Page 85 of Not A Chance

Now, it was my turn to laugh. “Um, affection?”

She pointed to Theo. “You. See if you can do something with them before Dad gets home.” She jabbed a finger in Chase and Liam’s direction.

Their mutual laugh-a-thon now calmed into quiet snickering every time they looked at a new way Emery had covered herself in paint.

I smiled at her as she went back toward the stairs that led to thesecond floor.

Theo brought my attention back to the twins. “What were you two fighting about?”

They looked at each other and replied, “I don’t remember,” in sync before bursting out laughing again.

“Well, I guess it wasn’t too serious, then,” he said, dismissing them to turn to me. “Wanna see my room?” He winked salaciously.

Christmas morning had me awake long before dawn. I was still operating on Toronto time.

It was surprising because I’d been drowsily content for the entirety of Christmas Eve, barely able to keep my eyes open after way too many fried foods. It wasn’t my fault that sweet-and-sour chicken balls were my favorite, as blasphemous as they were to proper Chinese cuisine.

Christmas Day had always been the main attraction around here, what with Joe’s obligations at the college and Alice’s research deadlines. It had always been Chinese food for dinner, as traditional as Alice could find in San Jose, and last night showed that the ritual continued.

There was a bittersweet tension to the dinner table by the time Joe made it home just before 6:00 p.m. He’d obviously been expecting my presence, too, since I was just one of five who got called to help with the takeout bags he brought home. He’d waited until I had my arms full to give me a side squeeze.

At six five, Joe had to lean down to give me what reminded me of a “goodjob, sport” kind of hug. It reminded me of when coaches congratulated their players after a good game. With the way he messed up my hair with a gentle pat on the head, I was glad he remembered I wasn’t wearing a football helmet.

“Good to see you, Indie. It’s been too long.” He gave me a meaningful look that had my face warming slightly. Joe Miller was a pretty excellent bullshit detector. I guess he had to be with children like Chase and Liam.

“I know, Joe. I’m really glad to be here.” I shrugged in a helpless you’ve-got-me-there kind of gesture without being completely transparent about the embarrassment that had kept me away all these years.

“Well, we’reallglad to have you here. You’re family, you know that.” His words made my breath catch in my throat. I focused on not choking and remembering how to move air in and out of my lungs. “We all think that too.”

He gave me another knowing look that dared me to disagree with him, even in my own mind. I felt so seen that I wondered if this was what it felt like when you had a parent who really saw you for who you are.

The longer he waited patiently for my response, the more I felt like I should confess that I kissed his son out of nowhere at nineteen. And maybe tried smoking a cigarette as a high school freshman during my brief grunge phase when I tried to befriend the skaters at school. Shit, maybe even my first sip of vodka from his very own liquor cabinet at sixteen that hisdaughterserved me, followed by us refilling the bottle to its previous volume with tap water.

“Thank you, Joe. I don’t… I can’t say what…” My words tripped over each other.

“I understand, Indie. Don’t worry.” Did he? I could barely process the impact his words had on my worldview. “Let’s just make sure this is back to a yearly thing, hmm? Theo is a lucky man. I’ll make sure he knows it. Alice would have been thrilled.” His voice became rough when hementioned his late wife, making my heart squeeze tightly.

I couldn’t deny how incredible it felt to know that he gave me his approval before even talking to Theo about it. I heard his monthly calls with his dad, and they mostly talked sports stats and player trades.

He added one last gem before I could reply. “God knows, we’re going to have to work hard enough to keep the twins from sending you screaming from the house with their shenanigans. At least Theo and Emery are here to balance things out.” His voice was much quieter than before.

“I heard that!” came two deep voices simultaneously from the den. Joe hefted the biggest bag of food in his arm and cocked his eyebrow in a “see what I mean?” kind of expression.

I woke up before 5:00 a.m. Unable to go back to sleep, I stared into the darkness above me for another forty-five minutes, lying as still as possible so as not to wake Theo. Stir-crazy, I rolled out of bed as stealthily as possible. It wasn’t an easy task, seeing as I was sleeping with a six-foot, built professional hockey player in his teenage double bed. There hadn’t been a single moment of the night where our skin wasn’t pressed against each other.

I had managed to creep downstairs without making any noise. Now, I stood in the kitchen, eyeing their fairly sophisticated coffee machine. The cupboard above it held bags of actual coffee beans. Did I have to figure out how to grind the beans before figuring out how to make the coffee brew?

I now regretted my daily choice to buy coffee on my way to work since the beginning of forever. I opened a few more cabinet doors, hoping to find some sort of pre-ground coffee. Hell, I would even take instant crystals right now.

Shit. Maybe I’ll just pour six glasses of orange juice and call it a day.

I was bent over, rifling through the lower cupboards, when a deep voice had me startling.

“Rocky.” Thankfully, my knees gave out in surprise rather than my head swinging upward and dropped to the floor with the grace of a tangled-up baby flamingo.

I leaned my shoulder against the frame of the cabinet and turned my head to look up at my boyfriend, who had just scared the crap out of me.

“Shit. Sorry.” Theo took long strides across the kitchen, reaching out his arms to scoop me up and set me back on my feet. “I thought you heard me come down.” A slightly bashful look took over his gorgeous features. His hair, now longer than his ears due to the fact that he didn’t cut it during the season “for luck,” was sticking up in all different directions.

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