He looked relieved but still excited as he nodded. I pulled his back against my front and held the note in front of him so he could see it while I read, one arm wrapped around his middle, holding him flush against me. I looked down at my own writing and tried my best to read it in a cadence that made it sound better than it probably was.
“This Christmas felt like the perfect time to remember how we fell in love with each other. And from that point on we both knew, well, we’d never want another. Today you’ve got several trips to make from the first stop to the last. Popping in to see a friend first off, but don’t dare drive too fast.”
I lifted my gaze from the note and smiled when I heard him sniff. Tears had gathered in his eyes and the adorably happy grin on his face was well worth my poor excuse at rhyming. I turned back to the letter and continued.
“Think back to a time when you sent a letter to jolly old St. Nick. You wished for a Daddy to take care of you and you hoped he’d come really quick. Awkward_and_Adorable was your name and mine was Tattooed_Daddy. I knew immediately from your letter I wanted to meet you so badly. So let’s take a trip to where that app once lived, to thank your friend for the help he chose to give.”
He leaned to the side and turned his face toward me so our gazes met, eyebrows raised. “We’re going to Leo’s?”
I shrugged. “You tell me.”
His grin was infectious, and he whooped and ran for the garage. “Grab your keys, baby. We can’t very well go anywhere without them.”
Brow furrowed he turned. “We’re driving my car?”
I nodded, grabbing the keys by the door for him as I went. “We are, but I know you prefer when I drive, so I’m happy to. Where do you want me to take us?”
His mouth dropped open. “Leo’s! Duh!”
His happy chatter all the way to his best friend’s house made me feel lighthearted. When we arrived, I’d barely stopped before he was running to Leo and Sam’s front door, knocking and ringing the doorbell like a mad man. The door flew open and my boy started bouncing as he called out, “Merry Christmas! I know we’re unexpected, but—”
Leo shoved his phone into Sanders’s hands, and when my boy took it from him, they looked at each other and grinned, even if Sanders looked a little confused. Sam walked up behind Leo and watched as the two boys hugged and whispered something neither of us could hear. I waved. “Hey, Sam. Merry Christmas.”
“You too, Briggs. I’m very intrigued.”
Sanders turned to me, confusion still on his face. Leo grabbed his phone back, put the code in, and handed it over to me. I wrapped my arms around Sanders again so he could see the screen as I clicked the Cuffd icon to open the app. Sanders turned to meet my gaze and then looked at Leo. “Wait, you still have an account for me?”
Leo bounced on the toes of his feet, exasperated. “Semantics! Just let him read!”
“Open your messages, baby.”
He clicked on the email notification in the app, then clicked on the message I’d sent from Tattooed_Daddy, and I began to read. “You guessed right, and now you’re here to get your second clue. Let’s read ahead so we can find out what next we have to do. Now drive to the place where you first texted me when you had a really bad day. We texted for a while, and I made you feel better in a really enjoyable way.”
Sam and Leo both started laughing. Sanders huffed. “Daddy! Oh my god, so embarrassing.”
I chuckled. “Where are we off to next?”
He turned in my arms and buried his head in my neck, his face lobster red, and mumbled his answer. Leo was cackling. “What was that, Sanders? I didn’t hear you.”
Sanders pulled out of my grip and glared at his friend. “I said we need to go to the college parking lot.”
“The parking lot?” Leo guffawed.
“Oh, shut up. We’re leaving!” Sanders grabbed my hand, but when he met my gaze his cheeks were rosy from happiness instead of embarrassment, and his smile was gorgeous.
Leo yelled, “Merry Christmas, you two! See you soon!”
And off we went to the parking lot where I’d relaxed my boy with an orgasm after a really bad day. As we entered the nearly empty parking lot, I pulled up next to the only car there. “How is there going to be a clue here? And why did you park so close to the only car in the lot?”
I grinned and got out of the car, prompting Sanders to do the same. I walked around to his side of the car and handed him a key fob. He looked down at it, then looked at the car next to us and then down at the key again before he whooped and jumped into my arms. “I thought it was on backorder!”
It had been, but I’d paid a little extra to get things moving a bit faster. My boy needed a new car, and we’d discussed it ad nauseum. He’d agreed to allow me to buy him one, but only if it was a simple, sturdy, and safe vehicle. Nothing flashy. His words…
Turns out, Sanders had always wanted a Subaru, and his idea of nothing flashy went out the window when he saw the newest model Forester in black with leather interior and all the bells and whistles. He’d kept telling me he’d pay for it himself, but he knew I liked taking care of his needs and providing for him, so he let me get away with it.
“Go on. Hop into the driver’s seat so you can drive us this time.”
As we both got in, he bounced in his seat, hands on the steering wheel. “Where to next?”
I shrugged. “I guess you’d better look around for your next clue.”
After checking in the center console and in the glove box he pouted so prettily I caved. “Where do you see people hiding spare keys in movies all the time?”
He grinned and reached for the visor, laughing when the next note fell into his lap. He handed the note over, and I leaned close to him, our heads together as I began to read. “You figured it out, good for you. Shall we move on to the next big clue? Let’s take a drive to the first place where we met each other face-to-face. You nearly got arrested when you broke my wall with a hammer. You called me that night, scared to death you’d get sent to the slammer.”
“NARNIA!”
I barked out a laugh at that. The joy on his face gave me life. Grinning, he started his new car and was just about to pull out of the spot when he realized we were leaving his old car. “Don’t worry about it. It’ll be taken care of.”
He giggled and off we went toward our thriving businesses. When I’d purchased Quixotic Books, I’d been excited for something new to keep me busy, but I failed to realize the boy in the café next door would become my world, and our linked businesses would bring us both so much joy every single day. I couldn’t even fathom a life without both my boy and the bookstore.
When we pulled up to The Little Bean, I handed him my keys, and we made our way inside where I’d hung mistletoe from the now open archway between the bookstore and the café, another note hanging from it. I kissed him under the sprig of leaves, and he opened up the letter, handing it over and automatically placing his back to my front as I read it.
“When I came here to pick you up that night, you’d barely gotten over your drunken fright. After I finally got to see the hole in my wall, I packed you up in my car before you could fall. But before I could take you to your house, you passed out in my car in a drunken slouch. When we got to my home you stripped yourself bare and lay down on my bed, barely aware. So back home we go, our favorite place to be, your gift you will find hanging from the tree.”