Gift Wrapped by Karla Doyle Page B

sure.
    “This one?” Davis asked, indicating the final turn of their journey.
    “Yup, this is it. My old stomping grounds.”
    He whistled while cruising slowly down the quiet residential street. “People in this neighborhood sure do like Christmas decorations.”
    “You should see the street after dark, when all the lights are on. It’s amazing.”
    He glanced over at her. “You’re really into this holiday stuff.”
    “Why wouldn’t I be? It’s the most wonderful time of the year… ” she sang, rocking sideways to bump his shoulder.
    His robust laugh filled the car. “Are you always like this?”
    “Moderately off-key?”
    He looked at her again, smiling and shaking his head. “Adorable. Completely fucking adorable.”
    Thumpity bumpity , there went her heart again.
    “There it is.” She pointed toward the only place that’d ever felt like home. “Number forty-seven, that little brick bungalow up on the right.”
    “Got it.” Davis chuckled while pulling into the driveway, behind Zack’s car. “How many kids does your brother have?”
    “None. He doesn’t even have a steady girlfriend. Why do you ask, because he drives an old-man sedan?” She followed Davis’s gaze to the six-foot-wide Santa’s sleigh on the front yard. “Oh, that. I’ve looked at it for so many years, I guess it’s lost its visual impact.”
    He looked at her, one eyebrow cocked. “I’m not sure how that’s possible.”
    “You’re right,” she said, giving her dad’s festive masterpiece her full, renewed attention. “I just haven’t taken the time to appreciate it the past few years.”
    Beside her, Davis laughed again. “Guess it’s safe to assume your parents really love Christmas. How long have they been putting that thing out?”
    “Since I was in eighth grade, so that’s…fifteen years.”
    “Lots of mileage on that sleigh.”
    “True, but it’s still magical.”
    “I’m going to have to take your word on that one. Christmas stuff doesn’t do much for me.”
    Oh boy. Indifference about the wonder of the season would never do. Especially before walking into her parents’ house.
    She collected her bag from the floor and opened her door. “Come on, Mr. Scrooge, I’ve got a story to tell you. Outside. You obviously need a big dose of holiday magic.”
    “Good luck with that,” he said, joining her on the white-blanketed yard. Arms crossed over his chest, he watched her fingers move over the smooth, weathered curves of the painted plywood. He held his position, but his eyes widened some when she used the running board to climb into the sleigh.
    “Want to get in?”
    He answered with a grunt, though a hint of a smile did tug at the corners of his mouth. “Think I’ll pass.”
    “It’ll hold your weight, if you’re worried.” She slid across the cold bench seat, patting the vacant spot at her side. “If it can hold my dad along with any number of kids, you and I won’t break it.”
    “Still a no. You’re flying solo for this ride, babe.”
    “Where’s your sense of adventure?”
    One eyebrow rose, and his semi-smile curved into a wholly sexy grin. “I’m not sure that old sleigh can handle the kind of adventure we’d give it if I joined you in there.”
    Heat flooded her cheeks. Even when she’d had boyfriends in high school, she’d never so much as kissed a boy while sitting in this sleigh. Now her head was full of much more explicit acts. Things that would definitely land her on the naughty list—permanently.
    “Save your distractions for later,” she said, fanning herself with one hand.
    “Will do.”
    She just bet he would. And she’d love every minute of his distraction techniques, but right now she had some Christmas magic to spread his way.
    “So. The story of the magical sleigh. I was thirteen and had recently started babysitting. Not actual babies, just younger kids. Walking them home from school, watching them for a few hours here and there, stuff like that. One of the