Candy Canes: A Dirty Box Set

by Angela Blake

  “Am I actually supposed to agree to that?”

  Keith stared at her in surprise. “Well, why wouldn’t you? Given our history, I think you’d agree that it’s the best way to get what we want without the chance of breaking promises.”

  “And you really think that the best way to get over our shared history is by hooking up whenever we both feel horny?”

  “It’s the best way, the only way, I think.”

  “You actually believe it,” Liesel’s mouth pressed itself into a thin line.

  “You don’t?”

  “Hell no, and honestly I don’t know how you can even proposition me like that.”

  Keith shrugged as he picked his shirt off the floor and slid it back on. “Honestly, most women I’ve been with the past few years have understood that and accepted it even.”

  Liesel slid her bra back on and slipped her shirt on over her head. “Well, I think that’s sad. You’ve given up on love.”

  Keith eyed her evenly. “You can’t seriously still believe in that, Lis.”

  Liesel walked around him and switched the lock open. “I do,” she nodded her head and gestured towards the door. “I hope you won’t let this affect our professional relationship.”

  Keith blinked as he realized he was being dismissed. “Yes, of course.”

  He straightened his back and made his way out the door. He turned around to say something, but Liesel had already shut the door behind him. He stared at the door and considered knocking, but there was nothing he could say now that would change her mind.

  He’d just have to try again later because he knew that he’d never be able to be around Liesel and be platonic.

  Chapter 4

  Liesel sighed as she rubbed her eyes as she stepped out of her car. She clicked the car closed and made her way to front doorstep.

  She placed the key in the lock, and the door swung open with a click.

  “Mummy!” A little voice yelled out as she ran towards her. Liesel scooped her up and held her close as she inhaled the scent of her baby shampoo.

  “You’re getting big, lady bug.”

  The little girl drew back and gazed at her mother with hazel eyes, eyes that were an exact replica of her father’s. Her blonde hair fell just past in her shoulders in loose ringlets, but right now it was sticking up on all ends.

  “Mummy, you’re funny.” Her little girl-Elsa-tweaked her nose and proceeded to giggle uncontrollably at the face her mother made.

  “What have you been doing, lady bug?” Liesel set her down and began to pat her hair in an attempt to get it to lay down.

  “Aunty Rachel and I were playing hide and seek.”

  Liesel gazed at Elsa, one eyebrow raised in amusement. “And where is your aunty Rachel?”

  “She’s supposed to be hiding, and I was supposed to be looking for her.” Elsa squirmed as Liesel set her down on the floor. Elsa took off like a bullet in search of her Rachel.

  Rachel Samuel was Liesel’s best friend. She was a petite blonde with a fiery attitude and fierce loyalty that made the two women as thick as thieves. They were both publicists working for different firms, and they had bonded really fast. Most of the time, they were like sisters, not best friends.

  They lived together along with Elsa, who considered Rachel family.

  Elsa emerged a while later with a triumphant smile on her face as she clutched Rachel’s sleeve, as if somehow afraid that Rachel would take off.

  “Here she is.” Elsa announced proudly as Rachel grumbled and stood before her trying to look dismayed at being caught by a five year old.

  She ran her hands over her rumpled pajamas and straightened her hair. She gave Liesel a quick grin before leaning down to pat Elsa on the head. “You definitely won that round, teddy bear, why don’t you go brush your teeth and get ready for bed? Your mum will be up in a minute to read you a story.”

  Elsa nodded eagerly before she scrambled up the stairs. Liesel watched her go in amusement before she turned to face Rachel.

  “Rough day at work?” she asked sympathetically.

  “I saw Keith today.”

  Rachel blew her hair out of her face. “Ouch, that’s tough. You okay?”

  “Let me just put Elsa to put bed, and I’ll tell you all about it.”

  “I’ll pour you a glass of wine.”

  Liesel made her way up the stairs and headed towards Elsa’s room where Elsa was already in between the covers holding up a storybook.

  Liesel smiled as she walked in and picked up the book. “Another Dr. Seuss book?”

  “Yes, mummy, he’s the best!” She slid deeper into the covers and gazed at her mother through hope filled eyes.

  Liesel’s heart melted as she sat down on a chair and flipped open the first page.

  ***

  Liesel quietly tiptoed down the stairs a while later and smiled as she noticed that Rachel had poured two glasses of wine and made some popcorn.

  “Rache, you really are the best,” Liesel sighed as she kicked off her shoes and reached for the glass of wine.

  “I know.” Rachel emerged from her room with a DVD in her hand.

  “I’ve got a selection of movies here that you can choose from, we have sappy romance, or something a little trashier, like 50 Shades of Grey.”

  “I don’t know if I’m in the mood for either to be honest.”

  Rachel set the DVDs down on the couch and made her way towards Liesel with a sympathetic smile. She tied her hair up in a high ponytail before she sat down at the kitchen counter opposite Liesel and gestured for her to start.

  Liesel sighed as she rubbed her temples in soft circular motions. “I don’t even know where to begin.”

  “Well, you ran into Elsa’s dad, that can’t have been easy.”

  “I don’t know if I’d call it running into him per say, he’s kind of my client now.”

  Rachel nearly choked on her glass of wine. “He’s your what now? Back up, how did that happen?”

  “His manager came by today, and he was talking about him, and he was like Keith blah blah, I didn’t really put the pieces together until Keith walked into my office a while later.”

  Rachel sat back. “and how did that go?”

  “How do you think it went?” Liesel shot her a wry look.

  Rachel gave her a sympathetic smile. “That bad?”

  Liesel pursed her lips for a minute. “Well, no, I suppose it could’ve gone worse. The meeting was cordial I suppose well aside from the part where he dismissed our marriage out of hand.”

  “Really? What did he say?”

  “He said, ‘we were married, now we’re not.’”

  “Bloody effing jackass.”

  “Yeah, so I tried to be professional and cordial like him, but his comment stung, you know.”

  “Of course, it did.” Rachel patted her hand consolingly. “You’re only human, and I’m not saying rehash the past, but pretending it never happened, that’s just insensitive.”

  Liesel sighed as she picked up her wine glass and moved to the couch. Rachel followed with her wine glass, and the bowl of popcorn.

  “I don’t know, Rache.” Liesel plopped onto the couch and grabbed a handful of popcorn. “Seeing him today brought up all kinds of memories for me, and even though there was a part of me that wanted to throw something at him, there was also a part of me that wanted to jump his bones.”

  “It’s a good thing you didn’t,” Rachel commented as she sloshed the wine around in her glass.

  “Well, not exactly.” Liesel squirmed uncomfortably.

  “You didn’t. Please tell me you didn’t jump his bones.” Rachel said, torn between wanting to ask for details and dismay because of their complicated history.

  “We didn’t get that far, but Rache, we almost did, and to make matters worse, I initiated it.” Liesel groaned as she placed her head in her hands.

  “How did you go from being cordial and professi
onal to nearly jumping his bones?”

  “I kissed him actually.”

  Rachel wheeled around to face Liesel. “How much have I had to drink?”

  She peered closely at the glass while Liesel laughed. “You haven’t had much to drink. I’m the one who kissed him, I don’t know what got into me, we were arguing, somehow he got under my skin-“

  “What were you arguing about?” Rachel interrupted.

  “I don’t even remember how it started, that’s usually the case with us, or it was, I guess old habits die hard.” Liesel shook her head at a particular memory that surfaced, a wistful smile appearing on her face.

  “Exes are like that.”

  “So yeah we started rehashing the past, much to my dismay.”

  “Was this before or after you kissed?”

  “It was after we made out. An intense make out session, I might add.”

  Rachel wolf whistled. “How intense?”

  “Tops and bra off intense.”

  “Both tops?”

  “Yup.”

  “Damn.” Rachel gulped down a mouthful of wine.

  “Yeah.” Liesel grabbed her glass of wine and did the same thing.

  “Look, El, do you want him back?”

  “I don’t know, Rache. Sometimes, I miss him so much, it’s hard to breathe, other times I hate him so much, I don’t want to be in the same room with him.”

  “You guys had a good relationship?”

  Liesel gave her a small smile. “it was the best. We made each other happy, we teased each other, we fought like crazy, but it didn’t matter cause we could never stay mad at each other for long.”

  “Sounds like it was a great relationship, the kind most people want.” Rachel said finally.

  “It was to me.”

  “But then why did he cheat on you?”

  “Why does anyone ever cheat?” Liesel shrugged as she put her wine glass on the table and grabbed a handful of popcorn. She popped one into her mouth and chewed thoughtfully before answering. “But it’s different now, before I only had myself to worry about, now I have Elsa to consider.”

  Comprehension dawned on Rachel’s face. “He doesn’t know, does he?”

  Liesel shook her head. “He doesn’t know, by the time I found out, we were already divorced, and it was too late, I didn’t want the person he had become in Elsa’s life. He’s her father for heaven’s sake!”

  “But maybe you should’ve told him.” Rachel said, not unkindly.

  “Perhaps back then he had the right to know, but what about right now? When Elsa is older and has a stable life. Having a dad in the NBA would change that especially given how much he’s changed.”

  “When you say changed, what exactly do you mean by that?”

  “He propositioned me.”

  One eyebrow went up as Rachel stared at her, her brown eyes reflecting the incredulity that no doubt shined forth from Liesel’s own blue orbs. “As in one of those hook up deals?”

  A laugh that sounded somewhere between a snort and a giggle escaped Liesel’s lips. “One and the same. He said that we don’t work as a couple, and that we already tried but clearly our failure to make it work was indicative of the fact that we just weren’t meant to be a couple, but that it doesn’t mean that we can’t have fun.”

  Rachel’s mouth dropped open. “He actually said that?”

  “Yeah, he even promised he wouldn’t sleep with any women the same day he’s sleeping with me.”

  Rachel snorted in disbelief. “Bastard probably thought he was being generous.”

  “I think that was his intention, yeah. Of course I let him know what I thought of that and all, and hauled him out of my office.”

  “I sense a but coming on.”

  Liesel shot her an amused look. “But he’s Elsa’s father. He and I might not be on the best of terms, and maybe we will or maybe we won’t, but either way that shouldn’t affect her relationship with her father.”

  “You’re kidding me right? Please tell me you’re joking right now.” Rachel frowned as she set her glass on the table and turned around to face Liesel. “You want that arrogant prick of a pig in your daughters life? Your daughter who is this amazing little girl with so much goodness in her heart. Why in the hell would you want her around a guy who can’t even keep it in his pants? What kind of example would you be setting?!”

  Liesel stood up and faced Rachel. She loved her for fighting for Elsa like her own daughter, she really did, but this was a decision she had been struggling with for years, pretty much since the moment she found out she was pregnant, and she didn’t know if Elsa would be as understanding when she was older. At least now she had the chance to shield Elsa from the hurt her father might inflict, but if Elsa is older then she might not have the same opportunity, and she wanted her little girl to understand.

  If she was being completely honest, she also wanted Keith to have a chance at being a father. Just cause he was a lousy man doesn’t mean he couldn’t be a good father, and she really wanted him to be, for both their sakes.

  “Rache, I love you for fighting as fiercely for Elsa as I would, but you know what, no matter how you or I feel about him, it doesn’t matter, we need to set it aside for Elsa’s sake. Just because he’s a womanizer doesn’t mean he won’t be a good father.”

  “You can’t guarantee that he will be.” Rachel said sadly as all the anger left her body.

  “You’re right, I can’t, but if there’s even a small chance that she can have both a mother and father who love her unconditionally then I have to try.”

  Rachel nodded grimly. “I’m here for you and Elsa, El, you know that.”

  Chapter 5

  Liesel walked in the next morning determined to put the whole incident with Keith behind her. She would find a private moment, today if she could, and tell him about his daughter.

  What he chose to do with that information was up to him. Either way, she would have at least tried to initiate it, and if he didn’t want anything to do with Elsa, Elsa would be none the wiser.

  She just wanted to protect her daughter.

  She went through client meetings until two when she stepped out for lunch. She checked her phone to make sure she hadn’t received any calls from Elsa’s school, and she smiled and shot Rachel a quick text letting her know that everything was fine, and that she still hadn’t told Keith.

  She wasn’t quite sure how to bring it up, to be honest.

  How does one tell their ex-husband that they have a child who is six years old, and that the only reason they kept her hidden is because they wanted to protect her?

  Liesel mused as she took a sip of her coffee as she looked both ways before crossing the street. She was in such a hurry she didn’t notice the body stop in front of her.

  She yelped in surprise as hot coffee splashed all over her shirt, and she grimaced as she began to dab it.

  “I’m so sorry, here let me help you.” A familiar voice said.

  Liesel froze as she looked up into the eyes of the man who had been occupying her thoughts since she last saw him. He was dressed in a pair of washed out jeans and shirt with a pair of sunglasses settling comfortably on his nose.

  He frowned as he tried to get the stain off but failed miserably.

  “Okay, I’m sorry. I can take that to the dry cleaners.”

  “That’s not necessary-“ Liesel began.

  Keith interrupted swiftly. “I want to. It’s the least I can do. I need to apologize for my behavior last time, and for propositioning you the way I did, I figured getting your shirt cleaned might be a good place to start.”

  Liesel relaxed visibly. “I won’t make you grovel or anything,” she teased.

  Keith smiled. “Would you like to go get another cup of coffee?”

  Liesel checked her watch and realized that she still had time before her next client.

  They made their way to the coffee shop and sat in the back a
nd talked quietly just like they used to. Liesel was surprised to find herself laughing and reminiscing about the old times.

  “Keith, I need to tell you something, but you have to promise you’ll stay quiet till the end, and please understand why I made the decision I did.”

  She began to tell him about Elsa, and why she kept her a secret. After she told him that, she told him about what an amazing little girl Elsa was, and how she hoped that they’d have a relationship.

  Keith was quiet for a really long time until finally he looked her. “I can’t say I’m happy that you hid her existence from me, but I get why you did it. That being said, I don’t want to miss any more of her life, I would love to be a part of her life, in a small way at first because I want her to adjust, but then hopefully in time, if you’ll let me, and if she wants me to, in a bigger way.”

  “That’s great, Keith, really.”

  “There’s just one more thing, but this has nothing to do with my relationship with Elsa, I hope you’ll also let me try again with you, a real shot this time. No propositioning, no fooling around.”

  “I’ll think about it.” Liesel promised.

  They finished their coffee and each went their separate ways and agreed to meet up at five in front of the office, so that Liesel could take Keith to meet Elsa.

  She finished the rest of the day in a haze and met Keith out front where he looked nervous, but excited.

  ***

  “Rache, we’re here.” Liesel called out as she gestured for Keith to come in. He stepped into the room and looked around awkwardly as Liesel dropped her bag on the floor and hung up her coat.

  “She’s in her room playing, I’m heading out for a while. I’ll see you later, El.” Rachel said as she grabbed her jacket and keys.

  “Rache, this is Keith.”

  Rachel gave him a tight smile. “I’m Liesel’s roommate and Elsa’s godmother, if you hurt either of them, I’ll hunt you down and kill you.”

  Keith laughed nervously as he gave her a weak smile. “I’ll try not to.”

  “She’s kind of scary.” Keith mumbled and Liesel laughed as they made their way up the stairs.