Page 2 of Fated Midlife Christmas
Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment, chasing away the chill of the night. Sage and Arden might not get the innuendo of their conversation, but that guy obviously did. She was still giggling a bit, but now she knew for sure that something was off with her bear. It lurched and pitched inside her. Thank goodness it was just some stranger. He might go home and tell his friends what he overheard in the crowd, but she’d never see him again.
“Hey, there’s Chelsea!” Tina put her hand in the air and waved.
Chelsea, Beck, and Corbin saw them and made their way through the crowd. “We went ahead and got cocoa for Sage and Arden, too,” Chelsea said, handing the drinks to each of the kids.
“Thank you!” Sage and Arden chorused.
“Ooh, marshmallows!” Sage added, poking one of them down with her finger so that it dunked into the hot liquid.
“I like eating all the marshmallows first,” Corbin told them, showing them that his cup now had only cocoa in it.
“Did you lose your friend?” Erin asked.
“No, he’s right here.” Beck put his hand on the shoulder of the blonde man who’d turned and looked at Amanda a moment ago. “You guys came right to our spot without even trying!”
Oh, goddess.She just made a fool out of herself! The hot guy was a stranger to her, but not to Beck.
“This is Tina, Sage, Erin, Arden, Kristy, and Amanda,” Beck said, making the introductions. “This is my old friend, Lars Olsen. He’s here all the way from Longyearbyen.”
Lars shook each of their hands, including those of the children.
“And where is that?” Erin asked.
“As far north as you can get,” Lars replied, his accent pleasant. He reached for Amanda’s hand.
It was more tempting to turn and run than to stay there, but what choice did she have? Darts of electricity pulsed up her arm from her palm as Lars took her hand. It felt like her magic flowing through her, but in reverse. “That’s, uh, a very long way to come for Christmas,” she managed.
His brow was heavy, making his gaze all the more intense. He was at least a head taller than Amanda, and the spice of his cologne reached her nose, even in the cold air. “I like to think it’ll be worth it.”
Beck beamed. “I thought it was time to show this old Viking what a Christmas in Salem is like.”
Amanda’s throat went tight. Couldn’t she have picked some other way to talk about her dry spell?
But Lars had that impish smile on his face again.
“Look! Look!” Sage was pointing, jumping up and down.
They all turned as Santa himself appeared on the rooftop of the Hawthorne Hotel. He smiled and waved at the crowd below as the ladder from the fire truck slowly ascended to rescue him.
Now, if onlyshecould be rescued.
The screams of the crowd around them intensified as all the children went nuts, impatient for Santa to work his way down six stories’ worth of ladder. The mob surged around them as the people in the back tried to get closer, jostling everyone forward. Tina, Erin, and Chelsea made sure the kids stayed in front of them, protected from the crush.
Amanda ended up standing directly next to Lars. She kept her gaze firmly locked on Santa, though every part of her body was highly aware of the handsome Norwegian. They were elbow to elbow, and she could feel the heat of his body through his sweater. Her heart thundered. She forced her lungs to slow down when she realized the visible steam from her breath was giving her away. Her bear was doing somersaults. Was she just embarrassed, or was this something more?
His arm slid against hers as he leaned over. “Where I’m from, Santa comes in the front door.”
Surprised, she turned to him and found his face only a few inches away from hers. The crowd had pushed them even closer together than she’d realized. “Not down the chimney in the middle of the night?”
Again, he had that little smile on his face. “No, he’s not that sneaky. He just comes right in the front door and gives you what you asked for.”
This time, heat flushed through her entire body instead of just her face. “That’s very bold of him.”
“Just…honest.” His eyes flicked down to her mouth, and then he returned to watching the spectacle.
When Santa was safely on the ground, much of the crowd began moving westward, where the Christmas tree would be lit in Lappin Park. “Are you ready to go?” Tina asked Sage.
“My feet hurt,” she whined.
