Page 61 of Fake It Till We Fall
I shook my head. “Still no luck with that, hey?”
A flicker of guilt hit me. The new development was still a sore spot with Preston, and I’d been so wrapped up in my own stuff and Harper, I’d forgotten to ask him about it.
“No.” He gritted his teeth and shook his head. “I’ve been trying to pin down Jess to find out who exactly this developer fiancé of hers is, but she’s not returning my calls. Yet. If she doesn’t get back to me soon, I’m going to end up showing up at her house on Christmas morning.”
“You are going to do no such thing.” I tried to give him my best big brother look. “It’s Christmas. I’m sure she’s got a lot going on. Wait until after the holidays. It’ll work out. But for now…” I shoved a box of LEGO at him. “Work on your wrapping.”
I felt for him; I really did. And I respected how much he cared about the trails and Trickle Creek. Where Preston focused on the natural spaces in this town, I spent my energy on the people. Especially at this time of year. Which was why I needed these gifts wrapped. And wrapped properly.
I’d been playing the role of Santa long enough in this town that it was only natural that I’d developed a certain level of standards. All the kids of Trickle Creek deserved perfectly wrapped gifts. Even if they were going to shred the paper in seconds.
“Grayson Lyons, you are a saint.”
I didn’t even have to look up to know who it was. Sure enough, Tilley Beckett strode toward me, wearing a bright-red, glittery sweater with candy canes embroidered all over it, complete with matching candy cane earrings and, of course, her clipboard.
“I’m not sure about saint.” I winked at her. “But you can call me Santa. At least for another few hours.”
“Saint Santa.” She patted my arm. “Year after year, you show up, put on the suit and hand out gifts, Grayson. And that’s after weeks and weeks of stringing lights and hanging half the decorations in this town. I’d say that qualifies for sainthood, don’t you?”
I laughed and shook my head. “I appreciate it, Tilley. And I really appreciated the night at the lodge,” I added. “It wasn’t necessary, but I have to admit, it was very nice.”
I wasn’t about to tell her exactly how nice it was.
“Oh? You had a good time with Harper then?” Her eyes lit up. “I heard the two of you took full advantage of everything the lodge has to offer.”
My head jerked up. “Where did you hear that?”
“Oh, I have little elves everywhere.” She winked. “And I’m so glad to hear it. That girl has been gone from this town far too long. Whatever it takes to get her back here and keep her here, right?”
I tilted my head, ready to question exactly what she meant by that, but then someone called her name from across the room.
“Keep up the good work, Santa.” She waved her clipboard in the air before sweeping away.
As soon as she was gone, Reid dropped into a chair beside me, a wide, knowing grin on his face. “So,” he wiggled his eyebrows, “howwasyour night at the lodge?”
“Not you too,” I groaned.
“Obviously, me too,” he said.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said without looking at him.
“Oh, I think I know exactly what I’m talking about. You’ve been walking around all day with that stupid grin on your face. The one that tells everyone who’s paying attention that you and Harper got?—”
“Okay.” I whipped around to give him a warning look. “Enough.”
There was no point denying it. Not with Reid.
“It was amazing,” I admitted quietly.
Reid’s eyebrows shot up. “Just like old times?”
“No.” I shook my head. My chest tightened, remembering the fumbling sweetness of those early days with Harper. “Better. So much better. It was different. More real.”
“Real?” Reid blew out a breath. “Interesting choice of words, brother.”
Maybe it was, but there was no way to explain to him how things were with Harper. True, it had all started as a little lie, but that didn’t mean the feelings behind it weren’t genuine.
When I didn’t reply, he added, “So when are you going to stop pretending it’s not more?”
