banters back. “What’s the saying about life imitating art?” He pulls me closer still, until I’m up against his chest. “The fact is, I’m completely crazy about you, and I have been for a long time. And if the only thing keeping us from being in a committed relationship is your work, I’m willing to wear a Santa suit in front of a bunch of strangers for the sake of being with you.”

  “You forgot to add that he is really sweet,” I say.

  “Gosh, how did I forget sweet? That’s why you started writing romance in the first place.”

  “Do you remember everything about me?”

  “Yeah, I do.”

  “That’s really good, Matt,” I say, “because I don’t think I’m pretty sure I’m falling in love with you. I’m positive that I’m crazy in love with you. Have been for a long time.”

  “You gonna tell your best friend that?” he asks, waggling his eyebrows at me, teasing.

  “Are you mad at me for not telli
ng her?” I ask desperately.

  He gently touches my face. “That all depends on why you didn’t tell her.”

  “She was upset about Nicholas leaving and her still not knowing if she’d get transferred. I wanted to tell her. I was dying to tell her. But then—” I almost slip and tell him she’s pregnant.

  “You didn’t want to rub your happiness in her face?”

  I sigh with relief. “Yes. Exactly. Thank you so much for understanding.”

  “Understanding what?” Hayley says, interrupting us, her arms crossed in front of her and looking like she’s not happy with me. Which means she only heard the last thing we said.

  “Understanding this,” I tell her. Then, I can’t help it; I lean in and give Santa a great big kiss, which causes her to screech in shock.

  Her eyes are big when I turn to her, still in Matt’s arms.

  “Did I just get you two together?” she asks.

  “Not exactly.”

  “Not exactly?! Kitty, so help me. If you can’t see—”

  Matt kisses my forehead and whispers, “I think I’ll let you handle this on your own.”

  Hayley marches over and takes his place in front of me. Then, she shivers and runs her hands down her arms, which are exposed in her holiday party dress. She pulls me back into the house and into one of the bedrooms for privacy.

  “What haven’t you told me?” she demands.

  “Matt and I slept together the night of the wedding.”

  “What?! Oh my God! Why didn’t you tell me at brunch? How did it happen?” She sits on the bed. “And was it good?” She pats a spot beside her and orders me to sit.

  I do as I was told, pulling my legs up in a pretzel and facing her. “I’ve been dying to tell you. But when we were at brunch, you needed to talk about your situation with Nicholas. And then you had the other news. And I wanted to support you, not gush about my new, fantastic sex life and the fact that Matt told me he loves me.”

  She pulls me into a hug. “There’s something I didn’t tell you,” she whispers.

  “Besides that you set me up?”

  “No. That wasn’t all I was worried about. I was worried about you, dating all these men. I know it sounds like this amazing fantasy, but it’s not for you. It’s been hard on you. You’ve had your heart broken. And I wanted to know, if I decided to move, that you’d be okay without me.” Tears fill her eyes.

  “I’ll be okay. I’ll be happy for you. I am happy for you.”

  “And you’ll make Matt take you out for nachos and brunches?”

  “I promise.”

  “Then, everything will be okay, and I can go.”

  “You were thinking of not leaving because of me?” Tears pour out of my eyes.

  She nods.

  “You really are my best friend.”

  I see Matt and Nicholas peeking around the door.

  “Everything all right in here?” Nicholas asks.

  “That all depends,” Hayley says, “on how you feel about babies.”

  “Uh,” Nicholas says, “I love babies. Kitty, are you pregnant or something?”

  Matt’s eyes get huge, but a smile crosses his face. Then, he looks puzzled, wondering if I could be pregnant already. And when he looks up to the ceiling, I can tell he’s doing some quick math.

  “No,” Hayley says. “I am.”

  Nicholas stands there, frozen for a second, just staring at her. No expression on his face.

  Hayley opens her mouth to say something when he rushes toward her, picks her up off her feet, swings her around, and kisses her. “That is the most amazing news I’ve ever heard.”

  And that is the most amazing answer I’ve ever heard.

  Matt takes my hand and leads me out of the room, so they can have a little privacy.

  We don’t say much on the ride back to our place. I think we’re both still a little overwhelmed by what just happened. The love we witnessed. Or maybe it’s because of the fact that, for a moment, Matt thought I was pregnant.

  He takes off the suit and tells me he’s going to let Phoebe out real quick and that I should open a bottle of wine. I do and even pull out some snacks to go along with it.

  When he walks back through the door, I can’t help but notice how good he looks. Like irresistible levels of good. It’s not like I didn’t know he was hot. I’ve known that since the first time I saw him out in the hallway, back before I ever got up the nerve to say hello. He’s certifiably hot. With a hundred percent likelihood of setting a girl’s panties on fire.

  Now, it’s like that but times a million. Like the difference between regular TV and high def. The littlest things catch my attention and basically hypnotize me. Right now, it’s the waistband of his shorts peeking out over the top of the sweatpants he threw on. I can’t stop staring.

  I give Phoebe a doggy cookie, and Matt lights the fire. Still no talking. Which makes me a little nervous. I take the food and drinks over to the coffee table and set everything down on it.

  “Admit it,” I say to him when he gets the fire going and sits down next to me. “You were a little freaked out when Zack asked me if I was pregnant.”

  “I was doing the math,” he says. “I realized that I don’t quite understand the math.”

  “Well, a woman has her period. The first day of her period is the start of her cycle, which usually runs about twenty-eight days. Some magical time, usually in the middle of those days, she ovulates, and if she has sex during that time and the little swimmer sperm do their thing, she might get pregnant. If she misses her period fourteen or so days later, she can take a test.”

  “So, you could be pregnant now too? We haven’t been super careful with protection. And that’s not like me.”

  “Because you love me and want to put a baby in me?” I tease.

  “Honestly, probably unconsciously, yes.”

  I lean back. Shocked by his words. “Really? I was just joking.”

  “I’m not. I want to have kids. Do you?”

  “I do. Very much so. But if I’m going to have them, I want more than one. It kind of sucked, being an only child. Especially after my parents died.”

  He picks my wineglass off the table and hands it to me. “Then, a toast,” he says. “To us making babies.”

  What he says is so sweet, I drink to it. Because it is what I want. I just don’t know if I want it quite this second. We just finally got together. I want to enjoy us. A lot. For a while.

  He wraps his arm around my shoulders, and we lean back into the couch, both quiet, staring at the fire.

  I curl up next to him and fall blissfully asleep.

  I wake up later to Matt carrying me to my bed.

  “Are you leaving?” I ask.

  “No, I’m putting us to bed.”

  “I like that,” I murmur as I kiss his neck. “I like being in bed with you.”

  “I like being in bed with you too.”

  And he proves it.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  But the next morning, I wake up alone.

  And it gets me thinking. When I write a story, I always give it a big, fat, happy ending. Usually going for the happily ever after part, where you know that they will be together forever. My hero and heroine decide they’re going to work through their differences or whatever it was that threatened to keep them apart. They realize their love is stronger and more important than any of the outside business going on in their lives—which I will admit, now that I think about it, reminds me of Hayley and Nicholas.

  But then what?

  I’ve never really given much thought to what happens after. I haven’t had to.

  And they certainly didn’t lie in bed, like I’m doing now, and think about how all this would work. Like, the logistics of it.

  A glance at the clock tells me it’s barely eight o’clock.

  And I wonder why the man I love isn’t here.

  I get up, brush my teeth and hair, pull my hair up into a messy bun, and slip into a silky robe.

&n
bsp; Matt’s not in my apartment, and neither is Phoebe, so I go across the hall and open his door.

  He must not hear me because he doesn’t even look up from his computer. He’s sitting on the couch, feet up, Phoebe snoring at his side. He’s wearing nothing but a pair of sweats. His brown hair is standing almost on end.

  “Hey,” I say softly, not wanting to wake Phoebe.

  “Sorry,” he says. “I had to check the news.”

  “On Sunday morning?”

  He glances away from his screen. “Every morning. I have to stay on top of how the market might fluctuate based on news reports. That’s why people trust me with their money. They know how thorough I am. You know that about me.”

  “Sure I do.”

  Phoebe wakes up and rushes toward me with a toy. I take it from her and toss it down the hall. She darts after it—actually, it’s more like she scrambles over the hardwood, legs moving in all directions.

  “You sound disappointed.”

  Though that doesn’t get him to turn away from the laptop for good. He’s still reading something.

  “No, not disappointed.”

  “So, why do you sound like you are?”

  He finally turns my way and gives me his full attention. At least until Phoebe crashes into him. He smiles at her and throws the ball again.

  “I guess I wish you had told me you were leaving, is all.”

  “I didn’t want to wake you.”

  “Oh. Okay.” I wrap my arms around myself and slowly back away, toward the door.

  I wish I had never come over. I feel stupid for doing this even though I know there’s nothing to feel stupid about. I woke up and my—oh, jeez, what is he? My boyfriend? My love?—well, he wasn’t there. And I possibly freaked out a little. It’s weird, us living so close but not together.

  “I didn’t want to wake you because today is your big day, and I figured you’d want to be well rested. And, well, I didn’t really let you rest last night. Do you want breakfast?” Matt asks. “I could make something.”

  First off, now, I feel bad for the way I acted. I also totally forgot that today is the day I’ve been dreading.