Page 5 of A Very Daddy Christmas

Dario still isn’t having it. “I wanna go now!”

“I know, sweetie, but if I let you taste some of my cookies first, will you wait a bit?”

“Cookies?” His eyes sparkle.

“The magic word,” Waylan mumbles.

Sebastian offers me a soft smile. “You’d do that for us, Cora?”

“Well, not just for you. For him too.” I nod at Dario. “And I’ll admit, for me, as well. I need the distraction. I know I’m technically a stranger, but I’m fairly good with kids. I’ve successfully babysat my two nieces numerous times with no memorable incidents or trips to the hospital. Both are alive and well, might I add.”

“Is this your stall?” Waylan asks. He nods at the display boxes, pastries, and the colorful sign mounted with my father’s name written in elegant, French-style swirls of white on wooden brown. “Levine Bakery. I know that place.”

“Yeah, pretty sure you brought us some stuff from there once,” Riggs tells him.

“Family business,” I reply. “Cora Levine.”

“Well then, tell you what, Cora Levine,” Sebastian states. “If you’re kind enough to take care of Dario while we meet with our client, we’ll gladly and wholeheartedly reward you for it.”

“A nice Christmas pre-order would do wonders,” I shoot back with a grin. “You three go do your thing. Dario and I will be right here when you’re done.”

“Stay with Cora, and I promise we’ll visit Santa in just a bit,” Waylan gently tells Dario.

The kid’s about to protest, but I gently pull him away and back to the cookie display. “Hey, little man, pick your favorite.” I briefly glance back at the guys and mouth, “Go, go!” before turning back to Dario. “I’ve got apple and cinnamon, chocolate and peanut butter, white chocolate and raspberries. What’ll it be?”

“And then Santa?” Dario looks up at me with tired eyes.

“And then Santa.”

Ten minutes later, Dario is out like a light, sleeping in a chair behind the stall’s generous counter, while I wrap a few orders for customers. I manage to hand out a couple of business cards for catering events too, but every time I’m left alone with my thoughts, a sense of impending doom takes over. I look at Dario and find comfort in his slow, even breaths, wondering what happened that caused him to be placed in the care of Sebastian, Waylan, and Riggs.

I want to know more about them, too.

“Oh, wow,” Waylan says, startling me out of my thoughts. “He’s asleep.”

The gentlemen are back, looking lighter and infinitely more relaxed. They are pleased to see their small charge wrapped inmy coat, counting sheep in a faraway land.

“How did you get him to do that?” Riggs asks, keeping his voice down.

“I gave him a good sugar crash,” I reply. “He may be too young to understand the concept of a bribe, but he sure does appreciate my chocolate and peanut butter cookies.”

“You’re amazing,” Sebastian says. “And thank you so much. You made the whole day ten times easier.”

“I’m glad.” I sigh, the weight of my woes becoming increasingly harder to hold inside. “How’d the meeting go?”

Sebastian nods, visibly pleased with the outcome. “We’ve got a massive campaign to roll out before Christmas, apparently,” he says. “Which is going to be tricky since Christmas is barely three months away.”

“Glad it worked out for you,” I manage, knots tightening in my stomach.

I keep looking at the kid, thinking that if we lose the bakery, absolutely everything I want to achieve will be pushed back. Will I ever have a family of my own? A successful business? My career will fall apart. I can’t work at another pastry shop. Our bakery is the only one I’ve ever known. It’s my life, my livelihood. How could Orson do such a horrible thing so close to Christmas?

“Cora, are you alright?” Sebastian asks, inching closer, snapping me out of my reverie.

Waylan cautiously moves around me and picks Dario up. The kid wakes as he’s lifted and greets Waylan with a bright smile. “Hi, Uncle Waylan.”

I’m engulfed in a plethora of emotions and I don’t quite know how to manage them all. The mask I’ve been wearing since Orson’s brutal visit is starting to crack, and I can’t hold on to it for much longer.

“Listen,” Sebastian says, placing a hand on my shoulder. “We’ll take Dario to Santa’s Workshop and then we’ll come back.”

---