“What old times?” Nick muttered in my ear.
I elbowed him. “Sure. I’d love to.” I’d love to rewrite the bland history that was my past. No Broadway producer wanted me, but Bixby did. Sometimes you had to take the small wins where you found them.
“Great. How about Friday night?” Bixby glanced over my head, his words coming out almost absently. “Say seven o’clock at The Chop House. We can meet in the bar.”
“It’s a – ”date“ – plan.”
“Sweet! Catch you later.” Bixby hurried off the other way. “Hey, Lydia! Wait up.”
I watched him go, a bit numb.Bixby Daniels asked me out!Dreams do come true. “Can you believe that?”
But when I turned around, Nick was already gone, striding ahead to the Sleigh Café.
ChapterFour
“Hey, what’s wrong with you?”I asked Nick when I’d made my way down the block and entered the Sleigh Café.
Nick stood behind the cash register, having just rung a customer up. “Nothing’s wrong with me.Idon’t have any good times to reminisce with Bixby.” The implication being that I didn’t either.
“Is it wrong to have a Bixby moment in the sun?” To know what I’d been missing out on back in the old days.
“Bixby Daniels?” Nick’s older sister Eve entered the café in time to hear my question. She was pregnant enough that her blue coat didn’t zip up. She wore a large pink T-shirt that hadDance Instructorprinted on the front, reminding me that she’d bought Tiny Elves Dance Studio after my dance instructor retired six or so years back. “What’s that tool Bixby up to now?”
Nick gestured to me and smirked, as if that explained everything when in fact, I was clueless. Bixby Daniels had been a star athlete while we were in school and had only dated cheerleaders.
“Girl.” Eve laid a hand on my shoulder. “Bixby Daniels is – ”
“Don’t ruin it for Al. This is her special moment.” Nick disappeared into the back.
“Exactly!” I shouted back before resuming my seat behind the cash register where my card fromRudolphawaited a response. I took my kitten card out of the bag.
I’ll be Home for Christmasplayed softly through the café speakers.
“Mommy, who’s that?”
I lifted my head, realizing that Eve hadn’t shown up alone. A little girl with strawberry blond pigtails stared up at me. She wore a pink tutu, pink leotard, and matching tights.
“Ivy, this is Allie Jameson. She’s the dancer I told you about.” Eve smiled at me. “I took Ivy out of school early for a doctor appointment. She idolizes you.”
“You’re the lady in the dance videos Mommy plays?” Little Ivy looked me up and down. “Are you really a famous dancer?”
Famous? Yikes. I didn’t like to exaggerate to kids. “I’m the dancer from Christmas Mountain who went to New York to dance.” That much was true. It wasn’t like I was a household name on Broadway. What dancer was?
“Maybe Allie will dance with you at the Christmas Extravaganza.” Eve wobbled around the counter and removed a cake pop from the display case. “Here you go, sweetie. Make friends with Allie while I talk to Grandma and Uncle Nick.”
Ivy stuck the entire cake pop in her mouth and said around it, “Are you here for Christmas?”
I nodded, tapping the end of a pen on the kitten Christmas card I’d purchased, waiting for inspiration to strike. It was hard to think of something when I wasn’t sure who Rudolph was.
“Can you come to my dance class?” The cake pop stick came out clean. The same couldn’t be said for Ivy’s mouth. Chocolate icing and cake crumbs dusted her lips and chin.
“Um…” I handed her a paper napkin before taking in her dance outfit once more. “Ballet, tap, or jazz?”
“Ballet and tap until middle school. Mommy’s my teacher. We’re going to perform at the Christmas Extravaganza. Maybe you could, too.” Ivy did a good job of wiping her face clean before handing the used napkin back. “I’m going to play the Rat King because I’m tall for my age.”
“The Nutcracker, eh? Who’s going to dance Claire’s part?”
“Laura Kittledge. She’s my best friend.” Ivy grinned, clearly happy talking about her bestie. “Do you have a best friend?”