Page 140 of Strictly the Worst

Before I can say anything else, Linc swings me into his arms, his mouth pressing against mine as Zoe lets out a whoop. His kiss is soft, and I can feel his lips curling into a smile beneath mine.

“Thank God,” he says. “Now let’s go home.”

“To whose home?” Zoe asks. “Yours or ours.”

He reaches out to ruffle her hair. “Same thing, kid. Same thing.”

EPILOGUE

TESSA

Later that year…

Mariah Carey’s voice echoes through the apartment, promising that she doesn’t want a lot for Christmas, as I slowly blink my eyes awake. The bed is empty apart from me, and I roll over to look at the time.

Damn, it’s nine o’clock. And there’s so much I need to do. I sit bolt upright. How the hell did I sleep through my alarm?

When I get downstairs I see two familiar heads facing the television. There’s some kind of air fight going on between dragons, and Zoe groans as one of them dies and falls down to the ground.

“That’s not fair, I taught you that move,” she says.

“You snooze you lose,” Linc tells her, putting down the controller. “Alright, it’s time to wake up your mom.”

“One more game,” Zoe says. “Please?”

“You can keep playing,” I tell them. “I’ll make the coffee.”

On hearing my voice, Linc turns around to look at me. His hair is mussed up, and he’s wearing the t-shirt that Zoe bought him with ‘Bonus Dad’ written across the front. We opened our gifts yesterday on Christmas Eve – European style, as Linc called it – because Jared will be picking Zoe up any minute and taking her to his folks’ house for a few days.

It's been four months since Zoe and I moved in. We reached a good rhythm fairly quickly. Linc and I share most of the chores, though he insists on keeping his cleaner which I insisted on paying half for.

We all take turns cooking. Even Zoe’s learned how to make a few mean pasta dishes.

And he’s even gotten used to dealing with Zoe’s hormones. And mine, too, when it comes to that. Our periods are pretty much in sync these days, so when one of us begins I tend to send him an SOS.

And he comes home with bags of candy and comic books for Zoe. Plus cannolis for me.

I make sure he knows how much we appreciate him.

Since Zoe’s going to be gone for a week, Linc and I decided to take time off work and enjoy a short vacation. Just the two of us. Our bags are packed and we’re due to leave at lunchtime. I’m so excited for some alone time with him it’s not funny.

I start up the coffee machine, putting in an espresso pod for Linc, followed by a decaf one for me. Then I froth up the milk while I watch Linc let himself get beaten by Zoe.

I love the way he only does it occasionally. He never lets her win all the time, but he always seems to know when it’s the right moment to step back.

Watching the man I love be the sweetest step dad to my daughter makes everything inside me ache in the sweetest of ways.

We eat breakfast and then I send Zoe to grab her bags. The buzzer rings right as she’s leaving her bedroom. Through the crack in her door I can see it’s a typical teenage mess. When she’s back from her trip I’ll make her tidy it up, but for now I’m choosing my battles.

“Come here,” I say to Zoe, as Linc goes to open the door to Jared. They’re not exactly friends but they tolerate each other for Zoe’s sake. I hug her tightly, pulling her against me. “Be good,” I tell her. “And have fun.”

“I’d rather be coming with you,” she grumbles.

“No you wouldn’t. There’s going to be a lot of PDA going on.”

Public Displays of Affection. The teenager’s worst nightmare.

“Ugh.” She looks up at me. “Thank you for a great Christmas.”

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