Page 146 of Dancing in the Rain

Another one was a ballet dancer that had been given to Chloe one year, which they also hung with care. And he’d gone out and bought a few new ones, some of which they hadn’t seen.

Peyton opened the small box and pulled out her ornament. “A bottle of wine,” she said approvingly, lifting the delicate glass by its ribbon. She smiled at Drew. “Thank you.”

Chloe giggled when she pulled out a shark hanging from a red ribbon. “I love it.”

“I didn’t get you an ornament,” Peyton said, handing Drew a small wrapped box. “And I feel like this is way too small of a gift. I actually bought it last week…before…”

“I have exactly what I want.” He took the box and met her eyes in shared agreement. He bent his head and opened it to pull out a coffee mug, painted with the words “Best. Dad. Ever.”

He stared at the mug, head down, throat thick. Then he sucked in air and looked up at her. “Best. Gift. Ever.”

The warmth in her smile made his chest hurt.

They finished with the gifts. His parents spoiled Chloe with books and a Bluetooth speaker for her room and a couple of videogames.

Instead of another turkey, they were cooking a prime rib roast for Christmas dinner. He approved of this as a new tradition.

The day passed with an afternoon walk in the snow, videogames, and lots of laughter. When Mom said grace before dinner, they bowed their heads.

“For good food and those who prepare it, for good friends with whom to share it, we thank you, Lord. And let us remember those who are not here and thank you for the time we had with them. Amen.”

Drew watched Peyton’s lower lip tremble and Chloe’s rapid blinking as they, too, said, “Amen.”

He met his mom’s eyes.

“And I don’t mean Christy,” Mom said.

Drew’s eyes popped wide open, then he slid a glance sideways to Peyton. She bit her lip, now looking like she wanted to laugh.

“Jesus, Mom.”

Unrepentant, she picked up a big bowl of salad. “It’s true.”

“They had no passion,” Chloe said. “That was their problem.”

Drew bugged his eyes out at his daughter, then shook his head. “Okay, it’s true.”

Not a problem he and Peyton had. He caught her knowing smirk as he handed her the platter of beef.

“Peyton, tell us more about this business you’re starting,” Dad invited her.

She’d filled Drewtt in on the plans she and her friends were making. It sounded fantastic. He had total faith in her that she would succeed at this. The fact that they were both going through a similar process of trying to build a business connected them, and they’d talked for hours, bouncing ideas off each other and problem-solving. Until her smart brain made him hot for her sexy body and he carried her up to bed.

Now Mom and Dad seemed equally impressed. Goddamn, he liked it that they liked her. Mom had been pretty irate when Christy had cheated on him with one of his teammates, but he knew the two of them had never exactly been friends, so her distress at his marriage ending was because he’d been hurt, not because she’d miss Christy. Funny, it had never really bothered him that his mom didn’t love his wife.

But he wanted her to love Peyton.

And why wouldn’t she? Peyton was awesome. Okay, a little stubborn and rigid sometimes. They’d work on that. And he’d work on being a responsible parent. They’d work on bringing out the best in each other. They’d been through some tough times and he wasn’t stupid enough to think that life was going to be all rainbows and flowers and glittering fucking unicorns from here on in, but that was okay because they’d be together.

Epilogue

APRIL

“April showers bring May flowers.”

Drew shook his head in disgust at the rain pouring down on them as they drove to Lincoln Park in the dusk.Fuck!

Luckily he had a big golf umbrella that would cover them, but still, this definitely put a damper on his plans. Ha. Damp.

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