Page 16 of The Santa Swap

“How are we going to do this?” Luke asked.

Olivia shrugged. “I didn’t think things through to this point. How about you grab the top of the tree and I’ll grab the bottom. We’ll see how that goes.”

Luke nodded once and took his position. Together, they were able to carry the tree all the way to the bottom of the stairwell. Once they were there, Olivia could see a problem she hadn’t anticipated. “How on earth are we supposed to make those corners?” she asked.

The stairwell had switchback stairs, with only a small landing to divide each set. Luke set his side of the tree down and ran up the first set of stairs, stepping across the landing to measure it. “I think we’ll be okay,” he said. “It will be tight, but we can do it. Which floor are you on again?”

Olivia stifled a groan. “The third floor.”

“No problem.” Luke ran to his end of the tree and picked it up. “You ready?”

Thinking about the heavy lifting made her arms sore. “Not really, but let’s do it.”

* * *

Ten minuteslater the tree was lying in the middle of Olivia’s kitchen. She pushed a few boxes out of the way, embarrassed that Luke was seeing her apartment before it was completely unpacked. He walked over to the coffee table that was covered with the building blocks for her gifts.

“I remember these,” he said. “Do you want help sorting them out?”

Olivia pressed her lips together. Carrying a tree was one thing. Him staying in her apartment to help her was another entirely. Would it cross friendship boundary lines if she let him help? Finally, she decided it didn’t matter. The unfortunate accident that had caused her to spill the bricks in the first place had put her way behind schedule.

She rolled her shoulders to relax them and gave Luke a smile. “Okay. If you’re sure you have time, I’d really appreciate it. I’ve been so busy unpacking and getting adjusted to Utah, I’ve fallen behind schedule.”

Luke walked to the couch and cleared his throat. “Alright, boss. Put me to work.” He looked adorable standing there, waiting for someone to boss him around.

Olivia grabbed the box of bricks sitting to the side and set it in front of him. “Originally, I was sorting them by color. But now they’re a mess.”

“Got it. What are you doing with these?” He held up a long green brick.

“They are for my nephews. I pulled together a bunch of different sets to make them a winter wonderland.”

The corner of his mouth twitched. “How many nephews do you have?”

“Three. My brother has five-year-old twins from his first marriage and his new wife has a four-year-old boy.” She began to open the plastic containers, lining them on the table. They were much sturdier than the bowls had been. Then she pulled out her phone and swiped through a few photos until she stopped on a picture of three smiling faces, the boys standing close together. Two of them had pale skin and ginger hair. The third little boy had darker skin and black wavy hair.

Luke pointed to the phone. “I guess it’s safe to say that the twins are identical?”

“They are. The cute thing is that they tell everyone Michael is one of their twins too. He fits right in with their crazy energy.”

“And so, you’re making them a village to help calm down some of that energy?”

Olivia nodded, reaching for a handful of building blocks. “You seem to have a grasp of how little boys work. Do you have a lot of nieces and nephews?”

It was an easy question, but Luke didn’t answer right away. When he did, his joking tone was gone. “I have one nephew but I don’t get to see him a lot. My sister lives halfway across the world.” He rubbed his hand across the back of his neck, clearly lost in thought.

Olivia needed the mood to lighten again. “My mom always told me she wanted at least a dozen grandkids from me to make up for the three my brother has. Sometimes family is complicated.”

Luke nodded. “That’s for sure. Tell me more about this wonderland you’re building. How did you come up with the idea?”

She loved talking about her inspiration. “Have you seen the show Bailey’s Brain? They give the contestants a box full of supplies and a few hours to create something that fits with the theme of the day.”

Luke shook his head. “I’ve never even heard of it.”

“Oh my gosh. You’re missing out. Anyway, one of my favorite episodes was the brick building challenge. They were given a box filled with various themed sets from famous movies. The challenge was to mix up all the sets and create something completely new out of them.”

“That sounds difficult.”

“It was. One of the girls was crying by the end. The team that won turned their set into the most incredible. . .” She trailed off. “Never mind. I don’t want to spoil it for you.”

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