Chapter 26
CHRISTMAS COOKIES
FLETCHER
SEVENTEEN WEEKS PREGNANT
Icheck the recipe for the third time, making sure I have all the necessary ingredients.
Lydia is due home any minute, and I’m ready with our surprise date.
Once again, I was purposefully secretive with the plans.
Perhaps I’m being a bit too elaborate, but when you’re on a mission to get your girl, you do what you have to do.
The front door opens, and in walks Lydia, looking absolutely adorable. Her loose curls frame her face, and she’s wearing another cute sweater—this time deep maroon—with black pants. I can’t help but notice how the color brings out the brightness in her eyes.
“Hey, Lydi-bug.” I stride to the entryway and take her bag from her shoulder, placing it on the bench. “How was your day?”
“Great.” Her cheeks are flushed, and there’s excitement in her eyes.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. We got more funding approved today, so we’re going to set up another free skate camp for kids.”
“Awesome!” I pull her in for a hug, holding her tightly and smoothing my hands up and down her back. “Proud of you.”
“I didn’t do anything,” she responds quickly.
“Yes, you did. You've been working hard. The events are a success because of you, so your hard work makes a difference.”
“Thank you.” Her voice cracks a little.
“Now go change. I have a fun date planned for us.” I spin her and lead her down the hall, blocking her view of the kitchen.
“Do I get a hint?”
“Nope. Wear something you won’t mind getting dirty, though.”
She quirks an eyebrow.
“Go.” I push her playfully toward her room. Once she enters her doorway, I spin and head back to the kitchen, doing another look over.
A moment later, Lydia calls from her room. “Hey, what is your schedule like next week?”
“Um, I’m not sure. Why?”
“The doctor’s office called today to schedule my anatomy scan. I told them I’d call them back once I had a better idea of what might work.” Her voice grows louder, and her footsteps carry her down the hall into the kitchen.
In the few minutes she was gone, she changed into a baggy T-shirt and leggings, and she pulled her hair back into a clip. This just might be my favorite version of Lydia. Casual and comfortable.
“What days are they thinking? I can look at my calendar.”
Lydia rattles off a few days and times they offered her.
Thankfully, we find one that works on a Thursday afternoon.
I’ll have to leave right after the appointment to get on a plane to Nashville, but I’ll be able to go, and that’s the important part.
After the game in Nashville, we’ll come home for Christmas.
I already have a few things planned for that.
She sets a reminder on her phone to call the office in the morning, then turns to the kitchen.
“Oh, my god.” Her voice is filled with awe. “What is all of this?”
“Christmas cookie baking and decorating!” I chirp, holding out my arms to showcase all the ingredients on the counter.
“This is amazing.” Her lips curve into a smile, and she covers her mouth; her eyes grow glassy. The smile drops, and a tear streams down her cheeks before I know what’s happening.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” I reach for her, rubbing her shoulders and tilting her chin to look at me. I run my thumb over the apple of her cheek, hoping to soothe her. “We don’t have to do this. We can do something else.”
“No, no,” she blubbers. “It’s perfect. I’ve cried three times today. My emotions are all over the place. This is just so sweet. I didn’t expect it.”
I swipe the tears from under her eyes before they have a chance to hit her cheekbones. “You’re adorable.”
“I am not.”
“Yes, you are. Also, you’re glowing this week.” I gesture to her. “That’s a thing during pregnancy, right? Gorgeous.”
She is. Maybe I’m biased, but there’s a literal glow emanating from her.
“Now, do you want to make some cookies?” I ask.
Lydia sniffles, giving me a gracious smile. Her voice is watery as she whispers, “Yes.”
“Perfect.” I grab the paper recipe I got from my mom, and together, we make the sugar cookies. It’s a quick process, and soon, the dough is in the fridge to cool for a bit before we cut and bake them. I even got Christmas cookie cutters for this occasion.
We clean up the mess we made, but the entire time, we talk about everything and nothing, all while I keep stealing longing glances at her.
Her curvy hips sway to the Christmas music playing softly in the background.
I have to fight to keep my cool when her ass brushes against my groin as she moves to put a cookie sheet in the oven.
When she gets a dusting of flour on her cheek, I use my thumb to wipe it off, but I let my touch linger as my thumb drags down her face.
Her plump lips taunt me. God, how I can’t wait to feel them on mine.
We’re still us, but with a new layer to it.
“Have you heard from your parents recently?” I ask Lydia as we roll out the dough.
She shakes her head, and I pick up on a hint of sadness in her expression.
“No.” Her voice grows sad. “I should have known they wouldn’t be happy for me.”
My hands are full of dough, so I can’t reach out and offer her the comfort I want. “I’m sorry, Lydia. I shouldn’t have brought it up.”
She shrugs. “It is what it is. I’ve been talking with your mom a lot the last few days, and that’s helped.
She’s going to drive up for the baby shower, whenever that will be.
Grace and Zoey are planning one. She wanted to plan one, but I told her not to worry about it, since it would be hard to plan from a few states away. ”
If I know my mom, and I do, she’ll do whatever she can to make this special for Lydia. She loves her like one of her own.
“Yeah, that makes sense. I’m sure she would love to help however she can, though. You should pass her number on to Zoey and Grace.”
“Oh, don’t worry, I already did,” Lydia says with a soft laugh. She presses a tree-shaped cut into the dough. “Speaking of your mom...”
I wait for Lydia to say more, but it takes her a moment to build up the courage.
“I was wondering if you would be okay with her coming to stay for a few weeks after the baby is born. You’ll hopefully be in the middle of playoffs, and I don’t have anyone else besides you to help me.
It’s not like my mom would be willing to help.
I think it might be nice to have another person here, and it would be helpful when you’re out of town. ”
I hold up a hand to stop her. “Whoa, whoa, slow down. Of course, my mom can stay with you for a few weeks. I’m sure she’d love to.”
“Really?” she asks hesitantly as she looks up at me with wide eyes.
“Absolutely. I want you to be comfortable, and if I can’t be here, I want you to have someone who can help you. If that’s my mom, then absolutely.” I go to push some loose pieces of hair out of her eyes, but I think twice, silently cursing my messy hands. Maybe I didn’t think this through enough.
“Thank you. It’s starting to sort of become real now,” Lydia says with a soft smile. “I passed by a baby store downtown the other day, and it all kinda hit me. I know I’m not really showing yet, but maybe soon it will feel even more real.”
Her eyes drop to her slightly rounded stomach, and I want to touch her. To cradle her soft belly and the little ladybug that’s growing inside her. The baby I already love as if it’s my own.
“I can’t wait,” I say honestly. I was planning to keep all of our dates a surprise, but I think maybe I’ll tell her about one. “What would you say to a baby shopping and registry date?”
Her eyes light up. “Really? You’d want to go with me?”
“Duh. I want to do everything,” I reply with a smile as I line the cut-out cookies onto the baking sheet and pop them into the oven.
“That sounds like a fun time.”
“Then it’s a date. It might have to wait until the new year, though.”
“That works.”
We finish putting the cookies into the oven and clean up the rest of the baking supplies. After the cookies finish baking, we put them on cooling racks and gather the supplies for the icing. We might have to cut this night short, since it’s already nearing eight, and Lydia looks exhausted.
“Do you want to do the decorating another day?” I ask when she lets out a long yawn.
“What?” She gasps. “No! It’s not even eight. Besides, when will we get time to finish them? You have a game tomorrow night, and I have an event this weekend. We have to finish tonight!”
“Alright, alright. I just wanted to be sure.” I pull her in for a hug, making up for all of the touches I couldn’t have earlier when my hands were dirty. We hold each other for a long moment.
“I didn’t expect this,” Lydia mumbles into my chest.
“Didn’t expect what?” My heart pounds heavily as I breathe in her intoxicating perfume.
A shudder runs through her body, and as I run my hands down her arms, I feel the goose bumps spreading across her skin.
“For it to feel like this with you.” She leans farther into my touch, nuzzling her nose against my shirt.
I sit with that for a moment, letting myself hold her as long as physically possible. “Is it bad?”
She shakes her head .“No. Not at all. Unexpected, sure, but maybe it was inevitable.”
I nod, resting my cheek atop her head. “I think you may be right. It feels good, doesn’t it?”
Lydia bobs her head in agreement, tightening her arms around my torso. “Yeah. It really does.”