I grinned. “That’s true, but I’m glad it happened this way. Because I might not have had the nerve to invite you in if I hadn’t met you before now.”
He put his mug down on the coffee table. “Can I ask you a personal question?”
“Yeah…”
“You said you haven’t dated much since your husband died?”
I looked down into my cocoa and shook my head. “No, I haven’t.”
“Before you left, I was going to ask you out, but I also wondered if that was even something you would consider…” He grabbed his mug again and took a sip.
I finally looked up at him. “I don’t want to be alone forever. I’ve considered getting back into the game. I do get…lonely.” I immediately regretted being so honest. But for some reason, I felt like opening up tonight.
“If you don’t mind my saying, it’s a damn shame for a woman like you to ever feel lonely. After you left, I seriously couldn’t think about anything else but your beautiful face.”
Goosebumps prickled on the skin of my arms. “Thank you.”
“If the accident hadn’t happened and I had asked you out earlier, what would you have said—pending my giving up the robot fight, of course…”
I didn’t really have to think much about my answer.
“I would have said yes, and then I would’ve told you my last name wasn’t really Johanssen.”
He smiled from behind his mug. “Good to know.”
The lights from the tree reflected on his face, making Bryce’s eyes sparkle.
I grabbed the plate of cookies from the small table next to the tree. “Would you like one? These are technically for Santa. But seeing as though you’re basically him this year…you deserve the whole plate.”
“I’ll share them with you?” he said.
“Sure.”
We sat in comfortable silence, devouring the plate of cookies. I’d told him to eat over the dish to intentionally drop some crumbs. Mason always looked forward to seeing Santa’s remnants. It dawned on me that this was the first year since Will’s death that I hadn’t eaten these cookies alone in sadness. It felt good to have someone to share them with.
After we finished, Bryce suddenly stood up.
“I could stay here all night, Holly. I really love being around you. But I know you’ve had a long day. I’m sure you want to get some rest if your son is gonna wake up early. If he’s anything like my nieces and nephews, he’ll be up at the crack of dawn.”
I really didn’t want him to leave. But I also didn’t want to tell him to stay because that might have seemed desperate. I thought of another approach to spending more time with him.
“What are you doing for breakfast tomorrow?”
He shrugged. “The elves and I were going to have Fruit Loops together, but I could totally ditch them.”
“Would you want to stop by…to meet Mason? I’d explain to him that you’re a friend. That way you can see him enjoying your gift.”
“I would love to see you tomorrow, Holly, and meet him—formally.”
“Say 9AM?”
“I’ll be there with bells on—jingle bells, of course.” He winked.
Bryce
Despite the frigid air, my palms were sweaty as I stood in front of Holly’s door on Christmas morning.
She opened and smiled, looking down at the massive box of Munchkins from Dunkin’ Donuts in my hands. “You didn’t have to bring anything.”
“These are sort of my go-to thing that I bring whenever I’m a guest. And I know kids tend to love them.”
“Oh, you better believe Mason is going to be thrilled.”
The second I stepped inside, the boy came running into the room with his robot in hand.
“This is your friend, Mom?”
“Yes, this is Bryce,” Holly said.
Mason waved. “Hello.”
“Hey, buddy. It’s really nice to meet you.”
He looked up into my eyes and stared. “You…look familiar.”
Uh-oh.
“Yeah, so do you,” I answered, not knowing what else to say.
“This is my new robot. Santa brought him.”
I feigned excitement and shock. “Is that a TechBot?”
“Yup.”
“I can’t imagine how lucky you had to be to get that. I heard it’s the hot item of the season.”
“I didn’t think I would get one! Mom told me Santa might not be able to find it in time. I asked him for two things. This and for Mommy to be happy this Christmas. And she woke up this morning with a huge smile on her face. I got both things I wished for.”
I turned to Holly and flashed her a mischievous smile. “Did she now?”
She blushed.
“Are those Munchkins?” he asked.
“They certainly are.”
“I love them!”
“So I heard. There are lots of chocolate ones in there, too. Those are my favorite. Sometimes they skimp on those, but I made sure they didn’t this time.”
“Chocolate is my favorite. Thank you.”
Mason was such a polite and grateful kid.
The three of us moved into the dining room. Holly poured me fresh coffee as we sat together at the table.