Her Christmas Miracles (Dunam Prep Boys #1)

by Lux Carmine

  I nodded, and grabbed a handful of candy canes on my way towards the North Pole. I waved to the kids as I grabbed the shimmering doorknob and pushed my way into the break room. Santa was in the far corner, sitting on a metal folding chair, his Santa suit unbuttoned and showing off surprisingly well-defined biceps. Some Santas had actual beards and cookie bellies, but not this one. He was probably forty, with a full head of hair and a chiseled jaw. I wondered briefly where he’d gone wrong in life. And then I wondered if my dad ever got sober, would this be his future?

  “Finally.” Santa stood up and came close, holding his hand out.

  I looked down at his open palm. He had a pale puckered scar that went from the middle of his palm, up his arm. I was still staring when he stepped closer and wrapped his hand around mine. His lips came close to my face, and I sucked in a breath and turned my head away.

  “Um, Gwendolyn said you need to hurry up and get out there.”

  “Gwendolyn and those little brats can wait.” His other hand slid over my hip, freezing me in place. My heart was racing, pounding through my veins, and yet my feet were like chunks of ice, heavy and immobile.

  “If you don’t get your hands off of me, I’m going to scream.” My voice was quiet, but firm.

  His eyes darkened, a devilish smile curled on his lips. “I’d love to hear you scream.”

  Somehow, I managed to free myself. I threw the candy canes at his chest and fled. I didn’t get far before I crashed into something. No, not something. Warm hands encircled my elbows, holding me steady as my gaze traveled up the length of a long male torso. My knees were shaking, and I wasn’t sure if it was from the run in with Nasty Santa or because this guy was the most wonderful smelling one I’d ever run into … literally.

  “Sorry,” he said, his voice husky and deep. I imagined briefly what his voice would sound like saying my name. My throat went dry as I gazed up into the most incredible bright blue eyes. They were the color of a cloudless summer sky, the kind that always took my breath away when I was laying alone on the empty high school football field. Just me and the sky. It was peaceful, no arguing parents, or too-noisy neighbors. I loved that color. I loved him … No, no, that was crazy. I was being totally crazy!

  “Um …” When he grinned at me, I realized I must have looked like an idiot. I gave myself a shake and pulled away. “Sorry. It was my fault. I wasn’t watching where I was going. Sorry.” I glanced around, my heart still pounding in my chest like the beat of a dozen wild, galloping horses. “Uh, what are you doing up here? Are you here to see Santa? The line is …” I scratched at my eyebrow as I took in the line, which was growing ridiculously long with every passing minute. “Out there somewhere …” When I glanced back at the mysterious and super hot guy, he was still grinning. Maybe he was the idiot?

  I glanced down at my chest, making sure my elf costume hadn’t come undone when that creeper was pressing himself against me. The clothing was intact.

  “I’m not here to see Santa. I’m here to help with the crowd.” He held up the token black uniform bag.

  “You’re … you’re working here?” My cheeks were flaming hot. “That’s … great—”

  “When is Santa coming back?!” an impatient mother yelled, cutting me off from saying more.

  I looked back to the newest elf and forced a smile—my game face. “Go in there and get Santa to come out. Watch out for his candy cane.” My cheeks grew even warmer at my ridiculous mouth and the innuendo I hadn’t meant to make. I was in such a hurry to get away from McHandsome, that I stumbled over one of the taped down light cords. I caught myself on Santa’s throne and kept my head ducked down, hoping no one had noticed my epic fumble and near faceplant. All eyes were on me.

  Could this day get any worse?

  Chapter 4

  PARKER

  “I’m sorry folks but Santa has to return to the North Pole for the evening. Come back tomorrow at ten. The first ten kids waiting in line to greet him, will receive a special surprise!” Gwendolyn waved and kept a fake cheery smiled pasted on her lips as disappointed parents and children evacuated from the line.

  Skylar was busy breaking down the camera, which left me with nothing to do but twiddle my thumbs. I glanced over my shoulder and noticed Santa checking out Skylar’s ass. I narrowed my eyes at him, and when he caught me staring, he saluted me before rushing out the back door. I glanced at my phone. We still had thirty minutes on our shift.

  “Can I help you with that?” I asked, stepping closer to Skylar. My heart pounded as I got close enough to smell the scent of peaches from her long, dirty blonde hair.

  She righted herself and swung around, eyes narrowed, back stiff. “No, I’ve got it. You can go sweep up the carpet.” She waved me off and got back to work.

  I did what she asked. Grabbing a broom, I did my best to clean up the mess the kids had left behind, but I couldn’t stop thinking about her. The way she smiled at the kids, her hazel eyes lighting up. One of the little boys had told her a joke, and the sound of her laughter continued to loop in my mind. I’d been impressed with how she seemed so cool and in control. She helped Gwendolyn keep everything running smoothly despite the obvious challenges that came with the job—namely Santa. Eventually Gwendolyn called out to me.

  “Parker, you can go now.” Gwendolyn’s sharp voice pulled me from my thoughts. “Thanks for your help. See you tomorrow at four.”

  “Sure. Um …” I glanced around the nearly empty mall and realized I had no idea where Max and Devin had gotten to. Had they ditched me? “Do you know where my friends are? Devin and Max?”

  She jerked a thumb over her shoulder towards the storeroom. “I set them to organizing and cleaning up back there a while ago. Haven’t heard much since.”

  I nodded and went in the direction she’d pointed. It was almost as if the back of my neck burned as I walked away, but when I turned around Skylar wasn’t looking. She was still busy packing the camera up. Wishful thinking. Not that it mattered. I wasn’t allowed to date.

  I made my way through the department store until I found the guys. They were unpacking boxes of merchandise, and when they spotted me, Devin sighed in relief, stripping off his work gloves and throwing them onto the nearest shelf.

  “Thank God you’re here. I thought this shift would never end.”

  “It wasn’t that bad,” Max said, removing his own gloves and setting them neatly next to Devin’s.

  “Speak for yourself. You like working.”

  Max rolled his eyes. “How was it being an elf?”

  The first thing that came to mind was Skylar. But she didn’t have anything to do with my evening being an elf. “Well, I suck at handling crying kids—no surprise there—but it totally would have been your thing, Max. Next time, I’m going to tell Gwendolyn to stick you in the suit.”

  Devin groaned. He put his hands on his lower back and arched backwards, stretching. “Don’t talk about next time. That’s tomorrow already. I don’t want to think about it.”

  “Just think about Hawaii.” The three of us were flying to Hawaii for a week the day after Christmas, while our parents did something boring like skiing in Vail or whatever. “We just need to get through, what is it, Max? Three weeks? Then we’ll be on the beach, surfing, swimming, and checking out the eye candy.” My mind zoomed back to Skylar. I wondered what she’d think of Hawaii, and imagined how she’d look in a bikini. I shook my head at the thought. Focus, Parker. No dating.

  “Hawaii,” Devin repeated, a far off look on his face. I could tell he was daydreaming of surfing. “That’s much more interesting than this crappy job.”

  “I mean, this job isn’t totally boring.” My voice did something weird, like it was suddenly lighter than usual.

  Max raised an eyebrow, studying me like I was a newly discovered Vincent Van Gogh painting. “How so?”

  I hesitated and shoved my sweaty palms in the crooks of my arms, trying to act casual. It’s not like there was really anything to tell, right? What w
as I going to say? That there was a girl who ignored me the whole shift? A girl I wasn’t interested in because I don’t date anyone? “Oh, I don’t know. I guess it wasn’t, really. But Santa was something else. Comes off like kind of a douche.”

  “Maybe that’s why the kids are so hard to handle,” Max said, matter-of-factly, pushing his glasses further up the bridge of his nose.

  “Maybe,” I said. I needed to hurry up and change the subject. Another memory of Skylar surfaced, and my pulse started racing. What was it about that girl that made me feel so out of control? “You guys ready to go? I’m starving. Burgers?”

  “Definitely,” said Devin. He shooed us out of the storage room and closed the door behind him.

  “Good,” I said, relieved their stomachs so easily distracted their brains. “Let’s go.”

  “Wait,” Max said, stopping beside the worst “Patriotic Christmas” display in all of history. He was staring at my shirt. “You’re not going to go out dressed in your elf outfit, are you?”

  “Oh, crap. I’ll be right back.” I ran to the locker room and changed into jeans and a t-shirt in a hurry, stuffing the uniform into the stiff black plastic bag. On my way out, I almost crashed into Skylar again. Instead of grabbing her this time, I held my hands up, as if I were surrendering.

  “Oh!” The surprise was obvious on her face. She was wearing a baggy gray sweater and black jeans and somehow she looked exactly perfect. My heart did that thing again, beating harder as soon as I set eyes on her.

  “Sorry!”

  “No problem, you probably didn’t see me,” she mumbled. For a moment, her hazel eyes met mine and I could have sworn I saw a flicker of something. There was a squeeze in my chest. Attraction?

  “Hey, uh …” I didn’t know where I was going with that, but I wasn’t ready to see her go. I rubbed the back of my neck, struggling to think of something to say.

  She dropped her gaze to the ground. The light was dim, but it almost looked like her cheeks were turning a little pink. “I’ve gotta run.” Then she was gone, the scent of peaches trailing behind her.

  I stood there for a second before Devin called out to me.

  “Yo, douchebag!”

  “Coming!” I hurried, my stomach growling. I really did want that burger. Maybe it would get my mind off of the smell of peach shampoo.

  Chapter 5

  SKYLAR

  “Parker, the car?”

  I blinked as a stared at my mother. Did she just say …

  “Skylar! Quit looking at me like that. I said go ahead and park the car!”

  “Um, right, of course …” I turned into a row of cars and slowly cruised, hoping for a miracle—a spot near the front. It was three weeks before Christmas so I would be lucky to get any spot.

  “Focus …” I glanced at my mother. She was gripping the arm of the door so tight you’d think we were in a thrilling roller coaster, instead of her old beat up silver Civic. “Don’t look at me! Look at the road!”

  I grinned as I turned into an open spot, I couldn’t help it. She was ridiculous. I let out a gasp as a charcoal gray, almost black car, of a much different variety, whipped around the corner and parked in my spot. I slammed on the brakes and gaped, open mouthed at the vehicle, waiting for the jerk to get out so I could give him a piece of my mind.

  “Not worth it, baby. Find a spot or you’re going to be late for work.”

  I clenched my jaw tight and did as Mama said. I was a good girl, unlike that rich prissy a-hole. I glanced in the rear-view mirror to see if I could catch a glimpse, but whoever it was staying in the car.

  That’s right, punk. You better stay in there.

  Ten minutes later I finally found a spot and climbed out of the car, backpack in hand. I hugged my mom goodbye and told her I’d see her when she came to pick me up. I was going to be late so I booked it inside. While dodging and weaving, all I could think of was my elf companion, Parker, waiting for me to start my shift. It was crazy to think he’d given me even more than two thoughts, but a girl could dream. Dreams were all I’d ever really had—I was pretty good at imagining.

  I could daydream and people didn’t even know. Like yesterday, when I was taking pictures. I was staring at Santa and some kid and saying words, but in my mind, I was sitting on Parker’s lap in that big, red Santa chair. In my daydreams, my All-American crush was an excellent kisser.

  I changed quickly and locked my bag in my locker. I was just reaching for the handle when the door swung open and I stumbled back, barely missing being hit with the door. Gwendolyn stood there, a pinched look on her face.

  “Skylar, there you are! You’re late! I can’t have late elves! Michael has been waiting to go and I have to pay him for his time. Hurry up and get out there.”

  I was fifteen minutes late because of that jerk in the parking lot, and now I was in a horrible mood. I tried to calm myself down the closer I got to the endless Santa meet and greet line. I thought of Parker. Was he waiting for me? Thinking of him, I didn’t have to force the smile. Maybe I would actually try flirting tonight after work, since I didn’t have a two-hour trek in the cold.

  I took my place behind the camera and greeted the next customer, disappointment sunk in when I saw no sign of Parker. Maybe he couldn’t find a parking spot either.

  It was thirty minutes later when Gwendolyn appeared beside me. “Skylar! Where on earth is the other elf? Did he take a bathroom break already?” She shook her head, and wrote something on the clipboard she was carrying around.

  “He?” My heart was racing as my mind filled in the image of Parker. “Parker?”

  Gwendolyn squinted, consulted her clipboard, and then shook her head. “No. Devin.”

  I shrugged my shoulders. “I don’t know. I haven’t seen anyone else.”

  Gwendolyn grunted, her eyes looking near the exit. “There he is.”

  “Um, I’ll go get him.” I didn’t know Devin, but I knew that look on Gwendolyn’s face. She was pissed. “I’ll be right back.” Gwendolyn, by some miracle, didn’t protest and filled in for me as I jogged over to a platinum haired male elf talking to a pretty blonde girl my age. I cleared my throat behind him, but he didn’t turn around. Maybe he hadn’t heard me. I tapped him roughly on the shoulder, my lips set in a hard line.

  I wasn’t prepared when he turned around. He was gorgeous, with dark expressive brows over sparkling green eyes. Half of his smile quirked up as he boldly took in my appearance. Part of me was flattered he would even be interested, but the bigger part of me was annoyed he assumed I’d approached him because he was God’s gift to women or something.

  Where had Gwendolyn found these two gorgeous high school boys? Parker came back to mind and I tried to stamp down my attraction to this Devin, who was clearly not good for any member of the female population. He was a player, for sure.

  “Hey, beautiful.”

  I frowned. “You need to start working or this will be your last day in the red tights.” I made the mistake of glancing down. His legs were long and looked way too good.

  “That would be a shame,” he chuckled. “These tights make the ladies go crazy, you included it seems.”

  My eyes shot up to his, my cheeks were flaming. “I was not going crazy! I just want you to stop trying to get in that girl’s pants and get up there.” I pointed with vigor to the Santa set behind me. “And do your job!”

  His “please, slap me” grin didn’t falter. “You seem pretty crazy to me.”

  For the second time today, my mouth was left hanging open. He stepped closer, I could feel the heat of his body, but he didn’t touch me. The male scent of him swirled around, making me dizzy. I held my breath.

  “If you want me to kiss you, all you have to do is ask.”

  I jolted back and my hand met with his cheek before I even realized I was going for a strike. He touched his cheek, and somehow the sideways glance he gave me was sexy. Infuriated and embarrassed, I walked back to the stage. He could get fired for all I cared. But much
to my dismay, he was following me. It seemed he decided to work tonight after all.

  I tried really hard to ignore him for the rest of the shift, but he kept earning gold stars. Whenever he held a baby it would stare at him as if it had seen the most beautiful human ever. I knew exactly that feeling.

  Whenever Santa tried to call me over, Devin stepped in as if he somehow knew Santa was trying to be a pervert. And when I saw a mom tip him for the wonderful handling of her baby, he slipped it into my tip jar.

  I wasn’t sure what his angle was, other than to try to get into my pants. He couldn’t truly be that good of a guy.

  … could he?

  Chapter 6

  DEVIN

  I had to admit, I was enjoying this job more than I expected, especially the part about spending the evening flirting with Skylar. She kept pretending to ignore me, but I caught her glance my way more than once. Okay, so maybe the glances were only when she needed to ask for help, but it was still in my direction, so that counted for something, right?

  Actually, Skylar seemed immune to my many charms. She had nothing but smiles for the kids, she was polite and friendly to parents, but when I tried to catch her eye and toss a smirk in her direction—my reaction to a particularly whiny, bratty kid—she simply stared at me and pointed at the line.

  She turned to call the next family. “You ready?”

  Finally, we were down to our last few minutes. Gwendolyn had already cut the line off, and sent the stragglers home. Santa finished with his last kid, a cute four-year-old girl, who smiled sweetly and thanked him for the candy cane after he promised to bring her a new bike for Christmas.

  “Hey, Skylar,” Santa called out. There was definitely something about him. Parker was right. I wanted to punch him and knock that smug smile off his face.