Chapter 16
EVE
Iwoke up in the comfiest bed. It was warm under a heavy comforter, and I heard the murmur of voices.
I sat up. The blinds were drawn so it was still dark in the room. I wasn't at home. Was this Maddox's guest room?
The clock on the nightstand was blurry because I’d left my contacts in overnight, but I think it read seven. Last night, we'd drunk hot chocolate while watching a movie. We'd talked and laughed, and at some point, I remembered resting my head on his shoulder. I must have fallen asleep.
I'd come over around nine, so we weren't even up as late as we'd been on other nights. But I was exhausted from our late-night meetings. I finally felt like I'd slept long enough.
But Sofia didn't know that I'd stayed overnight. Was I supposed to sneak out? It was too cold to go out the window.
Would Sofia be upset that I was here? Last night, she'd asked for a stepmom from Santa, and I'd walked away to give Maddox space to respond. I was fairly positive Maddox didn't want a new wife.
He was still trying to get over the last one. He probably didn't want to get too close to anyone. I'd understood his need for the late-night meetings, but he'd surprised me with the invitation to come over earlier to watch a movie.
It felt like a date. It wasn't necessary to keep up appearances for Frank or anyone else because no one would know about it except for us.
Maddox must have carried me to bed. He could have woken me and asked me to go home. That's what I would have expected. And I wouldn't have been upset about it, because he was a single dad. It wasn't appropriate for me to stay overnight at his house yet. So what was he thinking?
A soft knock sounded on the door. "Miss Eve?"
I ran a hand through my hair, my nerves kicking up. "Come in."
The door flew open, and Sofia bounded inside. She still wore pajamas, so I shouldn't feel weird that I was wearing yesterday's sweats. What would she think was going on? What did Maddox tell her?
She jumped onto the bed so that she was perched on her knees. "Daddy said that you should get up because breakfast is ready."
"Let me go to the bathroom first." I looked around, finding a door which had to be an en suite.
She slid off the bed onto her feet. "You better hurry. Daddy says I eat all the pancakes."
She took off like a shot down the hallway before I could get out of bed.
I laughed at her comment and took my time in the bathroom. I rooted around until I found a spare toothbrush in one of the drawers. I didn't think it was there in case he had a woman over. That didn't seem like something Maddox had done before me.
He'd said this was a new house, so it wasn't the one he'd lived in with Marla. This place didn't hold unpleasant memories.
I finger brushed my hair, threw water on my face, and headed outside to the hallway. The guest room was on the first floor. I followed the voices until I reached the kitchen.
Maddox smiled at me. "Morning, sleepyhead."
I smiled. "I heard there were pancakes."
He inclined his head toward the empty plates. "Were being the operative word. Sofia ate the first batch, but I'm making more."
Sofia sat on the stool at the island, eating her pancake which was dripping with syrup. "I told you to hurry."
I smiled at her. "You could have saved me one."
Her lower lip protruded. "I was starving, and Dad said I have to eat because I'm a growing girl."
I laughed. "Your dad sounds really smart."
Maddox watched our interaction with amusement. Then he asked, "Would you like coffee?"
"I'd love some." Both of them seemed okay with me being here.
Maddox poured coffee into a blue mug and slid it across the counter toward me. "Milk or sugar?"
"Cream if you have it."
"I don't have any cream. Will milk work?" he asked, moving toward the fridge.
"Yes, thank you."
Sofia licked her finger. "Daddy said you were watching a movie last night and fell asleep."
I met Maddox's gaze, then looked at Sofia. "I must have been more tired than I thought." Then to Maddox, I said, "You could have woken me."
Maddox shook his head. "I didn't want you to drive home so late when you were tired."
That was nice of him to think of my safety. "Thanks for letting me crash in your guest room. It was really comfortable."
He gestured down the hall. "Everything in there is brand-new. I thought it would be nice to have a room for my mom to stay if she babysits late in the evening."
"That was a good idea. I'm sure she loves having a place here," I said, impressed with his thoughtfulness.
"Can we decorate the tree today?" Sofia asked, her gaze moving from her father to me.
Maddox nodded. "I don’t see why not.”
I gestured at my outfit which was rumpled from sleeping in it all night. "I might want to run home to shower and change."
Maddox turned to the stove to check the pancakes. "It's still early. I can get the tree in the stand while you do that."
I was excited about the prospect of spending the day with Maddox and Sofia. It was nice to be included in a family activity. Especially when this was something my sister and I did with my parents every year. I didn't want to feel sad about my loss. I just wanted to enjoy the day with them.
I poured milk in my coffee and sipped it while I waited for my pancakes to cook. When Sofia was done eating, she placed her dish in the sink and asked, "Can I watch TV?"
He gave her a look. "Get dressed first. We have a lot of Christmas decorating to do."
She whooped and ran upstairs.
I smiled after her. "She seems excited about Christmas."
"Aren't all kids?"
"I didn't know if it was harder for her without her mother," I said carefully, wondering if I shouldn't have mentioned anything.
He leaned a hip against the counter. "Your instinct is correct. But it's been a couple of years now. She's feeling a little better this year. For a while there, she felt bad when she'd laugh or have fun."
"That's so tough." My heart ached for her.
"It seems like we're coming out of a fog. Things seem brighter and a little easier this year. I'm not saying there won't be hard times, but there's improvement."
"I get that."
His brows furrowed as he looked at me. "How about you? Is it too hard for you to do the holiday stuff? I can make an excuse to Sofia."
"It was something we did with my parents every year, but I think if I do it with you, it will create a new memory. It will be good for me, and I'm excited about it."
"If you have a hard time, just let me know. It's not like we don't understand what you're going through."
"Yeah, it is nice to talk to someone who gets it. Natasha does too, but I don't want to bring something up if she's feeling okay. I don't want to upset her, if that makes sense."
He transferred the pancakes to a plate. "That makes perfect sense."
"I'm cautiously optimistic that I'm going to get through the season okay. It helps that work keeps me so busy."
He slid a plate across the countertop toward me. "I find it's the down times that are the hardest."
I'd have to make sure I stayed busy then. My parents' death was sudden. I didn't get to see them grow old. They'd never walk Natasha or me down the aisle or meet our future kids. But I wasn't the only one who'd experienced loss, and Sofia was so young. It was so much harder for her.
I poured syrup over my pancakes.
His brows furrowed. "You use as much syrup as Sofia."
"Syrup should be its own food group," I teased.
He gestured at Sofia's spot which had dollops of syrup scattered around. "It makes a sticky mess on the counters."
I huffed out a laugh. "I promise to be less messy than an eleven-year-old."
He snorted.
"You didn't have to let me stay last night." I'd already discussed it in front of Sofia but figured we should talk about it alone too.
"I was worried about you driving home tired. You had a big day yesterday."
"You don't think it's confusing for Sofia?" I asked, curious about what was going on in his head. Something had obviously changed for him.
"She already knows we're friends. She won't think anything of it unless we're kissing in front of her. But even then, I don't know if it would be a problem." Then he winked. "She asked Santa for a stepmom after all.
I wasn't sure I was ready to be a mom, but I loved Sofia. She was a great kid. What if I went into this with no pressure? I could just see where it went.
"Not that I can grant that wish."
I laughed. "That's why she asked Santa."
"I'll let him do his thing then," he said with a grin, looking more carefree than I'd ever seen him.
I grinned, content to leave something up to someone else, even if it was the universe. I preferred to control everything in my life, but as I found out this year, it wasn't always possible.
Maddox reached for my empty plate, then rinsed it in the sink. "I'll get things ready here if you want to run home."
"I'll be quick," I promised, pausing to give him a kiss on the cheek before heading out the door. I was excited to get back to the Knights.
Ishowered quickly, taking time to dry my hair. I pulled on a hunter-green sweater, dark jeans, and boots. It felt good to be dressed more casually since I didn't have to go to work for once.
When I knocked on the door, Sofia opened it with a huge smile on her face. "She's here!"
"Let her in. It's cold outside," Maddox urged from the living room.
Sofia scrambled out of the way, pulling the door open. "Whoops."
"No worries," I said as I walked inside and waited for Sofia to close the door.
Sofia paused to look at my outfit as I took off my boots. "You look very festive."
I smiled. "I'm feeling festive."
She threw her arms out to the side. "That's perfect because we have a fun day of holiday decorating—"
I lifted the bags of ingredients I'd brought from home. "And baking."
"What are we making?" Sofia asked as I placed my things on the counter. I'd brought everything just in case Maddox didn't have something. I wasn't sure how much baking he did, if any.