Page 75

His brow lifted. “You think?”

The stress from her busy morning melted away into a giddy fluffiness. Cole was teasing her. She liked his teasing. It made her happy and the smile on her face let him know.

What didn’t make her happy was how worried she was about making sure they had enough donations for the toy drive.

Which was why she’d called her toy drive partner and asked for his help.

“Okay, Mr. Santa Smarty Pants,” she was smiling, “we’ll go around to the businesses that have collection boxes and pick up what’s been donated thus far. We still have almost two weeks before collection ends, but at least we’ll have an idea of what’s come in so far.”

Keeping his eyes on the road, he nodded. “Have you ever not had enough toys in the past?”

“No, but Maybelle just agreed to add thirty more kids to the list. The total number now is higher than it’s ever been before.”

Of course, Sophie agreed with Maybelle’s decision, and would’ve done the same thing. No way could they have said no to helping with those kids’ Christmas.

“Donations were down last year. We had enough, but barely,” Sophie admitted. “Plus, several of the On-the-Square Christmas Festival vendors reported that their sales this year were down from past years. That’s the first time I recall that ever happening, so yes, I’m a little worried.”

“Not sure what the ones in the past were like, but it looked busy.”

“The parade and the tree lighting were hits, as was the whole evening, really,” Sophie agreed. “I don’t think the number of attendees was down, just that people weren’t spending as much money as in past years.”

Cole shrugged. “Maybe they already had all the Christmas stuff they needed.”

“Bite your tongue. A person can never have enough Christmas stuff.”

Cole half grinned. “If you say so, Santa Sophie.”

Sophie practically floated off the SUV’s passenger seat. What was it about the man that a simple smile from him lightened her insides so completely?

And what could she do to return the favor? She wanted Cole to be happy. She wanted…

“Ha. I’m not the one who wore that red suit during the parade,” she reminded. “Do you have a tree, Cole?”

Not glancing her way, he shook his head. “Do you?”

“Of course.” Sophie studied his profile. He looked relaxed and ready to take on whatever she threw at him. “Will you put up a tree?”

“Nope.” He focused on the road as they made their way through town.

“Why not?”

“Why would I?”

“You deserve a Christmas tree, too, Cole.”

He laughed. “Why’s that?”

“Because everyone deserves to enjoy the miracle of Christmas.”

“Not that I buy the idea that a tree is any guarantee that I’ll be able to enjoy the miracle of Christmas, but it’s just another day in my world.”

Sophie gasped, covering her mouth with her hand and shaking her head. “Say it ain’t so.”

Cole laughed at her exaggerated reaction. “When I’m home, I’d rather focus my energy on things other than putting up and decorating a tree just for me. It would be a waste of my time.”

Sophie couldn’t hide her disappointment. His “just for me” echoed through her heart. Didn’t he think he deserved to experience the magic of the holidays?

“Giving yourself the gift of Christmas is never a waste of time. Life is about celebrating every moment, but especially times of goodwill toward mankind.”