Page 49 of Daddy Christmas

Before long, we crossed a street and then another. The snow was falling heavier, but I didn’t hate that part. I loved snow. I just preferred not to walk around in it when I was sharing my space with honking cars and construction sites. That said, I did see light at the end of the tunnel. I glimpsed much older buildings not too far away, and if I was reading the street signs correctly, we were nearing the city center.

“Did you know Luxembourg is famous for its gorges?” he asked.

I rubbed my nose. “No, sir.”

“There’s one up ahead here.” He grabbed my hand again, and we crossed another street. I tried to see what he was seeing, but it was getting dark. There was a patch of nothingness, so that had to be it. I spotted a stone wall along the sidewalk we were aiming for—oh! Across the valley or whatever, there was a big castle up on a mountain! And a really tall bridge that looked old.

Daddy ushered me over to the wall, and I planted my hands on it and peered out. Holy crap—yeah, a gorge. It was beautiful. The sides were lined with tall trees and bushes, but the center was a part of the city. A neighborhood buried at the bottom of the gorge, with old buildings and narrow streets.

“This is cool!” I pulled out my phone to take a couple pictures.

I’d never seen anything like it.

I turned around to take a selfie with the gorge in the background, and then I grabbed Daddy’s hand. “Let’s take a photo together.”

He dipped down and kissed my cheek, and it made me smile like a dork as I took the picture. I had to look. I pinched the screen and zoomed in, and just like that, I was reenergized.

Like, what was wrong with me? I was in a beautiful city with the man I was falling in love with, and I was bitching about being tired?

We looked so good together. He had a soft smile on his face as he kissed my cheek in the picture, and my grin was as silly as it always was. His fancy coat and neatly wavy hair with silver in it against my parka, bright-green beanie, and dorky smile.

I glanced up at him, finding him watching me already.

He better be falling for me too.

Or I’d spank him.

“Let’s go. We have someplace to be.” He offered me his arm again.

* * *

When we reached the heart of the city, I felt so much better. It was Christmas here! Old buildings, pretty lights, shoppers, and cozy cafés warmed me up in the snowfall. We passed a cobblestone square with a giant tree that ignited my holiday spirit, and I was now a fan of Luxembourg.

I wanted to come back.

“Are we going to a restaurant?” I asked.

“Eventually,” he replied vaguely. “To be honest, the restaurant at the hotel is really good, so I was thinking we could eat there. But first—” He nodded toward a narrow alley between two buildings. “I’m going to treat my boy to the best hot chocolate he’ll ever have outside Paris.”

Oh. I loved hot chocolate. It was a favorite of mine!

“Will you be speaking French?” I asked. “Because that was seriously sexy. You were all oh, vou-vou, mon chi fair au lau bon!”

Daddy coughed a laugh and stared at me, bewildered.

“That’s what you sounded like!” I laughed too, unable to help it.

He pulled me close and chuckled. “I have no words for how delightful you are, sweetheart.”

He wasn’t wrong. I was delightful.

A couple minutes later, we arrived at a corner café that was decorated in tons of pastel colors. Ladurée—sure sounded French. Oh, it actually said Paris on the window. And some other cities.

We walked inside, and I was immediately met by a wall of sweet treats. Macarons had to be their specialty, but they had other goodies too. Jams and fudge and tea and stuff.

Daddy got us a table, and he pulled out my chair for me. The place wasn’t big, but it was popular.

As I shrugged out of my jacket, he went French on me and ordered for us, and I filed that away for tonight. Maybe he could do French dirty talk!

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