Page 20 of Christmas Treasures (Sugarville Grove #6)

MAX

H is apartment was warm when they returned, pizza box in hand. The tree they’d dropped off earlier stood in the corner, looking somewhat pathetic. Perhaps this was a lesson in fatherhood. Giving his child the choice of trees, even though he would have left this one on the lot.

Charlie carried the pizza box to the coffee table, suggesting they eat before decorating the tree.

“Where’s Camilla?” Charlie asked.

He smiled, shaking his head. “My mother insisted on taking her into town to show her around.” In fact, he felt certain his mother had offered so that he could be alone with Charlie and Bianca. She was anything but subtle.

His thoughts drifted to Lucia. What would she think if she knew he had a new woman in his life? One who could possibly be Bianca’s new mother figure? Would she be angry?

He flashed back to one of Lucia’s last days before death had snatched her away from him. She’d grown so weak and thin by then that she could barely lift her head. The cancer had carved her down to bone and willpower. She looked like a shadow of herself, except for her eyes. Those were still sharp.

Max sat beside her as quietly as he could, not wanting to wake her.

Her eyes fluttered open. “You’re still here.” Her voice rasped like brittle paper.

“I’m not going anywhere.”

A faint smile tugged at her mouth. “My Max. Always loyal.”

The room was dim, curtains drawn to keep the heat from escaping and just a bedside lamp turned on. The light hurt her eyes, she’d said to him last week.

Lucia reached for his hand with cold fingers. “There’s something I need from you.”

“Anything.”

“Bianca. She’s been my whole world since the moment she was born. I don’t want to leave her. But I know it’s coming.” Tears slid from her eyes. “It’s only days now. I can feel everything shutting down.”

Max leaned forward to dab gently with a tissue. “Don’t say it.”

“Rosella wants to take her home with her. To her village. But I’m worried. She’s old and without money to take care of a child. If something should happen to her, Bianca will be all alone. Who knows what will happen to her.”

Her hand tightened on his, surprisingly strong. “I’ll send her money, my love. Every month.”

“You’re going home, then?” Lucia asked. “After I’m gone?”

“Without you, this is no longer my home.” He’d not yet told her of his thoughts of home.

Of how much he missed his family. If he lost her, which was inevitable, there would be no reason to stay in Florence.

In fact, he didn’t know if he could live here without her.

Lucia was Florence. Every corner, every street, had a memory.

“I want you to take Bianca, should anything happen to Rosella,” Lucia said.

He stared down at her. “Me? But I don’t know anything about how to care for a child. ”

“You know how to love with your whole heart, Max. That’s all she needs.”

“What if I’m in America?” Max asked. “Would you want me to bring her there?”

“Wherever you are is where she should be.”

“But how? Legally, it’s complicated, isn’t it?”

“I’ve had a lawyer draw up the paperwork,” Lucia said. “If Rosella dies, Bianca goes to you. You have to agree, of course.”

Max gazed down at the pale curve of her wrist, the way the light hit the delicate blue veins beneath her skin.

“What if I’m not equipped to be a father?”

“You’ve been her father. All these months since I’ve been sick. You’re bonded.”

It was true.

“I know you’re ready to go home. You should be where your heart leads you.

And Rosella begged me to give my blessing.

She wants her. But if anything happens to her, I need to know she can go to you.

I don’t care where you are, as long as you’ll welcome her into your life.

” Lucia let out a slow, rattling breath.

“I want her to be loved. If I know that, I can die with peace.”

How could he refuse her? “I’ll bring her to me if Rosella passes. Don’t worry any longer. I’ll make sure they have enough money to live on, and I’ll be there should Rosella need me.”

Lucia closed her eyes and exhaled as if she’d been holding her breath for weeks. “God sent you to me. Do you see that? How he knew just what we needed? I can rest easy now. You are a man who always keeps his promises.”

He sat there long after she’d fallen to sleep, praying silently that her suffering would end soon.

Two nights later, she drifted away, off to heaven.

And now, here he was, welcoming Bianca into his home and family.

The bond between them was still there. He could feel it when she slipped her hand into his.

Lucia had been right. Bianca belonged with him.

Even if it meant he had to change his whole lifestyle, he would keep his promise.

Now, Max hung up their coats and Bianca went off to the bathroom, leaving him alone with Charlie and the sad little tree.

“It must have been excruciating for her mother,” Charlie said softly. “Leaving her. Knowing she would not be here to watch her grow up. To protect her.”

“Yes, she agonized over it. But I promised her I’d take care of her, and that gave her peace.”

“Oh, Max, that must have been so hard. Watching her fade away.” Her eyes filled, and she reached for him.

He pulled her to him, crushing her in an embrace, and suddenly they were kissing.

The world narrowed to the soft pressure of her lips against his.

Charlie’s fingers threaded through his hair, pressing herself against him.

The kiss deepened into something more than simply attraction.

It was grief and hope and longing all tangled together.

Max felt himself falling, tumbling into a feeling he’d kept locked away for too long.

When they finally broke apart, they gazed into each other’s eyes, both seeming unsure of what to do about the deepening feelings of connection between them.

Charlie’s fingers traced the line of his jaw with delicate precision. “What will I do with you?”

“Is there anything to be done?” Fall in love with me, Charlie Keene. That’s what to do.

The sound of running water from the bathroom stopped. Bianca would return soon. Max reluctantly stepped back, his hands sliding from her waist with obvious reluctance.

Charlie straightened her sweater just as Bianca’s footsteps padded back down the hallway .

Max struggled to compose himself, knowing his face must betray everything he was feeling.

Bianca skipped back into the room. She stopped abruptly, looking between Max and Charlie with their flushed faces and slightly disheveled appearance. A knowing smile spread across her face as she placed her small hands on her hips.

“La nonna dice che quando due persone si baciano, significa che presto ci sarà una festa,” she announced solemnly, then giggled behind her hand.

Charlie’s eyes widened, and she burst out laughing, her cheeks turning an even deeper shade of pink.

“What did she say?” Max asked, his eyes darting between them.

Charlie cleared her throat, trying to compose herself. “She said, ‘Nonna says when two people kiss, it means there will soon be a party.’” She bit her lip, fighting another smile. “She’s planning our wedding already.”

Max’s startled laugh filled the room as Bianca nodded enthusiastically, clearly pleased with herself for bringing such happiness to the adults.

“I think it’s time to string those lights,” Charlie said.

Camilla was still asleep in Bianca’s room.

Max had seen her feet dangling over the twin bed.

The poor woman had traveled by herself with a child from so far away, but she would want to go home soon.

He’d have thought the idea of losing her would fill him with anxiety.

Instead, he felt a sense of tranquility and maybe even inevitability.

She was meant to go home to her family. He was meant to stay here with his.

Would it include Charlie? Despite some of the challenges she seemed to have with accepting love, he was open to the possibilities of what a life together would mean to them both.

“Let’s eat.” Max crossed the room to turn on Christmas music. “I don’t know if I can tackle those lights without some food in my belly.”

The three of them settled onto the couch with plates of warm pizza.

Bianca nestled in between as though it was her natural place in the world.

She took small, satisfied bites, humming softly, her feet swinging above the rug.

The domestic scene twisted something deep in his chest—a longing so acute it was almost painful.

This was what he wanted, he realized. Not just for tonight, but for all his nights.

“Questa è la pizza più buona di sempre.” Bianca reached for another piece.

“She says it’s the best pizza she’s ever had,” Charlie said. “But she might be biased.”

“She helped make it.” Max caught Charlie’s gaze over Bianca’s head. “That’s a valid bias.” He wanted to say much more. You made this happen. You made us feel like a family. Instead, he asked her, “How does all this feel?”

“Like Christmas,” Charlie said. “But it’s okay.”

“I hope I’m not forcing all this on you.”

“I chose to meet you at the Christmas tree farm,” Charlie said, looking into his eyes. “I want to be here.”

No better words had ever been uttered in his presence. “Thank you. For being here. And for saying that.”

“You’re welcome.”

He wanted so badly to kiss her again, but it would not be right with little Bianca sitting between them. Regardless, the soft way she was looking at him gave him enough of what he needed from her.

When they finished eating, Max pulled a large plastic tub from the top shelf of his storage closet. Memories of past Christmases—some joyful, some bittersweet—were sealed inside.