Dawn Temple - Moonlight and Mistletoe

Drawing the shards of her pride up from where it had crashed around her ankles, Shayna stiffened her spine and forced the tears from her voice. “Mr. Anderson, my apologies for getting carried away earlier today. As you can see-” she swooped her hands dramatically over her costume “-I’m a Christmas fanatic. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I don’t want to hold up the parade.”

A shadow fell over Kyle’s face. Shayna looked over her shoulder, but the entire parade crowd was blocked by a large red wall. “Shayna, what’s going on here? Are you okay?”

She offered Danny a wobbly smile. “Yeah. Looks like you were right about the extra camera crew. I’ve explained that they’re not wanted here. Hopefully, they’ll clear out soon.”

“What about him?” He indicated Kyle with a head nod.

Swallowing her heartbreak, she strove for a light tone.

“I do believe Mr. Anderson’s business here is finished. I’m sure he’ll be leaving soon, as well.” Quickly, please.

“I’m not going anywhere.”

“Fine. I hope you enjoy the parade.” Afraid the tears would start flowing any second, she headed back to her post. She didn’t hear the actual words spoken, but she knew that behind her, Danny and Kyle had a short standoff. She held her breath, expecting-praying-Kyle would stop her at any second.

When she reached the princess float unscathed, she knew Kyle wouldn’t be coming after her. Not today. Not ever.

It took a lot of fast talking for Kyle to reassure Danny that he had no intention of further upsetting Shayna. At least not until after the parade. The big man made an effective bodyguard, but the spark in his eyes and the smirk on his face gave him away. Danny Robertson was no more a physical threat than Brinks.

Brinks was okay, but Danny had to go. From here on out, Kyle planned to be the man covering Shayna’s back. And her front, but he had to take it one step at a time for now.

As Danny sprinted back to his Santa float, Kyle followed the van’s progress through the thick crowds and blocked roads. His pedestrian status gave him a huge advantage today. Catching up with his fleeing client would be no problem.

Walking westward, he quickly caught up with the white production van at a stoplight. He motioned the driver into an adjacent parking lot and waited for Walker to disembark.

There were some critical issues he needed to straighten out with his client. Before he quit.

This case had shone a bright light on the holes in his childhood dream. Happiness was about a hell of a lot more than money, power and prestige. It was about love and laughter and making a positive impact.

For years, his life had centered around making partner, and he’d come damn close to making that goal a reality. Too damn close. He’d been one deal away from sealing his fate, from spending the rest of his worthless life helping selfish people avoid answering for their mistakes, from never experiencing any joy in his life.

Thank God he’d finally wised up and realized there was something he wanted even more than all that crap.

Shayna.

She was the future he’d been searching for. The place didn’t matter. The job didn’t matter. Shayna was all he needed.

He prayed he wasn’t too late to convince her they belonged together. Surely she could see it. They made a good team, and now they had the same goals.

And he loved her.

It was as simple and as complicated as that.

For the umpteenth time, Shayna reminded herself to think of the kids as she clutched her damp palms together and entered the Moonlight and Mistletoe Ball. Solo.

Stop that. Celebrate now, fall apart later.

Plastering her parade smile back on her face, she paused inside the gym’s double doors. Her breath caught in her throat.

Beautiful.

A rotating disco ball hung from the center of the room, where the ceiling soared to twenty feet. Colored lights danced all through the huge room. Boughs of mistletoe hung from every imaginable spot and fully decorated Christmas trees were scattered throughout.

Overhead, thousands of plastic stars twinkled. It was like standing under a winter night’s sky without dealing with the cold weather.

The festival spirit began to take root as she mingled. Everyone she spoke with said it was the best festival ever. Of course, they said that every year, but still, having played such a public role this year, Shayna couldn’t help but bask in all the compliments. Under any other circumstances, she’d feel like the belle of the ball.

She certainly looked the part. Like most women in town, she’d splurged on a new outfit for tonight’s party. The sequined red gown fit like a dream. The thigh-high slit running up her right side drew the attention of every man in the room.

But the only man whose attention she was interested in was probably already back in sunny California. Small towns being what they were, Kyle’s absence made him a hot topic, and it seemed as if everyone had asked about him at least twice already.

If she weren’t such a big chicken, she’d have told them he wasn’t coming because she’d run him off. Instead, she hemmed and hawed, telling them she wasn’t sure about his plans. The truth, yes-but not exactly an honest answer.

She lowered her guard for a few minutes when Lindy and Travis showed up with Danny and his family. Danny, who looked stellar in a black pin-striped suit and gold vest, immediately asked her to dance.

“Still okay?” When it came to looking out for those he cared for, the man was like a dog with a bone, and she loved him for it.

“A little shell-shocked, but hanging in there.”

“Heard from Kyle?”

“Nope.” Her feet stumbled. “He’s gone.”

Danny covered her misstep flawlessly. “You sure about that? He told me he had stuff to take care of, then he would catch up with you after the parade.”

His words perked up her hopelessly devoted heart, but she refused to drop her guard completely. “Guess he meant Monday, during business hours.”

“It didn’t sound to me like he had business on the brain.”

“What else could it be? Wrapping up this case is crucial to his career.”

“I saw the way he looked at you, sweetie. That man was not thinking about his career.”

“Those steamy looks were just chemistry.”

“If memory serves, sex-no matter how good-doesn’t make a man go all moony. My money says he’s as much in love with you as you are with him.”

This time she didn’t stumble. She came to a dead stop, ignoring all the other dancers. “It’s that obvious?”

“Yep.” Danny grinned, pulling her back into the music’s flow. “You both practically vibrate when the other gets close.”

“If that’s true, then where is he?”

The music ended. Shayna stepped slowly out of Danny’s arms and joined the applause for the band.

“Over there,” Danny whispered near her ear, pointing toward the side entrance. Her stomach dropped to her knees. Even across the vast gym, seeing Kyle again, dressed in a dark suit and red-and-gold tie, nearly knocked her socks off.

Every muscle in her body quivered with the desire to run to him and throw her arms around his neck, but her injured pride refused to cooperate. Still, as she worked the room, her progress did take her slowly but surely in his direction.

Finally they stood face-to-face, off to the edge of the crowd. “You look amazing,” he said.

“Yes, well, as head volunteer, it’s expected.”

“Shayna, we have important things that need to be said. In private. Things I tried to tell you last night, before you distracted me.”

“Distracted you? Is that what you call it? Funny, I had a whole different phrase for it.”

“Please. Give me five minutes, so I can explain what happened earlier.”

The band wound down their final song of the set, and the sudden quiet made the room seem larger, louder somehow.

“This is not a good time.” She felt as jumpy as the last cricket in the bait bucket. Which made this whole mess worse since she was scheduled to speak during the intermission.

Mayor Evans took the stage, leaving her only a few minutes to compose her nerves. Kyle tried again. “Shayna-” A burst of applause interrupted his plea, and warned her she’d been introduced.

Gritting her teeth beneath a wide grin, she forced herself to calmly ascend the steps. “Thank you, Mayor Evans, and thank you, Holcombe County. Without you, none of this would be possible.”

She smiled wider and applauded the crowd, who applauded right back. As she looked out into the sea of mostly familiar faces, snippets of her memorized speech flashed inside her brain, along with memories of this year’s festival, images of Kyle, as Santa and as himself. The words she’d planned lodged in her throat as she watched him approach the front of the stage.

He stopped directly in front of her. The festive lighting’s ambient glow played tricks with her vision, making her think for a moment she saw love burning in Kyle’s eyes.

Surely that was just wishful thinking, right?

Unconcerned about the five hundred or so people milling around them, he announced, “I have something very important I need to tell you, Shayna.”

She cupped her hand over the microphone-not that she needed to bother. The huge room was suddenly as quiet as church on Monday. “I’m kind of in the middle of something here,” she whispered through clenched teeth. “Can’t this wait?”

“No.” Forgoing the risers, he stepped up on center stage, right next to her. “Every time I try to tell you something important, you cut me off. I’m tired of waiting.”

Flustered, she blinked out at the wide-eyed crowd. It seemed as if everyone she knew was out there, holding their breaths, dying to hear what Kyle had to say.