Chapter 3
LUCAS
I watch Lillian’s lips as she speaks. The cherry, red dress and matching lipstick are driving me wild. I really wanted to kiss her when she arrived, but I opted for a handshake. I didn’t want to scare her away. We’ve only had one brief conversation.
Terrible decision. I wish I’d kissed her.
She’s telling me about their weekend plans and I can’t focus on her words, just her lips. I take a large gulp of my drink. The waitress swings by our table as if conjured by the sound of the ice cube clinking against the empty glass. Lillian looks annoyed at being interrupted.
Or is it jealousy?
The waitress lightly touches my shoulder and leans in to collect the empty dishes. I watch Lillian’s eyes widen as I get a clear look down the waitress’s blouse. I clear my throat and try to stare directly at Lillian and not the breasts bobbing in and out of my view.
Lillian declines dessert. And I think I’ve ruined the night, despite not actually doing anything on purpose. I can feel my mood shift as Lillian becomes more closed off. I offer to pay for her but she declines and I don’t push it. I walk her out to her car.
“Lillian,” I clear my throat again. She turns to face me. Her cheeks redden when she realizes how close we are. I reach out and tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear, “I hope you had a goodnight.”
“I did, thank you,” she swallows thickly.
“I’d like to see you again. And I’d like to kiss you goodnight.”
“I’d like that, both of those things.”
I lean closer and wrap one hand around the small of her back.
I pull her gently against me. She lets out a soft “oof” as her chest presses against mine.
I tilt her chin up and cover her mouth with mine.
She sighs as I let my tongue graze over her lips.
She lets me in, and I deepen the kiss. I don’t want to rush things.
I run my free hand up her back as she wraps her hands around me. With one hand, she ruffles my hair, her fingers sending little sparks dancing along my skin. I don’t want to let her go. I don’t want the night to end.
A group of noisy people walk past us, and we break apart like a couple of sneaky teenagers. Her face is flushed, and I’m breathing heavy.
“Call me,” she says as she opens her car door. She gets in, and I stand a few feet away and wave as she starts her car.
Well…tries to start her car. It makes a few weird sounds before she turns her headlights off and opens her door. I walk over, and her dark caramel eyes are full of tears.
“I can drive you home Lillian, it’s no big deal,” I start to pull her in for a hug. The automatic reaction surprises me as she chokes out a few words between sobs. I hold her tight against me.
I can only make out that she can’t afford this right now, and Christmas is ruined.
I lightly stroke her back until she takes a few deep breaths and pulls away. She wipes her eyes on the sleeve of her sweater and apologizes.
“You have nothing to apologize for. Let me drive you home. You can call a tow truck to come get it.” She nods and follows me to my car. After giving me her address, we head off to her house.
“I’m sorry for the breakdown,” she murmurs, her eyes still teary.
“Nothing to apologize for, I know the holidays are tough for a lot of people.”
She scoffs, “It’s already hard being a single parent. There’s no way I can get my car fixed in time to be able to take Poppy to the Christmas markets. We’re supposed to go tomorrow to pick out a tree. I’m ruining her Christmas.”
“I could take you,” I blurt out as we turn down her street. “I mean,” I clear my throat, “I’d be happy to drive you and Poppy tomorrow if you’d like.”
“You don’t have to do that, I’m sure you have better plans than driving me around.”
“You’d be doing me a favor, actually.” She raises her eyebrows as I stop the car in front of her house. “I have a chaotic family. It’d be great to get out of the house for at least one day.” I grin at her as she narrows her eyes at me.
“Are you sure you’re okay with it? It’s a lot. You just met me and now you’re going to spend an afternoon with me and my kid…”
“I’m sure.” I squeeze her hand and she smiles.
“Okay, well, I’ll see you tomorrow then. After lunch? Like one?”
“It’s a date.” She chuckles before leaning over to give me a kiss on the cheek.
“See you tomorrow, Lucas.”
“Goodnight, Lillian.”
I watch her leave the car and walk to her home. She gets inside and waves before closing the door. I drive back to my parents’ house and replay the entire night. How did I end up offering to chauffeur Lillian and Poppy? And to my family’s tree farm, nonetheless.
Oof, my brothers won’t let me live this down.
Apparently, Olivia ran into my mom at wine night and mentioned I was taking someone out. This morning my mom pesters me until I relinquish enough small details to satisfy her curiosity.
“Bring them by for the markets,” my mom mentions over coffee.
“I’m actually driving them out here today,” I let slip.
“Are we going to meet her? And her daughter?” My mom’s favorite thing in the world is to spoil her grandkids. She’s been hounding me to settle down for years.
“We’ll see. We’ve only had one date.” My younger brother Tim walks in and asks about my date.
“You had a date and then offered to drive them out here? Seems like things are moving quickly,” Tim sips his coffee as he wiggles his eyebrows. I ignore the silent teasing.
“It just happened,” I shrug, “so don’t scare them away.” I narrow my eyes at my mother. A known gossip.
“Don’t worry about anything, just have fun.” She waves me off.
“For once,” Tim adds. I lightly punch his shoulder and he feigns being in pain.
“I’m leaving, see you all for dinner.” I stand to leave. I hear my mom holler to not forget to take the girls for hot cocoa and I shout back an okay.
I reach Lillian’s house right at one o’clock. I see the front curtains move as I park and get out of the car. I knock and the door immediately opens. A little girl with wild fire red curls is standing there and I hear Lillian’s voice shout out Poppy’s name.
“Hi, I’m Lucas,” I squat down to her eye level, “it’s nice to meet you.”
She gives me a toothy grin and shakes my hand, “I’m Poppy.”
“There you are,” Lillian huffs as she comes to the doorway. “Hi Lucas, we’re just about ready to leave. Poppy, what did I tell you about answering the door?”
She gives the little girl her coat and a scarf. Lillian is wearing black jeans that highlight her long legs and an oversized Christmas sweater. Today’s sweater has a tree on it with pom poms decorating it. Poppy is wearing a matching sweater.
How many holiday sweaters does Lillian own?
And what she’s wearing underneath them.
“Not to do it,” the little girl replies, “but you also said to watch for a black car.”
“Alright, let’s go,” Lillian sighs and ushers us to the car.
The thirty-minute car ride goes by quickly with chatter and answering a million of Poppy’s questions about being a doctor. Lillian seems pleased, a smile never leaving her face. We pull into my family’s tree farm, and I park near my parents’ house. It’s just a short walk over to the main area.
You can see the festivities from a distance, but this lets us have a quiet and guaranteed parking spot.
I peer across the fields. One is emptied to make room for the pop-up holiday market that runs from November first through the end of the year.
Warm lights glow from all the wooden stalls and heat lamps.
“I don’t think you can park here,” Lillian’s face flashes with worry.
“I know the owners,” I reply. I haven’t decided if I should let her piece together it’s my family’s farm or not. It’s not a big secret, but I don’t want her to think I’m giving her special treatment or anything.
“What should we start with, ladies?” I take out a few tickets and hand them to Poppy. “These are for hot chocolate later.” The little girl squeals with delight and takes my hand to pull me towards the tree selection. Lillian laughs and follows us.
We browse the trees for a long time. Poppy and Lillian take their time. They’re looking for one that is just right. Not too tall, not too skinny. The perfect tree. We go from tree to tree and discuss the pros and cons. They want a smaller tree that is also well-rounded.
It starts to snow lightly as we wander through all the trees.
Finally, they pick one out. Lillian talks to one of the guys working there as Poppy and I guard the tree from others.
Lillian is going to get it delivered, so we don’t have to deal with strapping it to my car.
She whispers that the small tree and delivery are still a lot less money than her car.
I find myself in awe of Lillian. She’s juggling a job, a kid, and a tight budget. I haven’t really had to worry about much. I have some school loan debt, but it’s manageable on my salary and low cost of living. I find myself watching her face as she and Poppy discuss their plans for the tree.
It’s taking all my willpower not to pull her in for a kiss. I keep my eyes out for mistletoe to at least have a reason to kiss her later.