Not Just for Christmas

Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

M aybe he was showing off a little for Erin’s benefit, but Lewis was also just enjoying being out on the ice. Having Poppy with him turned out to be beneficial too. Once Erin had gone to get herself a drink, he developed a tactic of switching his attention to Poppy whenever anyone tried to get his attention. He could pretend she was asking him something to avoid getting stuck in meaningless conversations.

It was the problem with living in a small town. Everyone knew him, and everyone always seemed to want something from him – whether it was merely to pass the time of day, or ask inane questions about the hotel, or coax him into supporting some fundraiser or other. There was always something. And while he didn’t entirely begrudge it, sometimes he just wanted to saunter around an ice rink and not think about anything else.

Poppy was good company as well. She was undemanding and brimming with positive energy.

Her eyelids started to droop as Lewis fastened her seatbelt for the drive home. By the time they reached the hotel she was out for the count and he waved the other guests off the bus before going around to the passenger side.

“Can I help at all?” Erin asked, lingering by the open door.

“It’s fine,” he said automatically. “Go inside and get warm. I’m going to transfer her straight to Ivy’s car.” He’d already messaged Ivy to tell her to come outside.

Poppy didn’t stir when he lifted her from the bus. Erin hadn’t moved either.

“I can grab the booster seat,” she said, reaching into the passenger seat.

His instinct was to usher her inside since she was a hotel guest and should be relaxing, not helping. But it wasn’t particularly easy to balance Poppy’s sleeping weight while also trying to fish Ivy’s car key out of his pocket. “That’s actually really helpful,” he told her. “Thanks.”

Erin opened the car door and set the booster on the seat, then murmured something about Poppy’s hat and whipped back towards the minibus.

“Did she have a good time?” Ivy said, appearing while he was buckling Poppy in.

“Yes.”

“Thank you for taking her. You’re the best.”

He tried to smile when he straightened up, but something had been bothering him all evening.

“Did you buy her a bike?” he asked softly.

“What?”

“Poppy wants a bike for Christmas. Did you get her one?”

Ivy arched an eyebrow. “What are you going to do otherwise, go and buy her one? Because I’m not sure where you’ll legally acquire a kid’s bike at ten o’clock on Christmas Eve. And, by the way, maybe you should look after yourself from time to time instead of trying to take care of everyone else.”

“Did you buy her a bike?” he said again, this time through gritted teeth.

“Yes.” She gave a frustrated shake of the head. “Of course I got her a bike. Why would you even ask me that? ”

“Sorry,” he muttered, feeling terrible for doubting her. “Poppy seemed to think she probably wouldn’t get a bike.”

“Yes.” Ivy’s face broke into a gentle smile. “I let her think she might not get it, so she’ll be even happier when she does.”

That made sense. He should have thought of that. “Can you take a video of her opening it?” he asked sheepishly.

“Yes.” Ivy flung her arms around him and gave him a big kiss on the cheek. “Have a great Christmas!”

“You too.” He squeezed her tightly, then turned at the sight of Erin hovering in his peripheral vision.

“Sorry,” she said, then held Poppy’s hat out to Ivy.

“Thanks,” Ivy said. “And thanks again for taking her. Happy Christmas!” She walked around the car, but paused after opening the driver’s door. “By the way, there’s a little problem with the decorations in the entranceway. Can you sort it out?”

“What kind of problem?” Lewis asked wearily. There was always something.

“They’re falling down a bit. Right inside the door.”

“And you couldn’t possibly have fixed it yourself?” He was sure she’d had plenty of time while they’d been out.

Ivy turned her nose up. “I thought it would be better if you did it.” She beamed at him and hopped into the car.

As the car pulled away, he gave Erin a sidelong glance. “I’ve known Ivy since we were about eight,” he said.

She nodded. “I take it Poppy’s father isn’t on the scene?”

“No. He ditched Ivy when she was pregnant. She doesn’t have an easy time of it.” They paused outside the hotel entrance. “I try to help when I can, but Ivy isn’t great at accepting help.”

“Sometimes it feels easier not to rely on other people.”

He opened his mouth to ask if she was the same way, but she seemed to anticipate the question and diverted the conversation.

“I guess you should see about the decorations that need fixing,” she said, pointing at the door.

“I suppose I should.”

He held the door for her and looked for the damage as soon as they were inside.

There was absolutely nothing wrong with the decorations. There was, however, a huge sprig of mistletoe directly above their heads.