Page 102 of Booked for the Holidays
She grins up at me. “I like you, BB. You do what you want and ask for permission after.”
“Easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. Come on. Let’s find you a birthday outfit.”
* * *
We meetTheo at the food court an hour later. Our hands are full and our cheeks are red from the two laps we did around the concourse, making sure we didn’t miss a store.
He looks up from a table in front of the Chinese takeout restaurant, eyebrows raised. “I see my credit card was used sufficiently,” he says.
“There’s notthatmuch stuff,” I justify. “Only a couple of things.”
“Dad, Bridget helped me pick out the coolest outfit for my party. Speaking of, can she come to my dinner?”
“It’s okay if not,” I add. “We can talk about it later.”
“Nothing to talk about.” Theo shrugs. “We’d love for you to be there.”
“Yes!” Mac cheers. “Best birthday ever!”
“Speaking of birthdays and presents, I had an idea about a Christmas present for your mom.”
“Let’s hear it,” he says. “She’s difficult to shop for. I’ll take all the suggestions.”
“Okay. Um. Well, you know how she gave me that photo of you with the mall Santa for the store?”
Theo rolls his eyes and crosses his arms over his chest. “Unfortunately.”
“What if you and Mac recreated it? I mean, obviously you’re not sitting on his lap, and you won’t be screaming like a possessed demon, but… she loves that photo of you.”
He studies me for a minute. His arms fall to his sides. His face is pensive, contemplating. He nods, a smile starting to form. Right side first, then left.
God. I like this man a lot.
“I could get on board with the idea,” he says.
“Yeah?”
“Taking a picture with a mall Santa at the age of forty-one and reliving a traumatic childhood experience is not something I ever thought I’d do. I’m learning, however, this year is full of things I never thought I’d do. So, screw it. Let’s take a photo with jolly old Saint Nicholas.”
I gape at him, surprised. “Seriously? Is it that easy? I had a whole rebuttal planned for when you inevitably shot me down!”
“Save it for when you’re trying to get a Santa hat on me again. That’s the one thing absolutely not happening.”
I grin at him and his smile grows. “Deal.”
We take the escalator down, following the crowd of people looped around a fake igloo. We’re the oldest ones by a landslide, the only group without a child under seven. Theo is undeterred. Mac entertains us while we wait, pulling out the clothes she purchased and showing them off. After a fashion show, she stuffs the items back into the bags and turns her attention to her phone.
“I hope the outfits are okay. I kept the receipts so you can return anything you don’t like,” I say to Theo.
He shakes his head. “Unnecessary. They’re all great. Thanks for doing that with her. I’m sure she appreciated someone who gave her actual feedback on clothing rather than her dad who shrugs and doesn’t know the difference between short lengths.”
“Ah. That’s why you keep me around. I’m a clothing expert.”
His hand touches my elbow, at the crook of my arm. His thumb presses into my skin. “I’d like to keep you around, Bridget. Not only for the shorts advice, though it is a perk. But because you make me happy. You make Mac happy, too. Maybe we can slowly ease you into being around her more. In a… not-so-friendly way. If you… if that’s something you’d want. It’s something I want.”
I blink away tears and nudge the tip of my shoe against his. “Yeah. I want that, too.”
“Good.”
