I nodded. “Your Uncle Nick.”
Ivy gasped. “Your best friend can’t be aboy.”
“Hey. Nugget.” Nick chose that moment to emerge from the kitchen. “Best friends can be anyone.”
Ivy’s eyes grew huge. “But – ”
“No buts.” He removed another cake pop from the bakery case and handed it to his niece. “Are you excited about having me and Grams take care of you while your parents are gone helping Auntie Noelle and Grandma Holly?”
“No.” Ivy stuck the entire cake pop in her mouth and chewed, quicker this time, as if expecting her mother to come out at any moment and find her eating a second treat.
“No?” Nick looked at me with an expression of mock horror. “Can you believe this, Al? I’m her favorite uncle and she’s not happy to spend time with me.”
“You’re my only uncle,” Ivy said around a mouthful of cake pop.
“I know.” Nick grinned. “That’s why you should love hanging out with me.”
The kitchen door opened, and Eve joined them. She ran her hands over her round belly. “Everything’s all set, Ivy.”
Frowning, Ivy swallowed the last of her cake pop. “What about rehearsals for the Christmas Extravaganza?”
Eve bent her knees, lowering herself to her daughter’s eye level. “I’ll only be gone a week, honey. You can practice at Great Grandma’s house while I’m gone.”
“But you always say we have to practice at the studio,” Ivy wailed.
Clearly, performing at the Christmas Extravaganza meant a lot to her.
“Oh, sweetie.” Eve swept Ivy into an embrace, lifting her up. “It’s just for a week until Aunt Noelle’s new baby comes.”
Nick plucked Ivy from his sister’s arms. “Hey, pregnant lady. You can’t lift anything over twenty pounds, remember, Eve?”
Gosh, Nick was sweet.
Annoyances over Christmas cards and Bixby aside, I was suddenly proud that he was my best friend.
Nick stroked Ivy’s hair, looking very paternal and giving my over-active imagination too many romantic ideas. “You can practice anywhere, nugget. And if you ask really nice, Al will watch you dance.”
“But not at the dance studio with me and Laura.” Ivy wiped away her tears. “Why can’t Allie teach Mom’s classes while she’s gone?”
Everyone’s gaze turned my way. Nick set Ivy down.
“I’m…uh. I’m going to be busy working here at the café.” But surprisingly, I was curious about my old stomping grounds and seeing kids dance.
“My studio opens at five every night,” Eve said slowly, the way one does when considering a new, intriguing idea. “Monday through Thursday. The last class ends at nine.”
“I’d be dancing for a real dancer,” Ivy breathed in a way that was good for my ego.
I gave the dancer-in-training a smile. “I can come check it out tonight. I’m not promising anything. Your mother is the boss, and she can decide if I sub for her or not.” Had I just offered to sub? My mother would pop a gasket if she found out.
Eve grinned. “Like I’d turn you down, Allie? Not a chance.”
Nick stared at my feet and then at me. “Yes, but Al has – ”
I elbowed Nick before he said anything about my foot. Because for the first time in a long time, I wanted to go to a dance studio.
Weird.
“You dancing is a mistake,”Nick told me, sitting in a chair next to the bench in the Tiny Elves Dance Studio while I removed my boots to change into my tap shoes. “Let me see your foot.” Without waiting for my permission, he took my right foot in his hand and peeled back my sock. “It’s swollen.”