Caroline sighed and her own brow furrowed, matching her dad’s. “I just wanted him tocheck.Just to besure.”
He chuckled softly and dropped down to squat next to her, putting a hand on her little shoulder. “Remember, you’re always safe when I’m around. No dragons allowed.”
She nodded solemnly. “I know.”
“I love you,” he murmured.
Her little face lit up with a smile. “I love you too.”
Dakota stood up then and looked at me, where I was sitting on the couch. A moment later, he took a seat near me. “We’ve had a few… issues since Beth and I split. She’s been worried about real dragons coming to get her. Thank you for playing along.”
“Yeah, of course. No problem. I really am sorry I didn’t knock or something.”
He waved my apology away. “It’s forgotten about.”
The image of his naked body flashed in my mind, making my gut churn with lust.Well, nottotallyforgotten about. I just nodded. “Thanks.”
“Now, let’s talk pizza.”
A few minutes later, we’d agreed on which pizza place to order from, and had decided to get two—one pepperoni for Lina and one supreme without olives for the adults. He ordered the pizza to be delivered and then led the way into the eat-in kitchen, where we sat and chatted while he sent Caroline to play in her room—no more princess show for now, he’d said. She’d had enough screen time, especially dragon-containing screen time.
“So,” he said, scrolling on his phone to pick some music to play. “What kind of music do you like?”
I shrugged. “It’s not interesting. I like pop and pop-punk.”
With a grin, he winked at me. “So you’re telling me you never grew out of your emo phase.”
“It’s not a phase, Mom,” I shot back playfully. “Anyway, what about you?”
He laughed and shook his head. “I like ska, so really, say what you will about me.”
“Exactly.”
A moment later, holiday music filled the room, playing from a Bluetooth speaker he had on the countertop. “What’s Christmas like for you? Family? Siblings? Kids?”
I shook my head. “Just me. Like I said, my parents passed away a few years ago. I was an only child. I have friends, but most of them have kids at our age, so I usually spend the holiday with my cats.”
“Ouch.”
I furrowed my brow, frowning deeply. “It’s not bad. I like it. I get to spoil the kids on the Giving Tree who wouldn’t get gifts otherwise, and on Christmas Day, I usually volunteer. Sometimes at the retirement community, sometimes at the soup kitchen. Hell, sometimes I manage to get a shift in at both. Just because it’s not your idea of a great holiday doesn’t mean it’s not good.”
He nodded and rubbed the back of his neck, his sparkling blue eyes sheepish. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. You’re not the only one who thinks I’m weird for liking my holiday just the way it is.” I hadn’t meant to get so defensive, but I hated it when people seemed to think that my life wasn’t as good as theirs because I was single or because I didn’t have kids. I took a slow breath and turned the conversation back on Dakota. “What about you? Holiday traditions?”
“This is our first year as a two-household family, so it’s about creating new traditions now. Luckily, Santa knows our new address, and he’ll be visiting Caroline here, instead of her mom’s place, since we have a chimney and she lives in an apartment.”
I grinned and glanced over my shoulder to see if Caroline was in earshot. When I saw the coast was clear, I spoke again. “That’s a great plan. Is Santa bringing a real white pony?”
Dakota chuckled and shook his head. “Absolutely not. There’s no space for a real pony in this yard.” He dropped his voice to a murmur. “But there is a rumor she might be getting horseback lessons as a gift.”
“Nice,” I said. “I’m sure she’ll love it.”
A beat of silence passed before Dakota cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck. “So.”
My brow furrowed. “Yeah?”
“I… well, I was wondering—” The doorbell rang, cutting through his sentence. The look on his face was half relief, half disappointment. “Pizza’s here.”
