Secret Santa (novella) by Rhian Cahill Page B

wasn’t. She’d just have to pull on her big girl panties and suck it up. There was no way she was stepping over that line. He might embody everything she wanted in a man, but he was strictly off limits and it would serve her well to remember that.
    She scanned tonight’s bookings and smiled. It was a full house. Again. Both the early and late sittings were fully booked and she had a number of names on a waiting list for last minute cancellations. Jenn couldn’t fathom waiting at home for a phone call that might never come, but Morgan’s was so popular that they often had people waiting out in the street on the off chance someone finished early and they were able to sit an extra table for the evening.
    Pride filled her. She might not be what drew the customers in, but Jenn was more than pleased to be a major part of the team at such a successful establishment. As well as working with one of the best chefs in Sydney, she was lucky to have formed strong relationships with all the staff at Morgan’s as well as a few of their regular patrons; something she’d been extremely grateful for earlier in the year when she’d lost her whole family in one horrifying moment.
    Tears stung her eyes and she had to drag in a deep breath to hold them at bay. She hadn’t cried in months, but as the holiday season approached Jenn’s emotions were being pulled to the surface once more. In the eight months since a semitrailer had wiped out her mum and dad’s car, leaving her parents fighting for their lives — a battle they’d both lost some weeks later — she’d come to terms with her loss. Almost. Nothing would ever erase the ache or hole their absence left in her heart — in her life — but she had found the days less of a struggle to get through.
    And she owed that to her surrogate family here at Morgan’s. Reaching into her back pocket she pulled out the Secret Santa envelope and tore it open. She tipped it up and shook the slip of paper into her palm. It landed writing down and Jenn used her thumb to flick it over.
    As the letters came into focus, her breath stalled, then rushed over her teeth as she sucked in a lungful of air. Oh no. The last person she wanted to buy a Christmas gift for was Morgan. She didn’t want — didn’t need — to think about him at all. To contemplate what he’d find pleasure in. A shiver skipped from her scalp to her toes as her mind conjured up ways she could please Morgan. X-rated ways. Jenn closed her eyes and let out a burst of air. He invaded enough of her mind without this.
    She crumpled the paper in her fist before shoving it and the envelope back in her pocket. She’d deal with it later. Right now she’d forget all about it. In fact, she’d forget about it until the week before Christmas when everyone was supposed to place their wrapped gifts under the tree.

December 24 th
Christmas Eve
    Jenn slipped into the dimly lit dining area just after nine in the morning. The rear of the restaurant was shrouded in darkness and she paused to listen, making sure she was the only one in the building. As she hoped, the place was empty and she’d have no trouble dropping off her Secret Santa gift without being seen. She’d be gone in less than ten minutes.
    Satisfied she was the only one here, she made her way to the exquisitely decorated tree in the far corner. The lights were switched off now, but when the restaurant was open hundreds of fairy lights twinkled and sparkled along the branches, their brilliance highlighting the silver and red balls evenly placed around the tree. Jenn opened her bag and pulled out the neatly wrapped box.
    Contrary to her initial intention, she’d thought long and hard before deciding what to give Morgan. In the end she’d gone with a framed mint-copy of the magazine article featuring him and the restaurant that bore his name in a nationwide women’s magazine a couple of months ago. She was sure it wouldn’t be the best present he’d ever received, but she