“I disagree.” Marcus grinned and leaned back in his seat.
She stared daggers at him, and he chuckled.
“Well?” Nora pressed, drawing the focus back to him. “Are you dating anyone? You asked about Wynter earlier today.”
Well, shoot. His face heated exponentially, and he could feel Wynter’s attention burning a hole into the side of his face. Clearing his throat, he leaned back in his seat. “There is… someone… I’m interested in. But I’m not sure about how she feels.”
The room went deathly quiet.
That’s right, Wynter. Ball’s in your court.
“I’m sure all you have to do is ask her. Communication is very important,” Nora broke the silence with her reassurances, but the quiet descended again, making it clear everyone in the room knew who he was referring to.
Wynter eventually couldn’t handle the tension in the air. She pushed back her chair and gathered the empty plates. “I’ll serve us up some of that spiced cake.”
20
WYNTER
Something was happening. Wynter wasn’t sure she was happy about it.
Strange.
Unexpected.
Not entirely bad… but terrifying, nevertheless.
Marcus still stopped by nearly every day, but he wasn’t working as much. He’d put a couple hours in her grandfather’s shop, eat dinner, then chat for a little while before going home.
The weird part about all of this was how easy it was to visualize him in her life long term. It shouldn’t be odd, and yet with her mindset, it was.
Wynter would catch herself watching him with Grams and forget that she didn’t want to be in a relationship. A small part of her had been converted to the idea, which was what confused her the most.
“Uno!” Marcus called out, slapping down a card.
Grams groaned, her hands still full of cards.
Wynter was the first one to get rid of all her cards. But that tended to happen when half the cards in her deck were forcing the others to draw more. After that, she insisted she would quit while she was ahead.
So while Grams and Marcus continued to play Uno, Wynter stood at the counter, frosting sugar cookies. Isabelle had dropped them off and pleaded for help to decorate them for a work party her brother was hosting at the end of the week. Wynter couldn’t bring herself to say no. It was nice to have something to do with her hands. Heaven knew that when she didn’t stay busy, her thoughts wandered far too much.
Christmas music played from her phone’s speaker, and Wynter glanced at her grandmother, whose eyes flickered with triumph.
Wynter knew that look, and she hid a smile as she ducked her head. This was where Grams would bring Marcus to his knees.
As expected, Grams tossed down a draw four card. Then another. She’d been holding out on them.
Marcus settled back in his seat with an exaggerated groan. “Not fair.”
“Life’s not fair, kiddo,” Grams said with a wink.
Wynter snickered, drawing Marcus’s eyes. His focus zeroed in on her, locking with hers, and in that moment all she wanted was for this to be… real.
She wanted Marcus to be part of her family. He fit in this life with her and Grams.
That desire scared her half to death. Not because she finally wanted something more, but because she knew how much Marcus wanted in his life.
A family. Children. A future filled with light and love.
