Page 82 of Learn Your Lesson

“What about you, Chef Patel?” I interrupted, cracking my neck and hoping it came off just as me being sore and stiff from last night’s game, and not that I was two seconds away from hauling Chloe up over my shoulder caveman style and taking her to my room so I could lock her up and ensureno manever looked at her again.

Chef’s smirk tilted my way now, an amused glint in her eyes.

Damn her.

“I work for you,” she pointed out sarcastically. Then, she pretended to be concerned, her bottom lip protruding. “Sore neck?”

“I’m fine,” I grumbled, and I looked away from her before she could chuckle into her wine glass.

“Why?” Chloe asked. “What’s going on next Monday?”

“I’ll have Sunday off, and we’ll have a later, lighter practice that Monday. The schedule has been crazy lately, and we’re closing in on the end of the season over the next couple of months. Coach has been pretty insistent that we take time away from the rink when we can.”

The women in front of me nodded.

“So, I was thinking…” I grimaced, grabbing the back of my neck and wondering if I even wanted to say these words. Because once they were out, there’d be no turning back.

“What?” Chef asked impatiently, snapping her fingers. “Come on, spit it out, I don’t have all night. My brothers are having a Carrom tournament, and I have ten minutesbefore I need to leave or I’ll lose my chance to take all their money again.”

“Oh, what’s Carrom?” Chloe asked excitedly.

“It’s a tabletop game, kind of like finger billiards — but with small disks. I’ll explain another time when Mr. Turkey isn’t edging us with the possibility of pulling his daughter out of school for a day of hooky for some mysterious reason.”

Two pairs of eyes swung back to me, and I scratched my neck before letting out a long, heavy sigh.

“There were many places Jenny loved to go on a day off,” I said. “But, from the second she moved to Florida, one place trumped everything else.”

I looked up at the ceiling, another flash of Jenny assaulting me like a bright blinding light. I saw her wide smile, my hand in hers as she tugged me through the most godforsaken place on the planet — with the most idiotic mouse ears on her head.

With another exhale, I brought my gaze to Chloe. “Disney World.”

The table was so silent I could hear the dishwasher running in the next room.

“Disney World,” Chef repeated, deadpan, like there was no way she’d heard me correctly.

“DisneyWorld?!” Chloe echoed, her mouth falling open on a smile as she clapped and bounced gleefully in her chair.

“Disney World,” I said again.

And then I was tackled in a hug so fierce I nearly flew off my chair.

Tell Me What You Want

Chloe

“Well, I have to say, it’s an honor to finally meet you,” I said a few nights later, greeting Mitch Perry in a hug that he seemed much better equipped to handle than his nephew. “Ava has talked nonstop about you since the beginning of the school year.”

“She gives this old man too much credit,” he said, flashing a warm smile when he released me. Mitch was at least twenty years Will’s senior. He possessed so many of his nephew’s features — the sharp jaw, wide shoulders, crinkles at the edge of his eyes. But his expression was warmer, his smile easy and natural where Will stood behind him with his usual scowl.

“Thanks again, Unc,” he said, handing over the large purple backpack with all of Ava’s belongings for the night. “She’s really excited.”

“Are you kidding? I’d never pass up the opportunity to spend a night with my girl. I hate how busy work has been lately. It should ease up for a whilenow. Then again, I guess if I had been more available, we might not have you around,” he added with a wink my way. “Also, is it you we have to thank for how smiley my great niece is? Because the sight about knocked me on my ass.”

“Yes,” Will said at the same time I said, “Oh, no.”

Will’s eyes caught mine, a warning glare like he’d fight me if I tried to hide from the compliment.

“Ava is like a new person, thanks to Chloe. She’s really come out of her shell,” Will said. “Still loves hockey, though. So I hope you’re prepared to watch a game tonight.”