Page 21 of Love Without Demands

“That big ole man looks like he could snap my spine in half, and I’m here for it,” he shot back, his eyes still on Cruz.

“He is really hot,” Nic said quietly.

Cruz Estrada was dressed more casually than I’d ever seen him, and he had a bit of scruff on his normally clean-shaven face. It still allowed those damn dimples to show through, while also giving him a more rugged look.

He was wearing a forest-green cable-knit sweater and faded jeans that fit in all the right places. His only concession to the freezing weather was a black jacket and gloves.

The little girl, on the other hand, was bundled up like she was hiking to Antarctica. Her coat was poofy and made her look like an adorable blueberry. The hood was pulled over her head with a ring of white fur framing her cherub’s face.

Every few steps, she’d stop and hop a few times, obviously fascinated with her own footsteps in the snow. Her uncle stopped and let her do her thing each time with the utmost patience.

They finally reached us, and Cruz flashed me a big grin. “Hey, Lehra.”

“Heyyyy, you,” I said, avoiding the use of his name. “These are my friends, Nicolette and Artie. Guys, this is… Mr. Estrada.”

I know, I know. I had to at least try.

Cruz looked at me strangely before holding out his hand to shake Artie’s and Nicolette’s. “You can call me Cruz.”

I refused to look at my friends, but I could literally feel their eyes shift to me.Dammit.

“Cruz? That’s a nice name,” Artie drawled, and I wanted to find a snowdrift and bury myself in it.

“Thanks. And this is my niece, Noelle.”

Ignoring the amused glances from my friends, I squatted down and smiled at the little girl. She was absolutely precious with her baby face and what looked like dark curls peeking out from the fuzzy hood.

“Hi, Noelle. I’m Lehra. Are you ready to play in the snow?”

She pressed her lips together and nodded bashfully, her brown eyes bright and playful. It didn’t take long for that shyness to wear off. Within minutes, Noelle was giggling happily, tossing handfuls of snow at Artie, who delighted her by falling to the ground each time with the most drama he could muster.

All of us made snow angels and then ran around like kids, hiding from flying snowballs we threw at each other. “Ceasefire,” I finally called from behind a tree. “I need hot chocolate.”

Cruz tirelessly continued chasing his niece around while the other three adults went to the nearby food truck for cocoa and cookies for all of us.

“Someone’s been gatekeeping the hottie,” Artie chastised after we placed our order.

“I have not!” I insisted. “I only met him about a month ago, and this is the only time I’ve seen him outside a work situation.”

“Hmmm,” he hummed, glancing back to see Cruz pretending to search for Noelle, who was giggling at him from behind a bush. “I’d like to have a work situation with that man. I wonder if he dabbles in the ways of sphincterism?”

Nic and I screamed out a laugh, and she bumped Artie with her shoulder. “You are deranged, mister. Besides, my gaydar is not picking up a signal. I think Cruz needs a lady science nerd in his life.” She gave a fake toss of her hair because, of course, her dark locks were pulled back into a low bun beneath her charcoal-gray beanie.

Artie directed an arched eyebrow at me. “Is Blue Eyes single?”

“I have no idea. He hasn’t mentioned a girlfriend.”

As we were walking back, we found a crying Noelle with Cruz kneeling next to her. We stopped and watched the interaction.

“I losed my glove and m-my hand is c-c-cold, Uncle Cooz.”

I heard muttering and turned to Nicolette, who had her eyes closed and was chanting. “You’re too young, and you don’t have a husband. You’re too young, and you don’t have a husband.”

“What are you saying that for?” I asked in confusion.

“I’m trying to talk myself out of getting knocked up and having a little cutie of my own. Dear god, she is adorable. Uncle Cooz? Gahhh!”

As we watched, Uncle Cooz took his niece’s tiny hand in his big ones and lowered his head to blow warm air against her pink fingers. “There. Is that better, baby girl?” Then he tucked her hand inside the neck of his sweater to lie against his skin.

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