“Yeah, well, I need to figure this out, because being away from her sucks.”
“Did you swear, Uncle Drew? Timmy at preschool said that a snack sucked one day, and he got in trouble and had to sit in the corner.”
Mark glared at his brother. “Nice.”
Drew rolled his lips together, trying not to laugh, and decided to switch topics. “Victoria, why don’t you get packed up and we’ll get out of here.”
Mark stood and put on his coat. “If she comes home saying thatword, forget sitting in a corner. Monica will have your head.”
“Hey,” Drew said, with his hands up and his palms facing his brother. “Blame Timmy, not me. He started it.”
“Great. Good plan. It’s no wonder you and my four-year-old get along so well.”
For the past few hours the snow and wind had been relentless. Drew could hardly see the building across from his through the swirling flakes. Victoria had fallen asleep during their second movie and was cuddled up on the couch.
Staring out the window, he knew there was no way he’d let his brother travel in this storm to pick her up. He sent a text to Mark, letting him know she could spend the night. Once they went through all of the parental directives, it was a done deal.
What he wouldn’t give for Lacey to be holed up with them at his place. Victoria would just love her. As if she could sense he was thinking of her, his phone rang.
“Hey,” Drew whispered and headed into his bedroom so he wouldn’t wake Victoria. “How are you?”
“I’m good. I hope I’m not disturbing you.”
“No, my niece is asleep on my couch, and I didn’t want to wake her. I’m in my room now, so it’s fine.”
“Aww, how sweet. Are you babysitting? Remind me, how old is she again?”
“Yeah, I’m watching her, and thanks to the storm we’ll be having a sleepover. And she’s four going on fifteen.”
The music of Lacey’s laugh was better than his favorite song. “I can’t wait to meet her. I bet she just loves her uncle Drew.”
“Why wouldn’t she? I am rather spectacular,” he said, sitting down on his bed.
“That you are. Well, I don’t want to take you away from your uncle duties. I just called to say hi and tell you I’m going to comeclean with my bosses and tell them I took it upon myself to go to Carson Enterprises. Keep your fingers crossed that they aren’t so annoyed they fire me on the spot.”
“Lacey, it took courage, confidence, and initiative to do what you did. That speaks volumes, and if your bosses can’t see that, then they don’t deserve to have you as partner.”
“You make it sound so easy.”
“I know it isn’t, sweetheart, but really think about the opposite happening. What if Pete hires you because of your impromptu pitch?”
Before Lacey could reply, Victoria stumbled in, rubbing her eyes. “Uncle Drew, what time is Daddy coming to pick me up? We need to finish watching the movie.”
“You’re spending the night.” Victoria clapped her hands. “Hold on for a second, Lacey. I’m going to switch to video chat.” Drew clicked the video option and waited for Lacey’s face to appear. As soon as it did, he broke into a huge smile. “You get more beautiful every day.”
Victoria climbed up on his lap, rested her head on his shoulder, and looked into the phone. Lacey beamed when she saw the little girl.
“You must be Victoria. I’m Lacey.”
Drew kissed the top of Victoria’s head. “Yes, this is my wonderful niece. Victoria, this is my girlfriend, Lacey.”
“You’re pretty.” Lacey smiled at Victoria’s compliment, and the little girl’s eyes lit up. “We’re having a slumber party—want to come over? Uncle Drew makes the best popcorn.”
“I wish I could. Will you have some popcorn for me?”
“Yup.” As her usual attention span went, Victoria slid off Drew’s lap, calling goodbye to Lacey as she scampered back into the family room.
“She’s adorable.”