Page 26 of One More Yule Log
“Okay!” Gray took her hand when she skipped back to him. “Alice, we’ll be about for a few, so if you need me I have my cell.”
“I can do this. I so can. Have fun, guys!”
“Thanks.” He met Alice’s gaze, and he meant it. She was his hero for more than one thing. They headed out, Liv holding his hand and Ben’s.
“Do you have anything you want to see? Are you warm enough? Do you want some cocoa?”
“I’m good.” His jacket looked light, but it was shearling lined. “Though if you’re not cocoa-ed out, I’d love some. Is the tree all lit?”
“At five. We’ll be leaving to drop Miss Liv off afterward.”
“Oh, cool.” He loved that moment, when the big tree lit up and everyone clapped and cheered. Then, of course, there was his date with Ben, which was making him kinda sweaty even as cold as it was.
They stopped at a little food truck and got cocoa and coffee. “I almost feel sorry for Emily’s parents after all this sugar.”
“I bet you’ve done your share of sleepovers at your house.” He could see Ben loving that, having a gaggle of kids over to do crafts and watch Disney movies.
“We do have a lot. It’s so much fun to have the girls over.”
“Let me know next time and I’ll make some special cookies.” Gray wanted to participate in some way.
“Oh, they would love that. I’ll have them a few days over the break, I bet.”
“Cool.” He breathed deep, smelling woodsmoke. Maybe new snow on the air. Definitely pine. They started down toward the big tree-lighting area, people nodding and smiling at him.
He couldn’t believe how good this felt—walking with his date, with Liv. It felt…normal. Gray knew that was a dangerous feeling. He could get broken pretty easily, and Christmas magic always helped things feel more than they were.
“Do you want to look at any of the vendors or find a seat?”
“I’ve run my feet off today, so if you want to sit…” It was Olivia he watched to see if she hated that idea.
“We’ve seen it all. Can I take pictures while we sit?” Liv started tugging them into the crowd.
“Sure, baby.” Ben met Gray’s eyes, the look warm, concerned. “Are you too tired for tonight? Do you want to reschedule?”
“No, no, I’m good. My feet could just use a break.” No way was he missing this. No. Way.
“Oh. Oh, yay. I would have been disappointed as anything if you said no.” Ben squeezed his fingers. “I would have understood, but I…I would have been disappointed.”
“Daddy likes you.” Liv plopped down on the seat they chose, swinging her legs, but not enough to hit anyone. “Whew, it’s cold.”
“Do we need to squish you between us?” Gray winked at Ben. He liked the man right back.
“Not yet. I’ll take some pictures first, then you can.”
“Okay.” He and Ben sat with Liv between them, but he felt Ben’s fingers hook into his back pocket. That took him back so fast to his culinary school days where he felt a little reckless and he had to grin.
“So the festival brought in crowds, honey?” Ben asked him.
“It did. We had a great day. I bet Alice ends up closing up sooner than she planned because she’s running out of stuff.” He shook his head, amused. Last year, they’d barely had a soul because it had been unseasonably warm. “How was your day?”
“We made blueberry pancakes this morning, then we walked and walked. Liv did her thing. We had bagel sandwiches for lunch, bought a few gifts. We had a great daddy/daughter date.” Ben looked like he was perfectly at peace. “And tonight, you and I will have our first date.”
“My daddy has a date,” Liv squealed, taking his picture.
Gray made a face for her. “He does. We get to have grown-up time without girl cooties.”
“Girl cooties?” She poked him in the arm. “You’re infected now, buddy.”
