Page 151 of The Holiday Hate-Off
Afterward, I call Martin to inform him that I won’t be taking the job.
“I figured as much when you ghosted us,” he says gruffly, not at all amused. “I didn’t take you for that sort, Enzo.”
Maybe I should accept his criticism and move on with my life. But I’m not the sort. So I say, “I’m not.”
I tell him about being robbed by a drunk Santa—and end by thanking him for the opportunity but insisting that I’m where I need to be, with my family. All of them. To my surprise, he says he’ll be in touch about freelance opportunities.
I’ll probably take a few jobs like that, but I’ve decided where my focus needs to be for the next several months—helping Lucy bring CareWise to life. With the two of us working together, it can hardly fail.
Is it arrogant of me to think so? Abso-fucking-lutely. But if there’s one thing I disagree with Lucy’s mom about, it’s the dangers of arrogance. There’s nothing wrong with having confidence in your abilities, so long as you have the balls to back it up.
After I’m done making calls, I have one more trick to pull off…
Lucy’s present.
“Uh, no,” Lucy says when I tell her I have an errand to run. “You’re not going anywhere without me right now. You will have a literal stalker everywhere you go.”
“What if Giovanni comes with me?”
She considers this for a long moment before nodding. “Okay. But I swear to God, if you disappear for hours on end, Iwillcome find you.”
“Is that supposed to be a threat?” I ask, laughing as I pull her to me by the tantalizing little ribbon securing the collar of her sweater.
“Itisa threat.”
“You can always come find me. Except for now. Definitely don’t try now. It would ruin everything.”
She gives me a suspicious look. “You’re being very mysterious.”
“Thank God, I’m glad it’s working. I’ll be right back.”
Half an hour later,I return with her present wrapped in a warm blanket.
I knock on the door, and Lucy opens it with a gasp. “What’s this?”
“Your present is ready early,” I tell her as I walk in, and shut the door behind me, “and I didn’t want to give it to you in front of everyone.”
I offer her the bundle, and she takes it from me—and gasps when the little calico kitten meows.
“He’s yours,” I say out loud.
Ours, I say in my head, because I’m a man who’s all about efficiency, and there’s nothing efficient about living down the hall from your girlfriend.
“But Enzo, we can’t have pets in this building. I won’t be able to keep him.”
The way she says it, so sorrowful, makes me grin. Notbecause I’m cruel, but because we’ve just gotten to my real present?—
“You will,” I say, my heart full as I watch her burrow her nose into the kitten’s fur. “Did I not tell you I can convince anyone of anything, Lucia?”
She gapes at me, her surprise totally worth the price of talking to the landlord for several hours to negotiate the kitten’s stay. One of the harder bargains I’ve made. I also tried to convince Bodhi Wilde to hand over the only kitten at his cat sanctuary, but he’d grown too fond of it, so I had to go elsewhere.
“You did this for me?” she asks, setting the kitten down.
“And I’d do so much more.”
She wraps her arms around my neck. “I love you, Enzo.”
I’ve never heard sweeter words.
