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She eyed the stacks of gingerbread on the table "You must really like your secret pal Wait, are those pieces for a gingerbread house?"

I couldn’t look her in the eye Maybe I had gone a little overboard "The housefor us, since, if we put up a tree, we’d have to charge it rent"

"Oh, a him, is it?" Marcia said around a mouthful of cookie "The plot thickens Do we have any erator, Gemma picked up the inquisition "This wouldn’t happen to be that cute guy you’ve ed

"Now, that’s an interesting color of pink," she teased "Marce, get a load of that blush I do believe our girl has already reener pastures"

"He’s just a friend," I insisted "He’s shown no signs whatsoever of being interested inother than a friend"

"Then why are you turning into Betty Crocker here?"

"Because I kind of feel sorry for hi erator "We still don’t have any water," she said

"Because it’s your turn to buy it," Ge Katie’s love life Noould you feel sorry for Mr Cutie?"

"I think he’s lonely He’s an orphan, and it sounds like the people who brought hiht soive him a nicer holiday"

Marcia played a drainary tears "It’s like soh "You kno else you could ease his loneliness?"

"Ask him out!" Marcia answered "That’s the only way to find out if he’s interested in you or just shy"

I snorted and returned to"I’d have to get recertified in CPR before I could ask hiorously "He’d keel over and die Besides, I don’t want to do soht, I’ll know"

They looked at each other "Is there any wonder she hasn’t been laid in five years?" Marcia asked

I discovered the nextthegest secret Santa challenge First, I had to getOwen in That was difficult, given that he waited forand escorted me to work

I ca unusual wouldn’t raise any suspicions, since everyone had a secret Santa assign for so look very different froet it to hierbread on a plastic Christmas plate, covered it with colored plastic wrap tied with a bow, then put that in a bakery box and wrapped a bow around that With luck, he’d think the bakery box was ift

I was glad I’d taken the precautions, for he definitely noticed that I was carrying soa "You can trust me I won’t tell anyone else," he insisted

"No offense, but the way news spreads, I’ anybody with ht have some leftovers you could share with other people?"

If the "leftovers" were the saure out who his secret Santa was But he looked so eager that he was too cute to resist I decided to bake soive him as "leftovers" to throw him off the trail "Maybe tomorrow," I said

His whole face lit up, so that he looked like a s his first decorated Christmas tree If I hadn’t had ht not have been able to resist hugging hiopen for us, and a reeted us It took me a couple of seconds to reood, I’lad you’re here," he said