Holding Holly (Love and Football Series) Read Online Free PDF Page B

skin with one thumb. Her heart skipped a beat as adrenaline surged through her. “You were crying when I walked into the coffee shop the other day. What’s wrong? Is there anything I can do to help?”
    Only a few members of Noel’s Merchants’ Association knew “Santa’s” true identity. Her grandma had made Holly vow to keep the thirty-year-old secret. If it got out that someone in Noel had been answering the letters all these years, it would crush the hopes of countless local children. On top of that, Holly’s grandmother didn’t want anyone else to find out she’d enlisted Holly’s help this year, either.
    “It’s not that big of a deal,” she said.
    “It is to me,” he said. “Tell me all about it.”
    She swallowed hard. He was going to persist, and she had to tell him something. It wasn’t like she was lying to him if she made up a few of the details. She didn’t want to betray her grandma’s secret. She thought for a few seconds.
    “I was reading one of those stories people post on Facebook. You know, some little boy wrote to Santa Claus and asked Santa to bring toys for his younger brother and sister and a job for his mom, but didn’t ask for anything for himself.”
    “Was he local?” Derrick said.
    “I don’t think so,” she said. “I . . . I was tired, and I got choked up. It’s silly.”
    “No, it’s not,” he said. “You’re tenderhearted.”
    She bowed her head a bit. The fact that she temporarily couldn’t see heightened all of her other senses, and she felt the air move and his body heat as he leaned closer to her. “Too sentimental,” she said.
    “No such thing.” He reached out to stroke her cheek again. “The kid’s community must be getting together to help him and his family out.”
    “I think so,” she said. She was uncomfortable with shading the truth, but it wasn’t her secret to share. Maybe she should change the subject instead. “Is it still snowing outside?”
    “Yes, and it looks like it’s coming down faster.”
    She didn’t hear the usual traffic noise outside of Noel Pizza, which was located on the main drag through the small town. The sidewalk outside the little restaurant was typically crowded with tourists and locals. She didn’t hear any of the usual laughter and music from Noel’s main street, either. In other words the storm was bad, and Derrick wasn’t getting out of there anytime soon.
    She was torn between concern that he might be stuck for a while, and happiness that she could spend a little more time with him. “Maybe I should take a look outside at the weather. Grandma’s going to worry.”
    “We’ll be fine,” he soothed. “Do you want to call her?”
    “I should. Plus, she’s probably hungry by now.”
    Holly heard the rumble of Derrick’s laughter. “I’ll make sure she gets some food. What’s her number?”
    She recited the number from memory, and he put his now-ringing phone into her free hand.
    “Hello?”
    “Grandma, it’s me. We’re still at the pizza place. Want me to bring you some salad?”
    “I’d like that, but you need to come home right now. There’s a bigger storm right behind this one. Both of the inns in town are full, too,” Grandma said. “Derrick’s welcome overnight here.”
    “We’ll be home in a few minutes, Grandma. We’ll be careful.” She opened her eyes, hit “end,” and handed the phone back to him. Storm or no, the thought of Derrick’s staying overnight left her a little breathless with excitement. “She said there’s another storm coming, everywhere you could stay is full, and you have an invitation to spend the night at our house.”
    O VERNIGHT, HUH ? P ERFECT . Derrick was going to have to fork over thousands in fines for missing practice tomorrow—and deal with the ration of shit his teammates were going to subject him to when they found out he’d driven a hundred miles one way in a snowstorm to go on a date—but the prospect of spending more time with her warmed