even had anything to do with the bad memories of her broken engagement. That only added a whole other layer of distaste.
Bah humbug and all that.
Across the square wooden table, Tara’s lower lip actually did a little quiver. For the briefest moment, Celeste couldn’t help but feel touched. Tara had her faults, but Celeste knew deep down that her little sister really did miss her over the holidays. Tara just wasn’t one to show much emotion. No wonder, given the way they’d had to grow up. Though that quality had seemed to be slowly softening since she’d become a mother.
“I was hoping we could go in on Mom’s gift together,” Tara continued. “You know, split the cost.” She glanced downward toward the floor. “Money’s a little tight for me right now, and you just got that promotion…”
The usual hint of guilt tugged within her chest.
Celeste wasn’t going to bother to point out that “going in together” most often meant she would be footing the whole cost of their mother’s gift and the holiday dinner. But what was there to do? The truth was, Celeste really was much better off than her sister. As was usually the case. Still, it was a fact that couldn’t exactly be ignored.
Besides, Celeste didn’t have it in her to discuss it much further. She had to get home and start packing. She reached for her purse and pulled out her checkbook, started scribbling after deciding on an amount, then handed it to her only sibling.
“Here, this should cover the cost of Mom’s gift and a nice dinner out for the two of you. As well as a little extra so that you can pick up something for yourself,” she added, despite the fact that she’d already handed Tara the holiday gift she’d purchased for her as soon as they’d sat down—a pair of fourteen-karat gold teardrop earrings she’d meticulously wrapped herself in bright, colorful paper and ribbons. Looked like Tara’s guilt trip about her leaving to go on holiday was indeed working.
Tara’s lips quivered ever so slightly and her eyes grew shiny as she reached for the check. “Thanks, sis. I’m going to find a way to pay you back one of these days. Once I figure out how to get on my own two feet.”
Celeste gave her hand a squeeze. “I know you will,” she reassured, despite her own doubt.
Tara smiled. “Hope you have a good trip. See you when you get back.”
Even under the bulky, stuffed red flannel suit, it was clear the man who wore it was no regular Santa. No, this man was definitely not old, rotund or particularly jolly. Though Celeste could tell he was trying hard to fit the part. Couldn’t the resort have found a better-fitting actor to play the role? Even from this distance where she sat on her lounge chair, she could tell Santa was tall and fit. His piercing dark eyes held no jolly old twinkle, though they did seem to catch the sunlight as he shifted his gaze from one child to the next as he handed out presents from his burly, oversize sack. An odd sensation of déjà vu nagged at her. Something about the pretend Santa seemed oddly familiar. Probably just her imagination.
The kids didn’t seem to notice how ill-suited he was for the role, they were all laughing loudly and scurrying to open the gifts they’d just been handed.
Celeste flipped the page of the paperback she’d picked up at the airport and returned her attention to the story. Or she tried to, anyway. The kids were pretty noisy. The scene before her was charming and sweet—Santa sent to the beach to entertain and bestow gifts upon the youngest guests. It reminded her of everything she’d once so foolishly longed for. Exactly the kind of scene she was trying to get away from when she jetted out to the Caribbean every December. She was here for warm and tropical. Not stark reminders of all she’d lost three years ago when the man she’d loved, the man she’d dreamed of having children with like the ones currently in front of her, had so callously deserted her at the worst possible moment.
This resort was definitely geared more toward families than the one she was used to. She might have to find a more remote section of beach in order to avoid such scenes for the rest of her stay. Her heart couldn’t take it.
A shadow suddenly fell over the pages of her book.
“Ho-ho-ho.”
Santa appeared to be strolling the beach closer and closer to where she sat, the children following close behind him. Now they all stood just a couple of feet from her chair. She watched as St. Nicholas leaned down to tousle the hair of one particularly excited young boy who’d clearly just received some type of toy car based on the wrapped shape.
It was futile. There was no way to even try to concentrate on her romantic suspense novel now. As charming as the children were, and they really were adorable, she couldn’t take much more Christmas cheer. Glancing down the expanse of sand, she searched in vain for another empty beach chair farther away from this main part of the resort. They all appeared taken. With a resigned sigh, Celeste dropped the book and stood, wrapping her silky sarong around her midsection. Might as well get another cup of coffee or perhaps a latte until all the commotion quieted.
A squealing toddler darted past her to get to the faux Santa and she nearly toppled over in her effort to avoid the collision. This was so far from the relaxing morning she’d envisioned. Not that the kids weren’t cute. They really were, with all their excitement and near tangible anticipation to receive a present. They were just so…loud. Loud, boisterous reminders of all she’d be missing out on in life. Look at how her one attempt to start a family had turned out; nothing more than an abject lesson in humiliation and hurt.
No, she wouldn’t be having children. Or her own family. The one she’d been born into took up more than enough of her time and emotional energy.
She leaned down to retrieve her flip-flops from beneath the lounge chair and stopped short when she straightened. A wall of bright red topped by a cotton white beard suddenly filled her view.
“Ho-ho-ho. Well, hello there, young lady.” Santa smiled at her.
“Um…hi.”
“We appear to have disturbed your morning, miss. A big jolly apology for the nuisance.”
His words were cordial enough. But Celeste had the clear impression that he was somehow mocking her.
“No apology necessary, St. Nick,” she said with a slight salute, then tried to step around him, only to have him block her path. Of all the nerve.
The smile grew wider under the thick fake beard. “Really? I mean, you practically have a circular thought bubble above your head that screams ‘bah humbug.’”
The same strange sensation of familiarity nagged at her yet again. He was clearly deepening his voice for the role but something about the tone and inflection rang a bell. And the eyes. As she studied their golden depths she couldn’t help but sense that she’d somehow gazed upon those eyes before.
Had she met him before in a professional capacity? Her position as VP of marketing for a luxury goods firm had her regularly working on advertising campaigns with various agencies. Maybe Santa had done work previously as a character actor for a project she’d worked on in the past.
What were the chances?
Not that it mattered. Right now all that mattered was that she find some peace and quiet.
But St. Nick seemed to have other
