When my mom came, it was to find me standing behind Lumi while she is on the ladder, my hands on her hips and my sister handing her a big gold ball that happens to be the sixth one we’ve put on the tree.
“Well,” all three of us turn to look at her standing in the doorway, “isn’t this…domestic.”
Lumi doesn’t understand what my mother means, but I do. I step closer to her until my front brushes up against her back.
“Why don’t you and my sister work on the decorations a little more and let me have a word with my mother for a moment?” I look down at Janie like I might want to talk to mom without her being in the way and Lumi takes the bait.
“Okay.” She nods and offers me a wink.
I lift her off the ladder and sit her on her feet and only reluctantly let her go. Seeing her in my sweater does things to me that I’ve never felt before. Seeing her wrapped in the soft blue wool is one of the most erotic images I can think of, and I can’t stop touching her just to make sure she’s really here, to make sure SHE’S real. Some men might need half dressed women but for me she’s the sexiest, most tempting thing in the world like this.
I pull my mom into the kitchen before I even start to speak to her. She hasn’t lost the mischievous half-smile that she walked in with. She is eating this up.
“So, John has informed me you are taking the next week off.”
“Next two.”
“Two?!” Her brows draw up, and she gives me a look of total surprise.
For the last ten years, I have worked every day, no matter the day. Holidays, birthdays, and every one of them has been spent in my office. Janie and mom have even asked me why I bought the house if I’m not going to actually live in it. They are the ones who decorated it and the ones who made sure everything continues working like it is supposed to.
“You must really like her.”
I meet my mom’s eyes, so much like my own, and debate how much to tell her. There are things I want to share with my little elf first, things I need to tell her that I only want to say to her. But I’ve never kept anything from my mom and sister either. Not the less savory things I had to do to get us here, or the projects I have started, and certainly not that I have just found her daughter-in-law.
“I do.”
“And will I be hearing more of that? The ‘I do’ part. This isn’t just a passing fancy?”
“Have you ever known me to have a fling, mother?”
“All I’m saying is she looks young and sweet. Too sweet to be messed around with.”
I can’t help but smile at her as I walk around the counter and wrap her in a hug. I love this woman. She put her whole life on hold to make sure me and my sister were taken care of, to try to make sure our basic needs were met and along the way she also gave us our moral codes. It wasn’t easy for her, being a single mom, working two jobs, and still she was always there for us, always ready to listen to our fears and hopes, our dreams and worries.
I didn’t make it any easier for her but somehow, with her loving me every step of the way, we figured it out. Somehow, we’re here now. I owe it all to her.
“She just seems so innocent. I won’t have you hurting her.”
“Never.” But even as I say the word, I think about what my mom has said. Mom can read people better than even I can. Just how innocent is my little elf? And what has put that shadow of mistrust in her eyes? Or better yet, who?
“What’s Denver found out about her?” At the mention of my head of security, I give her a little squeeze before answering her.
“Mother, I am shocked at you.” I pull away from her a little to give her a look of mock shock. “I haven’t talked to him yet today.”
She humps and pokes me in the ribs, causing me to squirm away from her and laugh. “Mark my words. That child has had her heart broken before.”
“How…?” I grow instantly serious.
“I can just tell.” She walks away from me, leaving me stunned and questioning my own powers of observation. Damn, that lady is good. And, clearly, I still have a lot to learn.
Chapter Nine
Lumi
Ithink I have fallen in love with the entire Frost family. Luka’s mother and sister stayed to help decorate and invited me to stay for dinner. They did it in such a way I didn’t know how to tell them no. It made me come home a little later than I normally would. The SUV is in the parking lot when I pull in. I don’t linger and put my head down and pray I can make it inside without someone trying to stop me.
To make matters worse, I got yelled out by my supervisor, Doris, over my torn costume. Needless to say, she nor my boss thought I had torn it plugging lights in under the tree. It didn’t help that I was still in Luka’s sweater. He insisted I take it since I didn’t have anything else to wear. They both spent over an hour reiterating the rules they have for the elves, putting emphasis on the rule about doing anything naughty on company time or with the company uniform and informing me the repair for my outfit will be coming out of my pay.
