Alexandra slipped through a side door and found herself in a service corridor. She moved deeper into the building, following the sounds of clanging of plates and squealing children. On one side of her was the kitchen; on the other was the service entrance to the main hall, where the party was in full swing.
Across the hall, she spotted Santa’s throne. The gilded seat was up on a stage surrounded by white cotton batting and a red carpet lined with candy-cane-striped poles topped with poinsettias. Gold glitter ornaments and white twinkle lights decorated fake evergreen trees that flanked the seat of power.
On the throne sat an alarmed-looking Santa with an angry child on his lap.
Alexandra stepped deeper into the room, drawn to the spectacle. She passed men and women who shook with silent laughter as they hid their mouths behind hands.
One woman whispered to another, “This is my favorite part of Christmas every year. He has no clue how to talk to children who are afraid of Santa.”
“You’re late,” a young man in a service uniform stepped up beside her.
“Sorry. There was an accident on GW Parkway.”
The man reached for her bag. “I’ll put it in a locker and bring you the key. Santa needs help. He’s got a crier, but Mom isn’t giving up on getting a photo.”
Poor kid being forced to sit on a stranger’s lap for a photo that would only come out terrible. And poor Jay was little more than a prop in the sad photo.
She pulled on her elf cap and hurried forward, her eyes on Santa and the child on his lap. She noted he didn’t hold on to the girl—she was free to escape—but the mother was shouting encouragement that kept the child rooted in place.
“Smile, then you’ll get your presents, and we can all have ice cream!”
Jay’s tall stepbrother stood to the side, a bag of gifts in hand. “Are those for her?” she asked.
He nodded, then startled as he recognized her.
She pressed a finger to her lips, then took the bag and entered the stage. She grinned as Jay spotted her, jolting so hard, the girl wobbled and nearly fell from his lap.
Alexandra dropped to one knee and supported the girl, then pulled a wrapped gift from the bag and presented it to her. “Hey, princess, Santa wanted me to give this to you now because he knows you’ve been extra good this year.”
The girl’s face lit up as she grasped the sparkly pink package. “Fo me?”
“Yes, honey. Just for you. Now let’s smile for your mommy so Santa can give the other kids their presents.”
Alexandra tried to scoot out of the shot, but the girl grabbed her hand. There was nothing to be done but turn toward the camera and smile.
The girl’s face was tear-streaked, but her gap-toothed smile was big. Hopefully, her mom would be satisfied.
Alexandra stood and scooped the girl off Jay’s lap, then walked her and the bag of presents to Mom before going to collect the next child destined for Jay’s lap.
She felt his eyes on her with each step, and when she faced him, he wore a happy and somewhat smug smile, visible even through the beard. He let out a very cheery “Ho, ho, ho!” and beckoned the child by name. He must have a cheat sheet on each child.
Impressive.
The next gifting ceremony went smoothly, as did the third. When she took the bag of toys from Tall Man for the fourth child, he whispered, “He’s happy you’re here, and it shows with the kids. Thank you.”
“I’m a sucker for kids.”
Tall Man smirked. “Sadly, our current Santa is not.”
She laughed and took the bag. “I noticed.”
The next child viewed Santa with trepidation. He couldn’t be older than four. He stopped short of Jay, just out of his reach, looked to Alexandra, and asked in a loud whisper, “Does being bad today count?”
She dropped down to a knee and whispered equally loud, “No. The naughty list isn’t updated until eleven p.m. daily. And even then, so long as you’re sorry and try to do better, Santa is very forgiving.”
The boy’s face brightened. “I didn’t mean to do it. It was an accident.”
He turned to Jay, who again greeted the child by name. They went through the routine, and Alexandra presented him with the bag of toys, which, according to the tag she removed before handing it off, contained a collection of wooden Thomas the Tank Engine toys, including several yards of track.
As far as she could tell, each child here was receiving specific items from a wish list. The toys weren’t cheap either. For children living in transitional housing, this had to be a Christmas miracle. She found herself tearing up along with some of the parents as the evening wore on.
There were at least fifty kids present. It must’ve been an enormous task to get the wish lists and collect and wrap the presents. Someday, when she wasn’t so broke herself, she would make a donation to whichever charity organized this event.
It took more than an hour to work through the line, which was limited to five kids at a time to prevent toddlers from losing their minds at the long wait.
They’d had two more criers, but no more screamers by the time Alexandra escorted the last child to their dad. The curtain that enclosed Santaland dropped as Jay let out one last hearty “Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas and to all a good night!”
Alexandra slipped through the curtain and faced Jay. They were alone. Sort of. “Ready for a break, Santa?”
“Not quite. I’ve got one more person to interrogate.” His gloved hand circled her wrist, and he pulled her to his lap. “Tell me what you want for Christmas, Lex.”
She laughed softly, well aware the curtain wasn’t much of a sound barrier. “But Santa,” she whispered, “I’ve been very naughty this year.”
The fake beard tickled her ear as he whispered, “As long as you’re sorry and try to do better, I hear I’m lenient.”
“But I’m not even a little bit sorry and intend to be naughty again.” She tugged at the beard and would have removed it, but he must’ve used some kind of adhesive to secure it, because it didn’t budge. She leaned back. “You’re going to have to remove the beard, because it’s not doing it for me.”
“Aww, come on. Just one kiss?”
She leaned in and kissed the tip of his nose.
He laughed softly. “Tell me what you want for Christmas.”
The padding that enlarged his belly hung over his lap, or she’d have wiggled her butt to get a physical response as she whispered, “You know what I want.” She ran a thumb over his cheekbone. “I missed you this week.”
“I missed you too.”
Tall Man slipped behind the curtain, took one look at them, and shook his head. “Do you have any idea of the trauma you’d cause if a kid saw Santa cheating on Mrs. Claus with an elf?”
Jay’s belly shook with silent laughter, and it really did feel like a bowl full of jelly against Alexandra’s hip. Must be gel padding, not foam.
“We’re totally innocent,” she said softly. “He just wanted to know what I want for Christmas. Mrs. Claus will understand.”
“Innocent. Right.” He met Jay’s gaze. “Your stepmom wants to know if your elf friend here is staying for the dinner and what name to put on the place card.”
Jay looked at her. “If you haven’t figured out who I am yet, there’ll be no avoiding it if you stay.”
She nodded and took a deep breath, then slid from his lap and spoke to Tall Man. “Alexandra Vargas.”
The man smiled and held out his hand. “Lee Scott. It’s nice to meet you, Alexandra.”
She ran a hand down the wool costume. “I need to change if I’m going to stay.”
Lee nodded. “Follow me. Your bag was placed in an employee locker. We’ll retrieve it, and I’ll show you to a room where you can change.”
He led her through the back. She didn’t turn to look at Jay as she left. She didn’t know why she felt so nervous. It wasn’t like her name would mean anything. Well, anything more than she wanted to get in his pants, which he most definitely knew already. But still, it felt like she was taking a huge step, even though this remained a silly fling.
After collecting her bag from the break room that had a row of lockers, Lee showed her to a restroom that had lounge area. She quickly changed into a deep green knit dress, glad that the yarn withstood wrinkles after being rolled up and stored for a few hours.
It wasn’t fancy, but it was Christmassy, and it hugged her curves in a flattering way. She put on low black heels and a necklace with red and gold beads, then secured her hair up with a clip.
Her shoes were scuffed and the necklace obviously cheap. She would not fit in with the women she’d spotted who must be donors to this fundraiser and wondered if Jay would be embarrassed by her.
It was a ridiculous thought. This was a charity event for kids who had next to nothing. The parents hadn’t been dressed to impress. If Jay was a snob, it was his problem, not hers.
But at the same time, it had never occurred to her how uncomfortable she’d feel stepping into his world, when she had no clue what his world was other than he came from money.
He might not be the one who was rich, though. He’d said the suite at the hotel was paid for by his family. And the BlackBerry he’d given her was being paid for by his employer.
She really should have searched for him online before coming tonight, but that wouldn’t have been fair, given that she’d expressly told him not to try to find her. She had her flaws, but she tried not to be a hypocrite.
Now she was wildly nervous as she faced stepping into the unknown of Jay’s world. This was a case of ignorance not being anywhere close to bliss.
She took one last look in the mirror and decided to reapply lipstick before leaving the safety of the ladies’ lounge. She placed the elf costume and her bag back in the locker, securing it with the key, which she tucked into the small cocktail bag that didn’t match her dress, but was the only one she had.
She returned to the main room, which was full of the buzz of conversation as people mingled near the cash bar—all purchases would go to charity—on one side of the massive room, while kids and their families played games and did crafts on the other.
She spotted Tall Man—Lee Scott—near the bar and headed in his direction. She expected it would take some time for Jay to remove the beard. She would need to circulate without him. Lee was a safe person to start with.
But before she made it to Lee, she was intercepted by a woman who Alexandra guessed was in her sixties. Beautiful and polished, she looked intimidating, but had a kind smile. “Alexandra, my dear! I need to thank you for assisting my stepson. You performed an absolute miracle in getting him to interact with the kids.”
She smiled and said, “I’m glad I could help.”
“How long have you known JT?” the woman asked.
She needed to call him JT. She mentally practiced saying his name. “Not long, really.” Exactly one week. But she didn’t want to admit to that. She didn’t want to say a single word about how they met.
Lee approached and placed a drink in her hand. She would hesitate to accept, but he was one person she knew she could trust. The mint garnish told her it was a mojito. “You, uh, might want this,” he whispered. Then he raised his voice and spoke to JT’s stepmom. “JT just texted that he’ll be out in a few minutes.”
“Oh, good. His father wants to talk to him before dinner is served and he makes his speech.”
Alexandra took a sip of the drink as her nerves bubbled up again. Dinner involved speeches? Was JT making a speech, or was the speaker his father?
A handsome older man who bore a slight resemblance to JT approached. His skin was a tad darker and his hair streaked with gray, but the jawline was similar.
But that wasn’t what caused her to jolt, sloshing her drink. No, it was that she recognized him. The senator from Maryland. The one who owned Talon & Drake.
Her mystery man was Senator Joseph Talon’s son.
And now she remembered Brent complaining about the CEO, who was far too young to run the company but had gotten the job because he was the senator’s only child.