It’s wrecked.
As wrecked as I feel.
I stand, struggling to regain my breath, as she starts shaking her head.
“Cel—”
“Oh my god...” She takes a step back. “I-I’m sorry.”
She spins and rushes to the door. Plucking up her bag, she’s across the threshold in a beat. The door hits the wall and remains open as she takes the porch steps two at a time, flying across the snowy ground to her house.
Fuck.
I pad to the front door and close it before letting my forehead hit the wood. Dammit.
“Daddy?”
I spin around to find Maise rubbing her eyes at the bottom of the stairs.
“Did CC go home?”
“Yeah, kiddo, she did. You okay?”
She yawns. She looks exhausted. I close the distance, haul her onto my waist, and trudge up the stairs. Rubbing a hand over her hair, I hold her close.
“Did my Christmas wish come true?” she says as I walk into her room.
“What wish was that?” I put her back in her bed and tuck her in tight, snug as a bug in a rug style.
“Under the mistletoe, Daddy.”
I sit on the edge of the bed.
How do I answer that? She did, but I’m guessing the last part was not what she had envisioned. Besides, my heart is not her responsibility.
“A gentleman never kisses and tells, so I guess you’ll never know, little lady. Now go back to sleep.”
I tap her little nose, and she scrunches her face up.Sassy little woman.
“I guess I’ll have to move to plan B, then,” she says with a smile and rolls over, giving me her back.
Should I be scared?
“Night, Maise.”
I rise and walk through the bedroom door, closing it most of the way.
“Night, Daddy. Don’t dream about CC too much. Okay?”
Oh, I’m scared, alright. This little girl has got plans, and she’ll be hell-bent on seeing them through. What’s a guy to do?
Who am I to get in her way?
I chuckle as I make my way back downstairs.
In the kitchen, I wash up the glasses and glance out the window to light snow coming down. It coats every surface with its pale glittering powder. It’s pretty, sparkling under the streetlights, the Christmas lights from our house, and the crescent moon overhead.
Movement catches my attention from next door. CC is in her kitchen, pajamas on now, pulling a bottle of water from the fridge before she pads from the room, flipping the light switch and leaving the space in darkness. Leaving me staring at the dim house as I work through what the hell that kiss was.
