Add Romance and Mix

by Shannon M Harris

  “All right. I love you.”

  “I love you, too. Now go.”

  An hour later, Briley was dressed. She opted for a pair of charcoal gray trousers and cream sleeveless V-neck silk blouse. She’d told Leah to dress up, though she wasn’t sure she was prepared for seeing her. She lifted her phone when a text message came through from Evan giving her a thumb’s up.

  It was time.

  With a spring in her step, she grabbed the red rose off the kitchen counter and made her way to Leah’s front door. “I can do this.” Before she could lift a hand to knock, the door was opened. It took her a minute to remember to breathe when she got her first look at Leah. “Hi.”

  “Hi.”

  The deep blue knee length sleeveless sheath dress with a plunging neckline that Leah wore set her heart racing. Her hair was down and a locket lay around her neck.

  “This is for you.” Briley handed over the flower.

  “Come in while I put this in water.” Leah took the red rose and smelled it.

  Evan waved at her from the couch. “Have fun, but not too much fun.”

  “We’ll try.”

  Leah kissed Evan bye, grabbed her shawl, and followed Briley out the front door.

  “You look amazing,” Briley said, opening the truck door for her. “You’re always beautiful to me, but.” She shook her head. “Wow.”

  Leah cupped her cheek. “You look nice as well. I love that outfit.” She ran her fingers along Briley’s bare arm, causing goose bumps to pop up along the flesh.

  “I…Yes.” Briley felt the heat of a blush. “We should go. I made reservations.”

  “Okay.”

  Briley didn’t know why she was so nervous. It was just Leah. Her Leah. The woman she was in love with. She gave herself a pep talk before climbing in the truck. As soon as she clipped her seatbelt, she received a text message from Kat.

  You’ve already got the girl. Calm down.

  She took a deep breath, then turned to Leah. Kat was right. “I’m happy you’re with me.” She lifted Leah’s hand and kissed the knuckles.

  “I feel the same way. There is no reason to be nervous, Briley. It’s just us.”

  Twenty minutes later, Briley pulled into the parking lot of A Midnight Tale, one of a handful of five star restaurants in Garriety.

  Leah grabbed her arm. “Do I need to ask how you got reservations here? I heard they needed to be made months in advance.”

  Briley smiled coyly. “I called in a favor.”

  “Do I want to know how many favors people owe you?”

  “After tonight? None.”

  A slow smile graced Leah’s lips. “You called in all your favors for our date? I hope it’s worth it.”

  “You will always be worth it.”

  After they were seated, and drinks ordered, Briley reached across the table and held Leah’s hand. “I can do fancy.”

  “That you can. I enjoy our time together so much.” Leah unfolded her napkin and placed it on her lap.

  “I’m glad.,” Briley said.

  “I also enjoy our time as a family and am looking forward to our fishing trip tomorrow.”

  “It’s going to be great. I have a gift for you in the truck.”

  “What do you have planned? I can see the wheels turning in your head,” Leah said.

  “Dinner is only the beginning. Next is dessert and a special treat. One I hope you will enjoy.”

  Leah laced their fingers together. “Now you have me intrigued. A special treat like last night?”

  A blush raced up Briley’s neck. “Not exactly, but that can certainly be put in the game plan.” She winked.

  “Dork.” Leah pulled her hand back when their drinks were delivered.

  “Are you ladies ready to order?” The waiter asked.

  After a spot of back and forth, Briley decided on the grilled lamb with roasted asparagus and mashed sweet potatoes, and Leah opted for the filet mignon with garlic roasted potatoes and sautéed green beans.

  “What’s on your mind, Briley?”

  Briley fidgeted with her glass of wine. “I thought about being with you. How it would be. What we’d talk about. Just everyday things.”

  “I’ve thought of you as well. I hope I’ve lived up to your expectations.”

  “No.” She shook her head. “You’ve far exceeded them. The fantasy doesn’t hold a candle to reality.”

  Leah grinned. “I had set a plan in motion to talk to you, but could not get myself to carry through with it. I’d see you running a few times a week and see you out and about, but never in a million years would I have expected this. It blows my mind sometimes. The fact that you want me.”

  “I don’t think I’ll ever stop wanting you. If this is a dream, I don’t want to wake up.” Briley took a deep breath. “There is something I’ve been wondering about. Things changed for us after the toy convention.”

  Leah got a knowing smile on her face. “It did.”

  “Why?”

  “Do you remember Captain America?”

  Briley scowled, but softened when Leah squeezed her hand. “How could I forget?”

  “Don’t be so quick to judge, Briley. She told me that she knew my interests were elsewhere and she told me life was too short not to take chances. That’s one of the reasons she came up to me to begin with. I took her advice.”

  “She gave you the push you needed?” That was not what she had expected.

  “She did, yes.”

  Briley picked up Leah’s hand. “Well, then, I’m grateful for her push. Though, we would have made it here eventually.”

  “Eventually, yes.”

  The waiter setting their food down interrupted them. He filled their wine glasses and walked off. Briley really had promised herself no more heavy or emotional talks, but that had failed. Time to bring things back down. “How is your steak?”

  “The best I’ve ever had.”

  “Wait until you try Kat’s. She is a master at grilling.” They were both content to share casual conversation for the rest of dinner, and when the waiter brought the dessert menu, Briley waved him off.

  “No dessert?” Leah asked.

  “Not here. All part of the plan.” Briley paid the bill and offered her arm to Leah, who took it.

  When Leah was seated in the truck, Briley took a package out of the back seat, then set it down beside her. “I know you enjoy photography, but when you showed me your collection, I didn’t see one of these. I know this is a newer model, but when I was younger, I always enjoyed using it. I know we normally take pictures with our phone, but I thought this would be fun. I think Griffin will enjoy it and it’s all ready to go.” She handed over the bag.

  Leah pulled a Polaroid camera out. “Oh, darling, this is wonderful.” She then turned to Briley. “Smile.” She lifted the camera and snapped a picture. When the picture came out, she shook it to dry it, and laid it on the dashboard. Briley made a gimme motion for the camera, then took Leah’s photo, and one of them together. “This is fantastic, Briley. I had one years ago, and have been meaning to get a new one, but never got around to it.”

  “I figured we could buy a few photo albums and put all the pictures in. You know,” she rubbed her neck. “Of all of us.”

  Leah grasped Briley’s neck and kissed her. “You’re amazing. I don’t know what I did to deserve someone like you in my life.”

  “You moved next door to me.”

  There was a look of awe on Leah’s face. “I did, yes.”

  “It’s only 8:19, and our next destination closes at ten. Still plenty of time to make it.” Fifteen minutes later, they pulled up in front of C and C, Garriety’s largest chocolate and candy store.

  “Is the chocolate as good as I think it is?” Leah asked.

  “Even better.” Briley led her into the store, but bypassed the candy section and guided her into the chocolate portion of the store. The sheer amount of chocolate available was overwhelming.

  Leah smiled. “Do you have
something in mind? I’m sure you did when you brought me here.”

  “I do. You just stand there and browse, while I get our chocolate.” Briley walked up to the counter and smiled at the girl behind it. “Can I get a twenty-piece sampling?”

  “Which ones?” the girl asked.

  “You pick.”

  The girl’s eyes lit up. “No allergies?”

  “None.” Briley walked to Leah. “I was going to get some for the kids. I don’t know what they’d like but you can pick them out some.”

  Leah gave her a quick kiss on the lips. “All right.”

  With Leah’s items in hand, Briley paid for their order and not twenty minutes later, they were on to their next destination. “I wasn’t sure about this last place and I hope you like it.”

  “I’m sure I will. Tonight has been wonderful.”

  When Briley pulled into an alley, Leah frowned but didn’t say anything. As the truck left the alley, and pulled into an empty parking lot, save for one car, Briley knew Leah had questions. She put the truck in park and turned it off.

  “What are we doing at the astronomy center? I didn’t think it was open yet.” Leah took off her seatbelt and turned to Briley.

  “It’s not. I helped the manager get a house and I asked him if we could get a sneak peek.”

  Leah’s eyes widened. “Are you serious?”

  “Yes.”

  “What are we waiting for?”

  “Let’s go.” Briley grabbed their bag from C and C and a backpack from the back seat. She laced her fingers with Leah’s and slid a key card into the slot on the door. It clicked and Briley led Leah in. Before the door shut behind them, a man was walking up to them.

  “Good evening, Briley, and you must be Leah.”

  “It’s nice to meet you,” Leah said.

  “You as well. I’m Harold and I will give you a tour, then leave you to it, Briley.”

  “Sounds good.”

  The building was state of the art, costing nearly twenty million dollars to build, and was set to open next month. It was steel, and glass, with dozens of interactive activities. Briley would have loved to have seen the planetarium, but that wasn’t on the agenda tonight. She knew Leah wanted to explore, but they had a destination in mind.

  Harold stopped at a door that led onto a large observations deck equipped with over a dozen telescopes. “I’ll leave you two to it. Briley, you have two hours.”

  “Thanks, Harold.” She pulled Leah onto the deck and set her bags on a bench. “How am I doing so far?”

  “This is wonderful.” Leah beamed. “Can we look through them?”

  “Yes. The five in the middle are computerized and set to track and stay fixed on a celestial object, but the other ten we can adjust and explore.” Briley had never seen Leah so excited before and vowed to bring her and the kids here when it opened. Harold had already promised her tickets to the grand opening. Briley watched Leah look through the lens of the nearest computerized scope. How had she gotten so lucky?

  An hour later, Briley laid a blanket on the floor by the wall, and helped Leah down before joining her. From their vantage point, they could see the star splattered night sky.

  Leah snuggled into her side. “I didn’t expect this, darling.”

  “So, my powers to woo are still intact?”

  “Your wooing powers are definitely intact.”

  Briley wrapped her arms around her. “I wanted to do something special for us.”

  “You’ve succeeded.”

  “I know I’ve said it before, but I’ll keep saying it. I’m not going anywhere. You’re stuck with me. I’ve gorilla glued our hearts together.” Briley made a heart with her fingers.

  Leah’s chuckle quickly turned into a full-blown laugh, which Briley shared. Briley stopped laughing when Leah cupped her cheeks.

  “I love you.” Leah’s voice was hoarse with emotion.

  Briley closed her eyes and concentrated on her breathing. It felt like her heart was going to beat out of her chest. Her eyes flew open when Leah placed a hand over her heart. Briley brushed the hand away, pulled Leah into her arms, and peppered kisses along her neck. Leah had often told her she loved her since the first time she said it, but something felt different about tonight.

  “I don’t think I’ve ever left you speechless before,” Leah said.

  Briley closed her eyes again. “Every time you walk into the room you leave me speechless.”

  “I love you, Briley.

  “Say it one more time.” Briley grinned into Leah’s neck.

  “I love you.” No matter what the future held, one thing was for certain—the risk was definitely worth the reward.

  Epilogue

  Briley hummed, adjusted her cap, then proceeded to staple the last of the Christmas lights along the porch. This was the last item on their to-do list for decorating the house. She and Evan had been out all morning, and he held the ladder steady on the ground for her.

  They’d been working on the house and yard for the better part of five weeks, and she was finally happy with the way things were turning out. Multi-colored lights ran in straight lines along every available surface of the front on the house and the porch.

  Griffin had picked out an inflatable Santa, reindeers, and sled that adorned the roof. Then Evan had the bright idea to turn the roof into a landing strip for the sled and had an elf directing it with a light. Briley hadn’t been sure about it, but had admitted when it was up that it looked good. Dozens of snowmen, reindeer, ornaments, and elves that were made from wood pallets and painted accordingly littered the yard. One weekend, they’d made it a project.

  Solar candy canes lined the walkway into the house and the driveway. Briley and Evan had debated for a week on what color to wrap around the big oak tree in the corner of the front yard. When they still couldn’t make up their mind, Leah wrote all their choices on paper, threw them into a hat, and had Griffin choose. You could see the red from two blocks away.

  After carefully climbing down the ladder, Evan high-fived her.

  “This is awesome,” he said.

  “I know.” She rubbed her hands together, and they both turned to the house next door. Briley had to admit Leah had done a good job. Mr. Balkin’s decorations were placed in several sites in the yard, illuminated with spotlights. White Christmas lights outlined the windows and door on the front of the house. Red and green lights circled around the pillars on the porch and a large wreath that they had all made one weekend stood proud on the front door. Everything was subtle, but packed a punch. It was well done.

  “Mom did a good job.”

  “She’s good at everything.”

  He rolled his eyes. “You’re only saying that because you love her.”

  “Touché.”

  She smiled when Evan pointed behind them, and they both turned and walked to the sidewalk. What used to be Mr. Balkin’s house was decorated to the nines. Kat had gotten tons of decorating input from Mrs. Hanlin and Briley hoped that wouldn’t give her an edge in the competition.

  Several themes were scattered throughout the front yard. On one side was Santa’s land, complete with Santa, Ms. Claus, and Rudolph. On the other side of the house was elf valley. Various elves were making toys, while others were climbing up a ladder that leaned against the house, putting up lights. In the center of the yard was Frosty and family. Multi colored lights covered the house and the roof. If she wasn’t so sure of her and Evan’s abilities, she would have been worried.

  Kat had settled in well and Briley loved having her just across the street from her. Kat grinned and turned her back on them so she and Griffin could finish their project. Ever since Kat had bought a pet ferret, she had quickly become Griffin’s favorite person.

  “I don’t know why you two continue to stare at Kat’s house,” Leah said from behind them. Briley jumped at her voice, then relaxed when Leah slipped an arm around each of their waists and pulled them close.

  “It looks good,” Evan said, trying f
or cheerful, but it fell flat.

  “It does,” Leah agreed. “But, so does ours.”

  Briley continued to watch Kat and Griffin, then shook herself out of her thoughts and turned to Evan. “But, we have a secret weapon.” She fist bumped Evan.

  Leah groaned. “What have you two done now?” She took a step away from them and crossed her arms. She would have cut more of an intimidating pose if she hadn’t been bundled in her coat, scarf, and green hat that was designed to look like a Christmas tree, down to the star on top.

  Evan had picked hats out for all of them the previous week on a shopping trip at the mall. Briley and Griffin had been on board from the start, but Leah had taken a little convincing. She eventually gave in when Evan had chosen an elf hat for himself and Briley got designated the reindeer one and Griffin the snowman one. He’d even bought a Santa hat for Kat and a miniature one for Jackson, the Yorkie he had picked out from the shelter for his birthday. What sealed the deal was the hat designed to look like a tree they had bought for Stripes, Kat’s ferret.

  For the last several months, Griffin had been obsessed with kittens, but had warmed up to Jackson and Stripes. What Griffin didn’t know was that Briley had picked up a kitten from a neighbor a few houses down a couple of weeks ago, with Leah’s permission, and was letting her interact with Jackson and Stripes daily at her house, to get them used to each other. It was one of Griffin’s Christmas presents. It was a tough decision, but once she and Leah saw how careful Griffin was with Jackson and Stripes, they decided to go for it. And if all else failed, Briley had already fallen in love with the kitten, so she would claim her.

  “It’s all good, Mom.” Evan kissed her on the cheek.

  “Yes, it’s all good, tiny.” Briley grinned and kissed the other cheek.

  Leah didn’t look convinced. “What have you two done?”

  Briley bounced on her feet. She couldn’t help it. Christmas was her favorite holiday. “All the lights on the house are synchronized to Jingle Bells.” They’d tried to synchronize all the lights on the property, but came up short. It was still a win in her mind anyway.

  “It’s so cool,” Evan said, grinning.