The 6'1" Grinch by Tiffany White Read Free Book Online Page A

door, who shook his head no.
    â€œWe’ll need to look in your packages, sir,” John insisted.
    â€œJo-ohn!” Hollie pleaded, embarrassed.
    Noel could see the kid was determined, so he handed over the packages. He knew all about security systems and something had made this one go off. Unless it was malfunctioning. It didn’t take much imagination to guess what had happened. Someone must have bumped something into one of his shopping bags. This could all be easily explained away as an accident if he just let the kid have his moment of glory.
    John went through the shopping bags, while everyone looked on as though they were witnessing the climactic third act of a play. The moment was anticlimactic, however, because not a piece of merchandise from the store was in the shopping bags.
    â€œSee, I told you,” Hollie stated triumphantly.
    â€œWe’ll need you to empty your pockets,” John said, ignoring Hollie.
    â€œBut, Jo-ohn!”
    â€œIt’s store policy, Hollie.”
    So the system had malfunctioned. It was Noel’s turn to be cocky. With an exasperated sigh, he reached into his pockets—and his face fell. Besides some change there was something in his left pocket. Reluctantly, he withdrew it for John to see.
    â€œI don’t know how these got here,” Noel insisted, looking at the two small packets of Barbie accessories as if they were tiny alien spaceships that had somehow landed in his pocket.
    â€œI do,” Hollie interrupted.
    â€œYou do?” both John and Noel said.
    â€œI put them there when I gave you everything in my hands to hold.”
    â€œThanks for telling me.”
    â€œSo this is really all an innocent misunderstanding,” John said, taking the two packets. “You really didn’t mean to, ah…”
    â€œNo, I can assure you I didn’t mean to, ah…” Noel informed him. “Am I free to go?”
    â€œGo,” John said, handing the confiscated merchandise to the clerk. “And you, Hollie. Next time be sure you don’t—”
    â€œI will, John. Promise.” She hurried out of the store after Noel, whose long legs were carrying him to the nearest exit.
    â€œWill you wait up for me?” she said, finally catching up to Noel, struggling with her full shopping bags. “Can’t you see the funny side to this?” she pleaded as they left the mall together.
    He stopped and scowled down at her. “There is nothing funny about almost being arrested for shoplifting,” he declared. “Nothing funny in the least.”
    â€œCome on, weren’t you just a little excited about the possibility of handcuffs?” He looked sexy when he was angry. She liked making him lose his tight rein on his emotions.
    â€œNo.”
    â€œYeah, I keep forgetting how stuffy you are,” she said, as he picked up the shopping bags she’d set down and followed her to her car.
    â€œ
I am not stuffy.
”
She made him nuts.
    â€œYeah, you’re just a real picnic in the park.” He made her nuts. “Okay, okay. Let’s just say we’re even.”
    â€œâ€˜Even’?” Clearly he didn’t believe what he was hearing.
    She unlocked the trunk of her car and he piled the shopping bags inside. “Even. I might have nearly gotten you arrested, but you let a little girl rip off my Barbie doll. Do you know how hard that doll is going to be to find? And Elena has her heart set on it.”
    â€œWell, I wasn’t about to try to take the Barbie away from that little girl once she had it. Can you imagine the scene that would have caused?”
    Hollie laughed as the two of them got into the car. “Man, you sure don’t like to be embarrassed.”
    â€œI don’t think anyone in his right mind wants to be handcuffed and carted off to jail. It’s not my idea of a real good time.” At least the “carted off to jail” part