Elise sighed and tossed her napkin at my head. “You’re a shit head.”
“So, any chance you’ve got any ideas on what needs to be included at an epic unicorn party?”
“You’re asking me?”
“You spend all day with kids. What the hell would I know?” I admitted.
“If you don’t know, why are you planning it?”
“Because Sienna and Hunter asked me to. Well actually, Phoebe asked me if she could have her party at my house so she could show off her unicorn room. I haven’t learnt how to say no to her yet.”
Elise giggled. “I doubt you’ll ever be able to say no to her. Princess Phoebe has Uncle Luca wrapped around her chubby little fingers.”
“You might be right there. So, you’ll save me?”
“If you want help, I’ll help you make it the best unicorn party Princess Phoebe could imagine.” I could hear the wheels in her head already spinning. I had no doubt in my mind putting Elise in charge was the best idea I’d ever had. She was going to nail this. And I was going to end up looking like the world’s best uncle.
Finishing off my pizza, I wiped my hands and leaned back against the cushions before yawning loudly.
“I should get going,” Elise said quietly, scrambling to her feet and starting to clean up.
That was the absolute last thing I wanted. Scurrying behind her, I picked up the rest of the mess and took it into the kitchen and tossed the rubbish in the bin before turning to face Elise.
“Well, I’ll let you get some rest. I just wanted to make sure you got something to eat. You sounded pretty beat on the phone earlier.”
Crowding her against the bench, I set my hands on her hips. “Or you could stay.”
“You want me to stay?” The shock on her face caught me off guard.
“Of course.”
“But aren’t you tired?”
“Yep. But I really wanna snuggle with you for a while,” I admitted, not giving a shit how much of a pussy I sounded.
“You wanna snuggle?”
“Only with you, Elise. Only with you.”
Chapter Twenty – Elise
Waking up next to Luca was not a hardship. Something was hard, but it definitely wasn’t something I’d be objecting to any time soon. The only downside to showing up at Luca’s place unprepared for a sleepover was the early morning trek home to change and get ready for work. It was a pain in the arse, but when my alarm beeped at six, I stretched my legs out and lifted the heavy arm that was pinning me to the hard, warm chest behind me. We’d crashed out on the lounge, and I was surprised to see we hadn’t even moved. Not only that, I’d slept like a baby. It was one of the best night’s sleep I’d had in long time.
Pulling into the carpark, I killed the ignition and grabbed my bag from the back of the car. As I headed for the staff room where I was praying Kathryn had the coffee machine already going, I reached up and touched my still swollen lips. I’d left a sleepy Luca lazing on the couch, but he’d kissed the crap out of me, sending me floating out the door in a bubble.
“Someone got out on the right side of the bed this morning,” Corey announced, stepping up beside me as I walked along the path, scaring the absolute crap out of me.
“Morning, Corey,” I replied, taking a deep breath and trying to calm my racing heart.
“You’re looking beautiful this morning, Miss McCoy.”
I wasn’t. I was a complete mess. My hair was tied back in a ponytail. I wore a pair of black pants and a white top with a bright green scarf wrapped around my neck with a long grey cardigan over the top. My oversized sunglasses covered half my face, but more importantly, hid the dark bags under my eyes that my makeup couldn’t cover. It was definitely nothing special and nothing to be impressed about.
“Thanks,” I replied, feeling awkward.
There was something weird going on with him. He’d been acting strange for a couple of weeks, but it seemed to be increasing daily. Randomly, he’d show up in the playground when I was on duty or stop by the bus lines while I was waiting for the kids to be collected.
“So, you’re chaperoning the sports carnival next week, aren’t you?”
