'Tis the Season to Kiss Santa (Entangled Indulgence) Read Online Free Page B

incredibly cute, and it made Mitch want to lean over and kiss her.
    He stopped himself.
    Just.
    “Though I guess you need to get in touch with your family to let them know where you are and that you’re okay,” she said. “They’ll be worrying about you.”
    No, they wouldn’t. He’d been gone too long. He shook his head. “There’s nobody to worry about me.”
    “Nobody? But—won’t you be seeing your family or friends for Christmas?”
    “Not everyone celebrates Christmas.”
    She flushed deeply, looking mortified. “Oh, no. What with you being Santa, I made the wrong assumption. I’m sorry. Obviously you’re Jewish.”
    “No, I’m not Jewish. I just don’t celebrate Christmas.”
    “Why not?”
    “Just call me Ebenezer,” he said lightly.
    “Ebenezer Scrooge wouldn’t help out at a kids’ party and donate the gifts,” she pointed out, frowning.
    He couldn’t take credit that definitely wasn’t due. “I helped out because my boss asked me to, and he’s the one who paid for the gifts.”
    “Even so. Scrooge still would’ve said no.”
    “I just don’t like Christmas. I don’t have particularly good memories of it when I was growing up.” The words came out before could stop them.
    Unbelievable.
    She was practically a stranger and here he was, spilling his guts to her.
    Big mistake. He needed to get going. Like now .
    And yet there was no pity in her face when she looked at him. Just warmth and understanding. “I apologize for being pushy and nosy. Come in and have some coffee and warm up.”
    He should say no. Make an excuse. Drive away as fast as the snow would let him.
    But there was something about her he couldn’t resist, and he found himself saying thank you, locking his car, and following her into the house.
    She ushered him through to the kitchen, put the kettle on, and started preheating the oven. Then she rummaged in the fridge, took out a roll of gingerbread dough, and in a flash she’d cut a few slices off and put them on a tray and they were baking in the oven.
    “Given that you’re a pastry chef, I’m not going to be rude and suggest that’s store-bought dough you keep in there,” Mitch said lightly.
    “No, I made it this morning. That’s part of the batch I’m planning to cook tomorrow before I visit Aunt Betty—something for the nurses on duty.” She shook coffee grounds into a French press and made two mugs of coffee. “Milk? Sugar?”
    “Neither, thanks.”
    She added a lot of milk to one mug, and handed him the other. “Would you excuse me for a moment while I change out of the elf costume?”
    “Sure.”
    “Take a seat in the living room. I’ll bring the gingerbread through when I’m dressed.”
    Mitch wandered into the hallway and sipped his coffee while Ellie headed up the stairs. A mistletoe ball hung from the ceiling on a red ribbon, and he was tempted to linger there, so the Chief Elf might take the hint and kiss Santa underneath the mistletoe.
    He smiled wryly. That would be pushing her too far. And hadn’t she suggested that he wait for her in the living room? He went through the doorway to the living room and discovered that it faced onto the street. The huge Christmas tree in one corner was a real one rather than artificial, and the decorations on the branches were perfectly arranged. Mitch was pretty sure they were homemade rather than store-bought, just as he was sure that either Ellie or Betty had made the evergreen garland draped along the mantelpiece. There were dozens of cards on display, too.
    How different from his own flat. He never bothered with Christmas trimmings, and he left the cards in a bowl on the sideboard.
    The contrast made him feel odd, though he couldn’t put his finger on why.
    A few minutes later, Ellie came in wearing faded jeans and a thin sweater. Santa’s Chief Elf definitely had curves, he thought.
    She put the plate of gingerbread on the coffee table. “Help yourself,” she said.
    Funny how he suddenly felt