She smiled at Stanley, and he smiled back and patted her hand as if to reassure her.
She didn’t need reassuring. She knew that she’d made the right decision. Her grandma would have approved.
The wedding consultant signaled that it was time for the bride to begin her walk down the aisle.
“You ready to do this?” Stanley asked her.
“Oh, yes,” she said.
* * *
Stanley sat at the reception table with Lexie’s mother and her aunt and uncle.
“They make a charming couple, don’t they, Meredith?” Lexie’s aunt said to Lexie’s mom.
“Yes, they do,” said Meredith. “I’m glad she finally found someone.” She turned to Stanley. “It was sweet of you to walk her down the aisle.”
He felt embarrassed with Lexie’s uncle right there at the same table. “Probably should have been her uncle,” Stanley said.
“Fred wasn’t offended. We all know how much you’ve done for her and how much you mean to her.”
“You’ve been a gift,” said her mom.
Now that she’d gained back some weight and the color had returned to her face, Meredith Bell wasn’t a bad-looking woman. Stanley knew Lexie had hopes that something would happen between the two of them, but it wasn’t going to. Carol had been the only woman for him.
That didn’t mean he couldn’t make room in his life for friends, though.
And an adopted daughter and grandchild or two. Or three.
“She means a lot to me, too,” he said.
Okay, getting too mushy here. He dug into his salmon.
It was hard not to feel mushy when it came time for toasts, but he kept his simple and to the point. Actually, he was amazed he even remembered the few words he wanted to say with so many people looking at him.
He cleared his throat. “To Lexie, the daughter I never knew I wanted, and to Truman, the only man who deserves her.”
He knew he got it right when he saw Lexie dabbing the corner of her eye with her napkin.
Much later that night he came back home and settled in his recliner with Bonnie and a bowl of peppermint ice cream to listen to Christmas music and read.
We wish you a Merry Christmas, sang a choir.
No need to wish it. He fully intended to have one.
* * *
Acknowledgments
I am indebted to many people for this book. First, a hearty thank-you to kindergarten teacher Patty Duncan, who shared with me some of the fun things she does for her children. Patty, I’d love to be a child again and be able to attend your class! Thank you to my wonderful editor, April Osborn, and my fabulous agent, Paige Wheeler. You ladies are the best! And, as always, a heartfelt thank-you to the team at Harlequin, who never cease to work hard on behalf of myself and the other authors lucky enough to have you in their corner. May Santa bring you lots of chocolate and cookies, and may the Grinch steal all the calories from them.
A
LITTLE
CHRISTMAS
SPIRIT
SHEILA ROBERTS
Reader’s Guide
Discussion Questions
If you lived next door to Stanley Mann, would you bother befriending him?
How would you describe Stanley’s marriage?
Was Carol’s ghost always right in the advice she gave Stanley?
Have you lost a loved one? If so, how did you cope with the loss?
Did your parents take you to see Santa when you were a child? How and when did you learn that Santa isn’t real?
Do you believe in ghosts? Would you be thrilled or terrified if you saw the ghost of someone you lost?
Lexie Bell was frustrated that her mother was still in deep mourning over the loss of Lexie’s father. Was her attitude unrealistic?
If you were a grief counselor, what would you tell Lexie’s mom? What would you tell Stanley?
Lexie wanted to develop friendships with her neighbors and we finally saw that happening. Do your neighbors interact or keep to themselves? Are there advantages to knowing your neighbors? Disadvantages?
Do you believe in an afterlife?
ISBN-13: 9780369703453
A Little Christmas Spirit
Copyright © 2021 by Roberts Ink LLC
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
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