Chapter 6
Theo
Should I text Luci or just go downstairs to see if he was available?
In theory, I knew the right answer. The polite thing to do was to shoot him a message and ask when he was free.
Hell—ooo kitty, it was Friday almost-night, so chances were that Luci was either working as Mr. Elf or was getting ready to go out.
He’d already spent last Friday night with Hazel and me, after all.
And he seemed like the type who went out a lot.
Extroverted, funny, easygoing. I bet people fought for his attention all the time.
Yet, here I was, desperately wanting to go downstairs and pull a Luci on him. As in, go downstairs and just pick him up for a date.
Shaking my head, I looked at the bars of chocolate sitting on the counter.
This was so unlike me. I was not a spontaneous person. I liked to plan things. I liked order. Planning. I needed to know things in advance to prepare for them mentally. Whenever I didn’t get time to prepare, I felt icky. Off-kilter. My skin itched as if a million ants were running all over me.
Always.
Except for last Friday evening, when Luci had dropped by and picked us up for an impromptu date.
Ohh, it’d made me uncomfortable at first. There had been ants crawling all over me, the itchy feeling as if my skin was too tight for me.
The nagging in my brain that said I was making a fool of myself because I had no idea how to behave or how to fingerpaint, so it didn’t look worse than my four-year-old daughter’s painting looked.
Hell—ooo kitty, I’d even locked myself in his bathroom for a good ten minutes, leaving my daughter in his care, just for the chance to get my bearings.
When I’d felt like I had myself under control again, I left the bathroom, only to be thrown back into the chaos as soon as I entered the living room.
It was my worst nightmare.
And one of the best, funnest evenings in my life.
“Daddy, do we still have time to make the peppermint bark before Grandma and Grandpa get here?” Hazel asked from her spot on the couch, a picture book sitting on her lap.
Time to make a decision.
“We wanted to ask Luci to join us, remember?” I said, a wave of nerves hitting me square in the chest. A part of me expected her to tell me she didn’t want Luci to help us.
Which was utter nonsense. The whole week it’d been Luci this, Luci that.
What was Luci doing? Does he have time for us to finish the painting?
He did, so we spent Wednesday afternoon covering the giant canvas in glue and way too much glitter.
“Yes, let’s go!” Hazel jumped up from the couch, the book hitting the hardwood floor with a dull thud. “I want Grandma to meet him. I bet she likes him. What do you think, Daddy? Do you think Grandma will like Luci? I mean, he’s an elf. I bet she’s really impressed we’re friends with an elf.”
Hazel gave me a wide grin, rolling to her tiptoes, rocking up and down in excitement, her hands folded in front of her chest.
The air was punched from my chest as I was hit by a freight train of memories.
Josie, looking at me with that exact expression, her dark brown ponytail bouncing up and down.
“Can we? Can we, can we, can we pleeaaaase go dress shopping tomorrow?” It’d been the last time we were out together.
Hazel, she, and I, wandering around the city, trying to find the perfect prom dress for her.
“Daddy? Where are you? I’m waiting!”
I heard the telltale click of the apartment door opening. Shaking my head, I shoved the memories aside. Even three years later, the similarities between Hazel and Josie occasionally threw me off and sent me on a trip down memory lane.
“I’m here,” I said, hurrying out of the living room.
Apparently, I was doing this. Well, we were doing this. Kidnapping Luci for an impromptu date. Doing the same thing I’d asked him not to do a second time. Then again, I had the feeling Luci wouldn’t mind.
He was the go-with-the-flow type. Taking things the way they were.
“Do you think the glue is dry now?” Hazel asked, jumping down the stairs. “It was a lot of glue, so it takes a long time to dry, but it’s been ages.” My little drama queen let out a long sigh.
“If Luci’s home, we can check.”
I still didn’t have the slightest idea where to put a five-foot painting of a Christmas tree, but I’d figure it out.
By the time I made it down the stairs, Hazel was already furiously knocking on Luci’s door.
“Mr. Elf? I mean Luci? Are you home? We want to… Ohh, you’re home!”
My heart jumped in my chest, kick-starting into a faster pace.
“Uhm, hi,” I said, raising my hand to wave at him when all I wanted was to hug him and hold him close.
“Hey,” he answered, his voice filled with warmth and a hint of amusement. For once, he wasn’t wearing paint-stained clothes, just a regular hoodie and sweatpants. His hair wasn’t in a bun either, but hanging in curls down to his chest.
“Do you want to come with us?” Hazel interjected, drawing Luci’s eyes away from me.
“Daddy bought chocolate and candy canes—the mint ones—and he says we can make peppermint bark. But only with you. I want to make peppermint bark, so you need to come.” Holding out her hand, she waited for him to take it and just let himself be kidnapped.
Silent laughter flashed over his face and settled into a smirk as he looked up at me. “Peppermint bark?”
I shrugged, going for nonchalance, but failing miserably. My cheeks burned with heat because I knew he knew that this was all for him. He was the one who’d ordered everything peppermint that day in the coffee shop, not me. And I’d even told him I’d noticed.
“Yes!” Hazel shouted, impatiently crossing her arms in front of her. “Can you come? Grandma and Grandpa will pick me up in an hour, so we don’t have much time.”
Luci’s eyes shifted from my daughter to me, and he bit his bottom lip to keep from laughing. I knew that. Still, heat pooled low in my stomach, the sharp desire to be the one biting his lip shooting through my spine like a lightning bolt, taking my breath away.
I needed to get a grip. Now.
Luci smirked again, eyes flashing.
“How could I ever say no to peppermint bark?” he said with a laugh.
He reached for something on his side of the door without looking, then stepped out, keys in hand.
With a smile, he watched Hazel race up the stairs as he stepped next to me, his shoulder brushing against my upper arm in a discreet but warm gesture.
The desire to just… fridge it and grab his hand welled up in me again, but I swallowed it down more fiercely.
We’d agreed that we’d see where things went.
That wasn’t exactly a committed, long-term relationship yet, and thus, it was too early to clue my kid in to us dating.
If we decided that we indeed wanted to be in a relationship, I’d tell her and then, and only then, I’d start holding hands in front of her.
Still, the desire to be reckless and go for what I wanted stayed just below the surface, burning with an intensity I’d never felt before.
“So, Miss Hazel, do you have any fun plans for what you wanna do with your grandparents?” Luci asked, hopping up the stairs with that easygoing smile of his on his lips.
“Yes.” She nodded seriously, holding up one finger.
“We need to pick Aunt Pippa up from the airport tonight.” Adding a second finger, she continued.
“Then we will have a late dinner at McDonald’s.
But that’s a secret, so you can’t tell Daddy.
” I slapped a hand in front of my mouth to keep from laughing.
Apparently, plans had been made, and if I were a betting man, I’d put money on it that the dinner plans had been Pippa’s doing.
“Then we go to sleep. Tomorrow we’re gonna go shopping for aaaalllll we need for cookies.
And then we’re baking all day long. I want to try lots and lots of cookies.
And on Sunday, Daddy’s coming for breakfast, and we’ll dress up all fancy and go to a restaurant. ”
Luci grinned at her. “That sounds like a fun weekend.”
Hazel nodded, already standing in front of our apartment door, her arms crossed in front of her, tapping the floor with her foot.
“It’s gonna be great. It’s always sooo much fun when Aunt Pippa visits.
She’s my mommy’s little sister, and she’s away at college.
We have a college in town, so I think it’s dumb she’s sooo far away, but Pippa says it’s necessary. I still think it’s dumb.”
Luci giggled while I opened the door.
We all went to the kitchen, with Luci and me listening to Hazel giving us a million reasons why Pippa should’ve stayed here.
I knew she missed her. But there was nothing we could do about her being halfway across the country for most of the year, so I intervened.
“Who wants to make peppermint bark?”
Hazel and Luci both cheered, grinning at each other.
“Okay. The first step is washing your hands. I’ll go get the aprons.”
Hazel nodded, her face all business as she held out her hand for Luci. “Do you want me to show you the bathroom? Our soap is not as fancy as yours, but it smells good. Do you like cherry? Because it smells like cherries.”
Taking her hand, Luci nodded. “I love cherries. Cherry pie is my favorite pie.”
“Meh.” Hazel started walking, dragging Luci with her. “I guess that’s an acceptable choice.”
They disappeared down the hallway, but I could hear Luci’s mock gasp. “An acceptable choice? What pie could possibly be better than cherry?”
Hazel’s snort was the last thing I heard before the bathroom door fell closed with a loud bang.
I smiled, already knowing what my daughter would say. She took her pies seriously. There were good choices, acceptable choices, bad choices—and pumpkin. Pumpkin was an awful choice.
Turning around, I quickly grabbed three aprons, a chopping board, a rolling pin, and a Ziploc bag before I started heating a pot of water on the stove.
Peppermint bark, here we come.