by C. Morgan
Muse seemed pleased with my choice to stay home, too. He’d curled up between my legs and had his little chin resting on the inside of his cone on my thigh. He was purring softly, and every now and then, he’d crack open an eye just to make sure I was still paying attention to him. I’d stroke his nose and between his eyes. It was hard to get the top of his head or behind his ears with the cone on.
Initially, he hadn’t taken too kindly to the cone. It bothered him mostly at night when he’d curl up with me on the bed. He’d meow and fuss until he finally got comfortable and settled down. Little by little, he was getting more used to it. By the time it no longer bothered him, it would probably be time to take the cone off entirely.
He’d be a happy kitty when that day came.
I’d just gotten up to make myself a plate of nachos when my cell phone rang on the kitchen counter. It was Rylen.
I was glad Victoria wasn’t there to see the stupid grin on my face when I answered the phone. “Hello fiancé,” I teased.
He chuckled into the line and told me it had been a long time since someone called him that. “Over six years, to be precise.”
“Better get used to it, handsome.”
“I didn’t realize this arrangement came with compliments. Aren’t you on high alert about boosting men’s egos?”
“Did you call for a reason, or just to banter with me?”
He snickered. “All right, all right. I have a reason. I was wondering if you wanted to come over this evening. Cora and I are decorating the Christmas tree and we thought maybe you’d want to join us.”
My words hitched in my throat.
He was inviting me over to spend time with him and his daughter? Just like that?
It sounded divine. I adored kids and Cora was a shoo-in to be a delight of a little girl based on who her father was.
“It won’t just be decorating the tree,” Rylen added in a hurry, almost like he thought the offer fell flat. “Afterward, we were thinking of ordering something for dinner and watching a Christmas movie or something. If you have a favorite, we’ll consider it as a contender, but be warned. Cora is pretty particular about the three movies she likes to watch during the holidays.”
“Only three?”
“Only three,” he confirmed. “But look, if you have plans and can’t swing tonight, I completely understand. We can take a rain check. Maybe get together later in the week?”
I smiled. Poor guy. He was scrambling. “Rylen, I haven’t even given you an answer and you’re already making excuses to justify why I would say no.”
He paused. “I am, aren’t I?”
“You are. And it’s silly because I would love to join you. Only if I’m not interrupting some quality father-daughter time though. I don’t want to be a third wheel.”
“You won’t be.”
“You promise Cora won’t mind?”
“It was her idea.”
“Really?” I breathed.
“Really,” he confirmed. “I’ll text you my address. Dress comfy. We’re a sweatpants and pajamas kind of household.”
“You should have led with that.”
I told him I’d be on my way over in about an hour, which didn’t buy me much time to make myself presentable. I was all over showing up in leggings and an oversized sweater, but I didn’t want him to see me in my completely natural state. I’d done a face mask that morning with a lot of acid in it, so my skin was quite pink. My hair was still damp from a late in the day shower and I’d sat and chipped off all my nail polish while Muse slept on me.
I was kind of a mess.
Frantically, I got my life together. My hair went up in a braid, I powdered my face and slapped a bit of bronzer and highlight on my cheeks, and I swept on some mascara. I gave Muse a kiss on the head before racing out the door to go out to my car parked out back. Victoria and I shared it. Hopefully, she wouldn’t be in need of it tonight.
I chewed my bottom lip as I stood in front of the glass display case at a bakery not far from the address Rylen had texted me. I didn’t want to show up emptyhanded and I wanted to start things off on the right foot with Cora. The other night, I’d thanked her father with food. I intended to break the ice with her the same way, through food.
The barista behind the bar looked from me to the display and heaved a tired sigh. I couldn’t blame him. Working with the public all day could be exhausting, especially when it came to food and customer service.
“Have you decided?” he asked.
I frowned. “I don’t have much experience with kids and I’m on my way to see a little girl right now. She’s five and I want to bring her something yummy. Any suggestions?”
He turned his impassive gaze down to the display case and considered the question. Finally, he pointed out some options. “The reindeer cookies are popular amongst the little ones. You could also go for a cake pop. Here.” He pointed to the bottom corner where a row of little round balls stuck to sticks smiled up at me. There was a Santa Claus, a snowman, and a Christmas tree. “Kids get the most excited about these.”
“I’ll take one of each,” I said.
He filled a bag with the cake pops and asked if I wanted anything else. I ordered a variety of pastries and desserts to bring to Rylen just because.
After paying for my order, I hopped into the grocer next door which had a decent liquor selection on the back wall. I bought a bottle of red—the very same wine we’d shared at McCormick & Kuleto’s in Ghirardelli Square—and scoured the aisles for something for Cora. If her father and I were going to have a fancy drink after dinner, it was only fitting that she have one too. I found what I was after, a small bottle of sparkling apple juice. I tucked it under my arm and made for the cash register.
By five thirty, I pulled up in front of a charming one-story home with a single-car garage. Rylen’s truck was parked in the driveway and I pulled in behind him.
I got out and balanced the box of goodies from the bakery on one arm while carrying the paper bag of wine and sparkling apple juice on the other. I hobbled down the drive to the front door, where a bicycle leaned against the post outside. It had pink streamers hanging off the handlebars. I smiled at the nostalgia of it all and knocked on the door, precariously balancing all the goodies I had.
A rush of nerves went through me when I heard Rylen call that he’d be at the door in just a minute.
For some reason, the stakes suddenly felt very high. Rylen and I weren’t exclusive. We weren’t even dating. Technically, this was still a business relationship, but it felt like a lot was riding on his daughter liking me.
Why did I care this much?
Why was this meeting so important?
She was five years old. How could she not like me? And if she didn’t, would that really be the end of the world?
Yes, I thought sharply.
Yes, it would be. And clearly, I cared a great deal because I’d struggled so hard in the bakery to make the right decision when in reality she was a kid and she was going to like whatever I brought so long as it had sugar in it and didn’t taste like coffee.
I swallowed the anxiety clawing up my throat.
Relax.
Rylen’s footsteps approached the door. My stomach rolled over. My hand under the box of bakery treats began to sweat.
Breathe. She’s just a five-year-old.
The door swung open.
Rylen stood on the threshold with a smile on his face and a Christmas ornament hooked over one ear, no doubt put there by Cora herself. He spied the box in my hands and the paper bag. “You didn’t have to bring anything.”
“I wanted to,” I said. “I… I think I might be trying to buy your daughter’s friendship.”
“Cora’s a sucker for a good bribe.”
“That’s good to hear.” I laughed nervously.
He took the box off my hands before standing back and inviting me inside.
The home could have been considered cozy, but it also felt somewhat lackluster. There were
no paintings or pieces of art on any of the walls. The only decor I could spy with my little eye was Christmas themed, which I assumed had only hit the scene quite recently. Aside from that, his furniture was plain. No rug broke up the similarly toned sofas and carpet, both a boring shade of beige. The walls were a warm cream color which also offered nothing to the space.
It lacked a woman’s touch.
As I stepped out of my shoes and looked around, I saw it for the blank canvas it was. There was so much potential here. The massive brick fireplace had a lot of character. The archways from the hallway into the living room and into the dining room were charming but in need of fresh paint. I saw everything in stark shades of white broken up by black trim and baseboards. It needed plants and lamps—something to break up the monotonous bleeding of one shade of beige to the next.
Rylen lifted a corner of the box and stole a peek inside. A little sound of delight escaped him. “What do we have here?”
His cuteness was dangerous. “Treats.”
“Treats indeed,” he purred. “Hey, Cora! Natalie is here. And she brought us something.”
A little girl appeared around the corner of the kitchen. I recognized her from the picture I’d seen in Rylen’s profile when I first looked him up with the girls at the office. She was bigger now, much bigger, but those big brown eyes of hers were very much the same.
She approached slowly, like she was as worried about meeting me as I was about her, and she gave me a bashful smile when I went down in a crouch to say hello.
“Hi, Cora, it’s really nice to meet you. Your dad told me all about you. I feel really lucky that you wanted to invite me over. I was sitting at home doing nothing and now I get to hang out with you and your dad.”
She clasped her hands in front of herself and swayed from side to side. “And help us put up our tree.”
I turned to look at the tree and gasped. “That is the most beautiful tree I’ve ever seen. Do you know who’s going to love that tree?”
Cora shook her head and gazed up at me. “Who?”
I leaned in close and kept leaning when she didn’t pull away. I wanted to respect her space. I got right up to her ear so I could whisper. “Santa Claus.”
Cora giggled and covered her mouth with her hands. Then her big brown eyes landed on the box in her father’s hands. “What’s that?”
Rylen laughed and strode into the living room. “My daughter, the bloodhound. She can smell sugar a mile away.”
Cora and I exchanged a look behind her father’s back and I pumped my eyebrows. “That’s my kind of girl.”
Chapter 24
Rylen
Cora and Natalie were the dynamic duo I never expected. Cora hung on every word Natalie said, and I caught her trying to mimic the way Natalie ran her fingers through her hair on several occasions as we decorated the tree. It was beginning to look more and more like a real Christmas tree. Instead of the dollar store ornaments I’d used for the last two years—Mona took all the sentimental ones in the divorce—I’d gone out and splurged on some nice ones this year. In the coming weeks, I intended to sit down with Cora and make some of our own so we could start putting sentimental ornaments back on the tree.
I refused to let Mona take it all. If I had to start over, then so be it, but I would have all those precious memories when I was an old, whiskery, gray man. Just like Cora would look at Mona and Logan’s tree twenty years from now and smile at the memories, she would do the same with my tree.
I would make sure of it.
Cora spent the better portion of the early evening with cake stuck in the corners of her lips and icing on the tip of her nose. Natalie wiped it away with a damp cloth when we moved into the kitchen to sit down with some pizza for dinner. The tree was done. All that was left was the clean up, and we would do that before we put our Christmas movie on.
While Cora picked at her cheese pizza, she peppered Natalie with random questions, as children often did.
“What is your favorite color?” Cora asked.
“Green,” Natalie said. She pinched the fabric of her knit sweater. “This color green. It reminds me of the forest. What’s yours?”
“Pink.”
Natalie smiled knowingly. “I feel like I should have known that already.”
“What’s your favorite animal?”
Natalie pursed her lips. “Now that’s a good question. I like all animals.”
“Me too!” Cora cried. “But if I had to choose, I would choose horses.”
Natalie looked up at me and winced. “That sounds like an expensive future hobby.”
I shrugged. “I used to ride horses as a kid. They’re trustworthy. Easy to read. Big and dangerous, sure, but not if you know what you’re doing.”
Natalie turned back to Cora. “Do you want to know something crazy? I’ve never ridden a horse before. Not even once.”
Cora nibbled on her pizza crust. “Me neither. Mommy and Daddy say I’m too small.”
“Well, you won’t be small forever,” Natalie said.
Cora nodded. “Do you like Christmas?”
“I love Christmas.”
“Me too!” Cora smiled delightedly at me. “Are we still going to watch a Christmas movie?”
I nodded and began cleaning up the remnants of our pizza. “Of course we are. Let me guess, you want to watch—”
“The Grinch!” she bellowed.
“Yes, of course, The Grinch.” I chuckled. “Are you up for that, Natalie?”
Natalie nodded eagerly and professed her undying love for Jim Carrey and his version of the classic holiday movie. She helped Cora pick up all the debris from decorating the tree in the living room while I popped some popcorn and poured us all a drink. Natalie and I had wine and I poured some sparkling apple juice for Cora.
I appreciated how thoughtful it was of Natalie to bring the special drink for Cora. Sometimes, being a kid and not getting a “special drink” like the adults was hard. This way, my daughter felt included. Thought of.
It was the sexiest thing Natalie had done to date.
We settled down by the light of the tree to watch a movie. The credits rolled and Cora slid off the couch to grab her favorite blanket from the floor. She draped it over her lap, extended it across mine, and offered the far corner to Natalie, who smiled and snuggled in closer to my other side.
This was a win-win for me.
The popcorn bowl rested in my lap and both girls dove in for handfuls at a time. Their buttery fingers competed for the best pieces, and Natalie tossed a piece at Cora’s nose. It bounced off and landed in her lap. Cora giggled and tossed one back. Natalie tried to catch it in her mouth but failed.
I loved how playful she was. She struck me as someone who’d spent a lot of time around kids. She took to Cora like a natural and strove to make her laugh. They acted as if they’d known each other for ages already. There was no doubt in my mind Cora would be happy when she found out Natalie was coming to the wedding.
I wasn’t ready to share that with her yet but the time would come.
As the movie closed in on the final half hour, Cora fell asleep squished up against me. Her hand dangled over the edge of the nearly empty popcorn bowl. I paused the movie and gently extracted her from the couch and her blanket.
“I’m going to tuck her in,” I whispered to Natalie.
She got up and followed me down the hall to Cora’s bedroom. She helped me pull her blankets down so I could lower her seamlessly into the bed. I pulled the blankets back up and tucked them under her chin and around her little body.
Natalie hung back in the doorway while I ran my fingers through Cora’s hair, told her I loved her, and gave her a kiss on the forehead. After slipping into the hall, I left the door open two inches and turned to find Natalie smiling at me.
“You’re a really good dad,” she said.
“I was the second choice to you all night,” I teased.
“Only because I brought treats and sparkling apple juice.”
“Nah.” I shook my head and made my way back to the living room with Natalie on my heels. “You’re charming. She likes you. And that’s saying something because it can take her a bit of time to warm up to new people. Not you though. You two were best friends off the bat.”
“She’s easy to fall for.”
“Tell me about it,” I said as I collapsed onto the couch. “Do you know how hard it is to say no to those eyes?”
Natalie giggled and sat down beside me. “I can only imagine. She’s a very lucky little girl.”
Lucky to have a father who was too blind to see how good he had it before he lost it all? I wasn’t so sure about that. The guilt over what had happened between me and Mona still ate away at me sometimes. Yes, my ex-wife had been the one to put the nail in the coffin with her affair, but I still believed it had all started with me. Cora would always spend her holidays divided between two households because I’d been too busy at work and not present enough when I was at home.
“I’m the lucky one,” I said softly.
Natalie rested her head on my shoulder and put a hand on my chest. She played with the collar of my shirt. “Logan won’t replace you, you know.”
Her words hit me like a punch in the gut.
She looked up at me, her green eyes glittering in the light of the tree. “He won’t. Sometimes it might feel like he is, and you might be scared that she’s drifting, but Cora is a daddy’s girl, Rylen. You’re the apple of her eye and that doesn’t change because a family shifts and changes. She will always adore you. Look at this special day you created for her. This is what she’ll remember. Not the mess that came before.”
My throat felt tight and I pushed down the emotions she was bringing out of me. “It sounds like you’re speaking from experience.”