A Kiss From Kringle (Novella) (Frosty's Snowmen Book 2) (2 page)

Chris Kringle.

She still wanted to giggle when she thought his name. Haylee had shushed her last time, but her sister wasn’t here to do that now. Although any laughter was immediately squashed when she looked at him. Judging by the scowl on his face, he knew she wasn’t who she should be and wanted answers.

“Can we ride again? Can we? Can we?” Jessie bounced on her feet beside Leah.

“Jessie. That’s enough. Thank the nice elf for riding down with you.” Jessie’s mother smiled at Leah and mouthed her own ‘thank you’.

“But Mummy…” Jessie whined in typical little girl style.

“No buts, young lady. Say thank you and let’s go. We’ve got to visit the reindeer yet.”

“Rudolph!” Jessie raced for the exit, her feet slipping on the ice in her rush.

“Jessie.” Her mother grabbed her hand. “Where are your manners?”

Leah made her way to the exit at a more sedate pace and dropped the mat on the pile near the gate. She smiled at the mother and crouched down to Jessie’s level. “Is Rudolph your favourite reindeer?”

“Oh yes. He’s the one who helps Santa the most.”

Leah wasn’t going to get into the whole team-effort explanation with Jessie, so she smiled and said, “Will you give him an extra pat from me?”

“Okay. Thank you.” Jessie threw herself at Leah, her arms wrapping tight around Leah’s neck. “And you can have a hug for being my favourite elf.”

Leah closed her eyes and breathed deep. The smell of little girl surrounded her, filled her, making her smile. “Thank you for letting me slide with you. You be good for Mummy now. Remember Santa’s watching. Looking for who’s naughty and nice.”

“I will.” Jessie slipped from her arms and ran to her mother. “Let’s go.”

Leah stood, smiling as she watched the mother being towed along behind her daughter.

She was putting it off. Knew she had to turn and face the man who could fire her sister before she’d managed to put in a single day’s work.

Sucking in a breath of cold air, Leah made sure her smile was in place and turned.

“On break?” he asked.

Leah nodded.

“Good. Follow me.”

He walked away. Didn’t look back to see if she’d done as ordered. Then again, he was the boss; he’d expect nothing less than obedience from his employees. With a sigh, Leah two-stepped to catch up and fell into step beside him.

“I told Sharon to finish out the day in your place.”

“What? Why?”

He aimed a dark look her way.

Clamping her lips between her teeth she squashed the urge to question him further.

He led them into the bowels of the arena where dressing rooms, storage rooms, and equipment lined the halls as he took them to their final destination.

Leah glanced around the room he ushered her into. It appeared to be some sort of control room with monitors and panels of switches and dials.

“Have a seat, Leah.”

Shit
.

He definitely knew who she was — who she wasn’t. Up ’til now she’d held onto a teeny bit of hope this had nothing to do with her taking Haylee’s place. She lowered herself to the appointed chair.

This was where she got her sister fired.

***

Chris debated remaining on his feet or sitting in the chair opposite Leah. She hadn’t argued the use of her name, but then she hadn’t said much of anything since he’d approached her.

He studied her. From her green felt hat with its white fur cuff and red bell over the matching green tunic with flared skirt, white cuffs at collar, wrists and hem, down striped red and green tights to bell-topped, pointy elf shoes.

“Your sister is obviously a size or two smaller than you.” The outfit wasn’t indecent, but it did push the line with the way it hugged her curves and rode just a little high on her thighs.

She sucked in a breath. But the argument he expected didn’t come. Instead she remained silent, her lips rolled in between her teeth.

“Okay.” He rubbed a hand over his jaw as he took a seat. “I’m going to sit here and listen. I won’t say a word until you’re finished.”

More silence.

“Look. I know you’re not the woman I hired for the job. What I do know is that you’re Haylee’s sister and, considering how excited Haylee was to work at Santa’s Village, I’m going to assume there’s a very good reason you’re here instead of her.”

She stared at him, not uttering a word. And while her silence frustrated him, the urge to kiss her thrummed through his veins. An elf suit, no matter how tight and short, shouldn’t be sexy. Then again maybe it wasn’t the costume, but the woman wearing it.

“Leah—”

“How do you know my name?”

Finally
. “Kandy.”

“Kandy?”

“She was there when your sister interviewed for the job.”

“Ah.” She clammed up again.

Chris sighed. This was harder than pulling teeth with tweezers. “Let’s start with an easy question. Where’s Haylee?”

“Is she going to lose this job?”

“I don’t know yet. I need to speak with the other two directors before I make that decision.”

“But you could sway them to whatever you decide. You’re the guy who does the hiring and firing.”

He narrowed his eyes. “And you know this how?”

“Kandy.” She smiled and Chris’s gut squeezed, his groin throbbed with heat.

Chris cleared his suddenly constricted throat. “That must have been quite a chat you two had in the car park.” Did Kandy have a habit of telling strangers about the company’s business?

Leah shrugged. “I didn’t talk to her. Haylee did.”

“Back to your sister.”

She leaned forward in her seat. “She can’t lose this job.”

He jolted. Her fierceness took him by surprise.

“She needs this. More for the confidence boost than the money. I’ve got her covered there. But she needs the lift to her self-esteem working here will give her.”

She seemed to catch herself then, stopping the rush of words by rolling her lips into her mouth and sitting back in her chair.

“She won’t lose the job.” The words were out before he thought them.

He didn’t really care about Haylee, not that he was a hard-arse who wouldn’t listen to the reason she wasn’t here before making up his mind, but because he wanted to please
this
woman. If he fired Haylee, Leah would be upset. And he
really
didn’t want to make that happen.

“Thank you.” She visibly relaxed. Her shoulders lowered and the harsh lines around her mouth eased.

“So where is she and why isn’t she here?”

She took a deep breath. “At home with my niece. She’s sick.”

“Haylee?”

“No. Meggie. Normally she’ll stay with me, but she’s been running a fever for a couple of days and utterly miserable with it. No one but her mother will keep her settled.”

“So you offered to take Haylee’s place instead of calling in sick?”

“Haylee isn’t sick and it’s her first day.” Leah leaned forward in her chair once more. “She
needs
this job.”

“You said that.” Leah’s protectiveness struck a cord. He’d go to the wall for those he loved and he knew instinctively that Leah would too. “Tell me why.”

She glanced around them, down at the costume she wore. “This isn’t really the place for skeletons.”

Chris laughed. “It can’t be that bad.”

“Oh, yes. It can.” Leah sighed. “Should I get changed and go?”

“No. But I can’t have you working with the public until you’ve done a Working With Children Check.”

“I’ve done one. I’m a primary school teacher.”

“I’m still not comfortable letting you back to your previous post. You’ll spend the rest of the day with me.” He glanced at his watch. “The day shift is over in less than an hour anyway. You can help me get ready for a smooth shift change.”

Leah nodded. “Okay. Whatever it takes to keep Haylee’s job.”

“It’ll take a full explanation. But as you said, this isn’t the place. So after you clock off we’ll grab something to eat and you can tell me everything. It’s the least you can do, considering.”

“I…um…” She swallowed. Nodded once. “All right. I’ll need to check in with Haylee first. Make sure Meggie doesn’t need anything.”

Leah was like a mother hen when it came to her sister and niece. Chris liked it. Liked the way she was prepared to do whatever it took to keep the two people she obviously loved safe. It was only one of many reasons to get to know her. He’d watched her with the little girl at the slide and been impressed with the way she handled the situation. But then, as a teacher, Leah would be used to dealing with children and their unpredictable behaviour.

He wasn’t going to acknowledge the guilt he felt over manoeuvring her into a position where she couldn’t refuse him.

He’d apologise later. After he spent a few hours with her and worked out if the spark of attraction he felt was mutual or not.

***

Leah tucked Haylee’s elf costume into her bag and wondered if she should try to sneak out without seeing Mr — call me Chris — Kringle.

She had inappropriate reactions to the man. Responses to someone of the opposite sex she couldn’t recall having in a long time. It would be best for all if she ignored them, and him, but she suspected that wasn’t possible.

Chris Kringle was an extremely attractive man. Add in the intense way he looked at her and Leah didn’t have a hope in hell of avoiding the desire he inspired.

She had to spend time with him to explain why impersonating her sister was acceptable behaviour. Not that it was. No matter what her intentions Leah knew she’d stepped over a line by pretending to be Haylee today.

Sighing, she shouldered her bag and left the change room. She came up short when the object of her thoughts pushed away from the wall outside the door.

“Oh.” She rocked back on her heels, a hand over her thumping heart. “You startled me.”

He grinned. “You were just hoping I wasn’t waiting for you as promised.”

“Yes and no.”

Chris stepped closer, crowded her until his chest almost touched hers. “I like that.”

She dragged her eyes off his chest up to meet his. “What?”

“Honesty. Considering the circumstances I wasn’t expecting it.”

“You mean because I pretended to be my sister?”

“You have to admit getting caught in a lie isn’t the best first impression you could have made.”

“I wasn’t looking to make one.”

“No. You were trying to deceive everyone at Frosty’s Snowmen.”

“With the best intentions.”

“Well you know what they say…” He gripped her elbow and steered her in the opposite direction of the employees’ exit. “The road to hell is paved with good ones.”

Leah glanced over her shoulder. “The staff exit is back there.”

“We’re going out this way.”

His grip wasn’t painful, but it was firm enough to let her know he wasn’t looking for an argument. “What’s this way?”

“The service elevator that goes to the loading docks.”

“Ah…” She looked over her shoulder again.

“Don’t worry. There are plenty of people around. I’m not going to do anything nefarious to you in the back corridors of this place.”

It was on the tip of her tongue to say ‘that’s a shame’. If it wasn’t for the sharp edge of her teeth biting into her cheek, she might very well have let the words out.

“No comment?” He stopped in front of the lift and hit the down button.

“I believe you.” The doors opened and she stepped inside, turned.

He moved in on her, backed her up until she bumped into the rear wall of the elevator. The doors slid closed behind them, shutting them in, giving the illusion of intimacy. “You’re very trusting.”

Leah shook her head. “I’m a good judge of character.”

“And you don’t think I want to do nefarious things to you?”

“No.” Her gaze dropped to his mouth. She licked her lips. “I didn’t say I didn’t think you wanted to, just that you won’t do it here.”

Chris laughed and stepped back. “You
are
a good judge of character.” He pointed to the top right-hand corner of the elevator. “I’m not into exhibitionism.”

“Oh.” She took in the security camera and wondered what the person on the other side thought of their little encounter. Would it look innocent from a third party’s perspective? It certainly didn’t feel innocent from hers. Her body had heated and tingled and tightened from his nearness. She was still flushed and short of breath while her pulse raced.

They remained silent as the lift descended, while they walked through the dock area and out into the muggy air of another hot summer afternoon. It wasn’t until they were on the sidewalk, heading away from the arena that Chris spoke again.

“I’m going to be totally honest with you, Leah.” He glanced at her. “I’m not going to fire your sister.”

He’d said that before, but relief flowed through her, loosening the coil of anxiety cramping her stomach. “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet. It’s not because I’m a decent guy or for some charitable reason. It’s because of you.”

“Me?”

He paused and turned to face her. “You.”

The way his gaze held hers sent heat licking through her veins, her heart beat harder in her chest, and suddenly she found it difficult to breathe at all. “I…”

“There’s something between us. Tell me I’m wrong?”

“Um…” She looked away from his intense stare and tried to suck in a deep breath. “I don’t know what to say to you.”

“Am I wrong?” Had he moved closer? “Am I in this alone?”

She shook her head. She couldn’t lie. Not after what she’d pulled today. “No.”

“Have dinner with me. And yes, I’m asking you on a date. This has nothing to do with your sister or Santa’s Village or Frosty’s Snowmen.” He smiled. “Or the slightly illegal switch you made today.”

“I’m sure it’s not illegal…” Dear God. Was it?

“Doesn’t matter. I’m not going to do anything about it.”

“Because you want to have dinner with me?”

“Yes.”

“You’re blackmailing me?”

He contemplated her words for a moment before answering with a grin. “Yes.”

***

Chris watched a number of emotions flitter across Leah’s face, through her eyes. She was an open book. She’d been easy to read since their first discussion.