Sleeping With Santa Read Online Free PDF Page B

impossible to read her vibe with the distraction.
    “If you need anything…” His unfinished offer sounded hollow, but he meant it. Anything.
    “I’ll be fine.” Her small voice was crystal-clear.
    That’s it? What did he expect—for her to jump out of bed and throw herself at him?
    “Yeah, well…feel better.” He waited a long silent moment to see if she had anything to add, and when she rolled toward the window he recognized his cue to leave.

Chapter Five
    Lily climbed into the back of the hay wagon against her better judgment. It was the Barbieri’s idea she chaperone three little kids belonging to a mother too pregnant to take the ride around Brawny’s Farm. Sophia put up a convincing argument, while Bob bribed her with a meal.
    “Oh, fine,” Lily said. Maybe they were right. She had nothing against fun. Plus, free food sounded pretty good now that her appetite returned to normal since she no longer pined for Whatshisface .
    No more clammy palms. No more paralyzed chest. No more worrying he might magically appear around every corner.
    Big deal, he showed up at the hospital. Out of departmental duty, no doubt. Had she known from the start he was a fireman, she never would fell for him as hard as she did.
    Besides, she hadn’t run into him since. If he was so interested in her, he had plenty of time to say something. He knew where to find her. All that hocus-pocus CPR-vibration must have been nothing but a fluke.
    No. Nick Knight wasn’t interested in her any more than she was interested in this wagon ride with these unruly mini-monsters.
    The jumping, climbing, screaming, fighting was more than she could handle. When they finished wrestling each other, they tossed tiny fistfuls of hay at Lily. It stuck to her lip-gloss, and she spat it out of her mouth.
    “Come on, fellas. You better quit it or else I’ll tell your mother,” she threatened, but none of them listened. “Boys, someone’ll get hurt!” Still, no one obeyed. It was a mystery why their parents wanted more of them. “That’s enough!” She grabbed them by their hoods and parked them on the seat until the party lights in the distance signaled the end was near.
    “Aww,” the boys sang in unison.
    “Thank God. I’m ready to go home.” Lily jumped to the ground, brushing debris from her bottom.
    Rubbing her big belly, the mother asked in earnest, “Would you like to babysit sometime? Ten dollars an hour.”
    Shell-shocked, Lily shrugged a potential maybe despite the urge to refuse with a flat-out no. Sure, the money was tempting, but not at the risk of losing her sanity. Without making any promises, she slipped away to find the Barbieris.
    They weren’t on the dance floor. Or by the snack shed. Or anywhere else.
    The crowd was thinning now that night was coming on, but the lack of light made it harder to tell the shadowy figures apart. She planted herself in a dim corner, watching for Bob’s little lumpy body and Sophia’s big-bottomed pear-shape.
    Stuffing cold hands into the pockets of her puffy-coat, she pulled out remnants of hay. Pointy bits and pieces made its way inside her clothes, too. It was everywhere.
    “Hello, Lily.” The familiar voice came from behind. Footsteps shuffled closer until his silhouette stood between her and the rest of the world.
    She wanted to run, but the blood drained from her limbs, making them feel like cold sand.
    Be cool. Just be cool.
    She willed the lava leaking in her panties to be arctic glacier-cold. Just when she’d finished agonizing over this person, her treacherous body reacted in the most wicked way all over again.
    “Oh. Hi, Nick . I didn’t see you standing there. In the dark.” The last time she saw him he was lurking outside her hospital room.
    “How’ve you been?” He sat beside her at the picnic table.
    A small snort escaped, as if she’d actually fall for another heartfelt conversation with the devil in her dreams. Lifting her chin, she steeled herself against his heat.