All I Want for Christmas Is You Read Online Free PDF

slipping.
     
    "I'm okay, Mommy," Kristen replied, looking up at her with a wide grin.
     
    Kristen had heard about the tree lighting ceremony from the teacher at school today. When Lauren had picked her up from Mrs. Hopkins apartment, Kristen talked endlessly about going. After the dinner dishes were finally cleared, washed and put away, she continued to express her desire to come and see Santa just one more time. In her heart, Lauren knew the reason. She wanted to ask Santa for a daddy again. In the end she conceded, bundling the two of them up for a cold winters walk.
     
    She really didn't want to go to this damned ceremony, Lauren kept trying to convince herself all day at work. She'd probably run into Kyle here and that was the last thing she needed. Images of Kyle Preston kept creeping back to her during the lull of phone calls that usually occupied her work day. The twinkle of glee in his eye as he stood beneath the lamppost and smiled at her, the well-defined Nordic features of his face haunted her. This was not a good sign, she surmised. Yes, Kyle Preston was the last thing she needed in her life right now.
     
    Why had she told him she was married? She recalled the conversation they'd had the previous evening when he helped her with her car and knew the reason. For the past seven years since Kristen's father left her alone and pregnant, she kept every prospective male suitor at arm’s length. Not that there were many, but her convenient declaration pretty much killed any and all prospective chances for romance.
     
    Being married had been an excuse she used on numerous occasions while she was waitressing and encountered an overzealous, slightly intoxicated patron. Even some of the kitchen help that had asked her out for coffee after her shift were not immune to this excuse.
     
    Yet with its convenience, it was still a lie. And Kyle had seen right through it where other men had simply accepted it as truth. But the truth was she was never married to Kristen's father. Her one and only sexual encounter that resulted in a teenage pregnancy, shattering her hopes and dreams for a promising future, had also shattered her first and only romantic relationship. Once Kristen was born, she kept her mind focused on raising the daughter she'd fought so hard to keep and pushed any notion of romantic entanglement aside. It had been easy for the past seven years. There really hadn't been anyone who'd turned her head and made her think of giving them half a chance. Until now.
     
    "Hold my hand, honey," Lauren advised as they scurried across the busy intersection that led to the town common.
     
    Although they had lived in town for the past six years, this was the first year they were coming out for the big festivities. Lauren had always worked nights as a waitress, choosing to spend her days at home with Kristen when she was a preschooler. Now that she had arrived and saw all the Christmas decorations and heard the carolers singing, she was just as excited as Kristen to be here.
     
    "Did we miss Santa?" Kristen asked as she tugged on Lauren's arm, pulling her toward the decorated gazebo where Santa was expected to be seated.
     
    Lauren took a quick look around. The tall pine tree had already been trimmed with a zillion lights waiting to be set ablaze. The long roped area off the front of the gazebo leading down toward the center of the tree lined common was already filled with parents and children waiting in line to tell Santa their Christmas wishes.
     
    "We didn't miss anything, yet," Lauren confirmed. "Look, the tree is still dark. They wouldn't dare light the tree without Santa."
     
    Kristen gave an excited squeal and wrenched at her mother's arm with impatience. "Come on, Mommy."
     
    "Not yet, sweetie. Let me get a hot cup of something to drink first. It looks like they have some fried dough. Want some?" Lauren asked. It was the holiday season. The sugar coated dough was probably not the best thing for Kristen's teeth, but