“That’s–” I started, only for Mariah to cut me off.
“Thank you,” she said to Angie. “Have a great time with your house.”
Angie smiled and nodded before leading her daughter through the doors and into the main event space. The room was loud with chatter, so plenty of people were already here and had chosen their tables.
Mariah met my eyes. “I’m sorry. I dragged you all the way down here for–”
“Stop right there.” I pointed at her. “I will find who’s in charge and give them a piece of my mind. This is ridiculous. If you want to be inclusive, then just let families come in by any number. There are only three of us. I promised my nephew that I would do this with him.”
“Kaylinn, you can’t.” Mariah rubbed her hands across her face before she paused, getting that wide-eyed look that only meant trouble for me. “I mean, maybe the godfather has room at his table.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me. You want me to play nice with him and the people who can’t be bothered to plan properly?”
“Kay, please.”
Mariah was looking at me with her big puppy dog eyes, and I knew I didn’t stand a chance.
“Mariah,” I sighed, silently begging her to stop.
“Kaylinn.”
I groaned. “Fine. Don’t worry about it. I’ll just join forces with this godfather and see if you and Reece can beat us.” I crouched in front of my seven-year-old nephew and tickled him.
He laughed and swatted at me. “You’re on!”
Mariah softened. “You’re sure?”
I stood, nodding. I was on a mission now. “Absolutely. Now, how about we get you two set up, and I’ll find my new partner.”
It was easy after that, getting Reece and Mariah set up at their table. They were two tables behind Angie and Zoe, who pointed across the room to where a man leaned casually against a table as he looked around the room, taking in all the parent-and-kid duos tying on their messy red and green aprons.
He was cute, actually. He didn’t appear very tall, but he was in shape, had light brown hair that looked soft as hell, and looked so relaxed and easygoing, much more than I’d expected . I guess I’m used to parents having the patience of a saint, but I hadn’t been around many godparents, or even aunts and uncles, at Reece’s school events.
“Maybe it’ll be fun for you after all,” Mariah whispered.
I turned around to find her smirking.
“He’s cute,” she offered innocently.
I scoffed. “Wow, trying to marry me off already? I haven’t even met him yet.”
“So, go meet him, you goof.” She gave me a good shove.
I gave Reece a quick squeeze before making my way to the man’s table.
Chapter 2
Sasha
“Hey.”
I turned around to find a woman standing at the end of my table. Her hair was long and golden, her curls framing her soft features and killer eyeliner. Her hands were in her pockets, and she looked nervous. Her eyes were light brown, drawing me in as she met mine head-on.
“Hi.” I smiled. “Did you need the table?”
“No.” She pushed back her bangs. “Limit is two per table, so I got booted from my nephew’s table. Looks like the same happened to you?”
“Yeah, that was a bit of a shock when we got here.” I nodded. “I promised to be the best godfather ever, but now I’m twenty feet away while she decorates a gingerbread house without me.”
