When the door swung open, I frowned.

“Ryan?”

“You didn’t even ask who was at the door. You should be more careful, Luce.”

Her brows shot up. “Um, hello to you too. What are you doing here? And I’m not the little girl you need to look out for anymore.”

Yes, I could see that she wasn’t a little girl anymore. She sported loose sweatpants, but the tank top she had on was skin tight, revealing a sliver of skin of her abdomen. Clearly, she wore no bra because a slight breeze passed between us, and instantly her nipples puckered. I forced my eyes upward and my head out of the gutter.

“Hi, sorry for dropping by without notice, I just wanted to...” What did I want? All I knew was that I felt compelled to see her. To thank her maybe? I wasn’t quite sure. “I wanted to thank you for everything.”

Lucy wrapped her arms around her middle. “You can stop thanking me, Ryan. I don’t mind helping out. I can’t believe you braved the cold to come here for that. You have heard of the little invention call the cell phone, right?”

I grinned. “Maybe I wanted someone to talk to, in person.”

She softened, just like I knew she would. Then, she looked over my shoulder at my parked car. “Where are the girls?”

“At home, in bed. I hired a babysitter for a few hours." Guilt swept his face the moment he said it. "Don't worry; I made sure she was reputable, highly recommended from the family down the street. They're safe with Joanne."

“I’m not worried, you deserve few hours off. Well, I suppose you better come in,” Lucy said and glanced back behind her.

“You have company?” I tensed, hit with an onslaught of jealousy that surprised me. The thought that Lucy had some man in her home made me want to punch something, which was ridiculous. She was free to do whatever she wanted.

“I do.” She stepped aside. “But come in.”

I hesitated, not wanting to intrude, but I did want to scope the guy out. “Thanks.”

Lucy’s quaint home was warm, like her, cozy and welcoming, with a lot of soothing colors. It also smelled heavenly. The scent of freshly baked pastries filled the air.

“Smells good in here.”

“I just got done baking cookies for Charlie.”

“Charlie?” Great I knew the man’s name.

“Yeah. Hey, Charlie, we have a visitor.”

Good God, did the man live with her? Since when? If Lucy were shacking up with a boyfriend, I would have known, right? Sure, I had made great effort to avoid her as much as I could for the past year, but her brother would have told me. My jaws clenched as I waited for Charlie to appear. I wasn’t expecting the lanky, red-haired girl that rounded the corner, into the living room.

“A client at this hour?” She froze. Her eyes widened behind her tortoiseshell glasses. “Oh, my God. Santa came early and left a gorgeous man in your living room, Lucy.”

Lucy groaned, and I grinned. “Charlie, this is Ryan. Ryan this is my assistant, Charlotte Turner.”

She smoothed her pixie cut hair and extended a hand, which I took into mine. “Nice to meet you, Charlotte.”

“Please, call me Charlie, all my friends do, and you’re the type of my man I want to be my friend.”

“Charlie,” Lucy warned.

Her eyes widened a fraction more. “Oh, is this your boyfriend, Lucy? I’m sorry. Wow, you sure know how to pick ‘em. I should get going, then. Give you two your privacy.”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Lucy clarified.

“Oh, come on Lucy, you don’t have to hide the fact that you’re dating. I’m twenty years old; you don’t have to tiptoe around me.”

I watched amused as Lucy’s face turned crimson. “He really isn’t—”

“I’ll grab my cookies and bounce. Thanks for your help. You’re the best boss ever.”

“Charlie, you don’t have to leave.”

“It’s cool. I’m meeting up with some friends in a bit. I’ll go through the back door. Have a good night. It was a pleasure meeting you Ryan.” She looked at me then at Lucy with twinkling green eyes before disappearing.

Lucy huffed. “Sorry about that, Charlie is—”

“Animated. I like her.”

Lucy laughed. “It’s hard not to. She’s so full of energy I can barely keep up sometimes. But, she’s an amazing employee.” She nodded to a cream linen sofa. “Please, have a seat.”

“I didn’t mean to interrupt. Do you usually work this late?”

“Sometimes. I wasn’t working tonight, though. I made some cookies for Charlie. She goes to the community college, and they’re having an early Christmas party. She volunteered to bring the cookies.” She plopped down across from me. “So, you said you wanted to talk. What’s up?”

Letting out a breath, I shrugged. “I was at home, and I felt the need to get out. You know?” The girls were asleep, and as I sat alone, in silence, my thoughts started to drive me up the wall. “I figure, what better place to run to than to the woman who has been my savior?”

Her laughter filled the room, so melodious and infectious. “For goodness sake, Ryan, all I’ve done is cook you and the girls a few meals.”

For the past week, Lucy showed up at my house to make breakfast and dinner. She cleaned up the house and got the girls ready for the day and kept them occupied while I worked. She was an angel. “You’ve been saving my life, that’s what you’ve been doing.”

“Well, you have to work and take care of the girls, which is challenging enough. Plus, after everything else you’ve been through, you needed a little bit of help. I love the girls and I lov— and you’re my friend. Friends help each other out.” Lucy shifted uneasily, which left me to wonder why she would be uncomfortable around me. “Is there anything else, in particular, you want to talk about?”

“Are you going to try and play therapist?”

She held up both palms. “Hey, you sought me out. You wanted to talk.” She snickered. “And no, I won’t try to get into your head. I know I’m just a substitute until your drinking buddy returns.”

“You are second to no one, Lucy Wells.”

“Oh yeah? Are you saying you wouldn’t prefer to be at a bar with Eric drowning your sorrows and ogling women right now?”

“I do not ogle.” She was right. I would have loved to be drowning my grief in a bottle of vodka but, I had two kids to think about before myself now. I had to keep my shit together. “I can’t spend my nights hanging out at bars, Luce. Maxi and Becky need me at home, sober.”

She smiled. “And you said you had no idea what you’re doing. You’re doing good, Ryan. I can tell by the way those girls look at you. They’re happy. Beth knew you wouldn’t let her down.”

I was silent for a while, reflected on the bomb that was dropped in my life months ago. After my sister and her husband died, I found out that Beth had me as guardian of both girls if anything were to happen to her and James. Needless to say, I was stunned. I knew our mom, who’d relocated to Chicago to live with her sister after my father passed, was too old and frail to take custody of the girls. James had no living relatives. But, what about the godparents? After my initial shock and apprehension, I did what I had to do.

“You don’t think I’ll ruin the girls’ lives? I know absolutely nothing about children.”

“The girls adore you, and you adore them. That’s enough. You’ll learn as you go. Like every other parent in the world. And I’m here if you need anything… I don't know jack-shit either, but together we can work it out." Lucy paused and looked away. Together, huh? I tried to decipher the meaning of her words, but then she quickly added as her face brightened again, "I’ll even teach you to cook, so you don’t poison yourself and the girls.”

“Ha! Thanks. I might take you up on that.”

Her lips stretched into a grin. “So, do you feel better?”

“I do.” I really did. The little chat with Lucy was encouraging.

“Is that it? You look like you have something else on your mind. Spill it."

I cocked a brow. “I’m not talking about Julie.”

“How did you know—”

“Because I’ve known you since you were a kid prancing around in a tutu. I can read you like an open book, Luce. Besides, that's not what's on my mind."