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“It was on the counter when I made breakfast. Are you upset with me?”
I shook my head. “No, I’m not upset. I’m rather in your debt. You have cooked for me twice, let me sleep in, watched my son, bought me a Christmas tree, and you might have found me a job.”
“Sounds like your Christmas wish might be coming true, then,” he said softly and winked.
I frowned at him, and he glanced at Luke and then back at me a little nervously.
Chapter Ten
Peter
Whoops, I hadn’t meant to say that.
“What do you mean by that, Peter?”
I nodded my head toward Luke. “Might be better to discuss that later, but I sometimes play a part.”
Her jaw dropped after a few seconds, and she had put two and two together. “As soon as Luke goes to bed, you are going to explain that.”
Two hours later, and one Christmas tree decorated, Luke was tucked in bed, and Faith joined me on the couch with a glass of wine. “Okay, why didn’t you tell me that you were Santa when you saw me the other day?”
“How would that have looked if Santa wanted to put his hands all over a little boy's mom?”
She laughed. “That’s how you knew I was in town.”
“Yes. Luke had his new address in his Dear Santa letter.”
She winced. “You read mine, didn’t you?”
“I did, and I hated it.”
“I figured it would get dropped in the dead pile. Do you all still have one of those it’s-never-gonna-happen piles?”
“Yeah, we do, but no. I kept it with me.”
“Why?” She stared at me, and I cupped her cheek.
“Because even though I haven’t seen you in almost twelve years, I wanted to make your wish come true. I know that I can’t give you the life that you had, Faith, but I can help you build a new life here—one filled with laughter and fun and picnics in the living room.”
“Is that what you want?”
“Right now, more than I want anything else in the world. I know we aren’t in love with each other, but I know we care about one another, and I have no doubt that we will fall in love with one another. I know it’s crazy, Faith, but I want that with you. I want you, I want Luke, I want us to be a family.”
“Do you want children?”
I paused for only a second. “I always saw myself having a child, but maybe Luke will be that child. I would never pressure you to have one.”
She smiled slowly, running her fingers over my ear. “And for that reason alone, I would want one with you, because you would never pressure me to have one.”
“So, what do you say you take the job, and you and Luke move in with me—when you are ready—and we fix this place up and sell it, and we can live happily ever after together?”
She seemed to be contemplating that for a moment. “Okay, on one condition.”
“What?”
“You help me talk Santa into finding one of those damn Mighty Mark playsets that Luke wants. I can’t find one anywhere that won’t cost me an arm and a leg.”
I laughed. “You got yourself a deal. If I told you I already had one, how would you thank me?”
