Page 14 of One More Yule Log

“Gray, what do you want for Christmas?” Olivia asked, totally oblivious to what he hoped was a subtle flirtation.

“Uh.” That caught him a little flat-footed. “I usually say socks.”

“Santa doesn’t bring socks. Daddies do.”

“Is that so?” He gave her an eyebrow waggle. “Well, maybe Santa will bring me a new mixer.”

“Oh, like Daddy’s? It’s fancy-pants!”

“It was a wedding gift from Dale’s brother. Your Uncle Mark, Liv.”

“It does pasta and peels apples and beats and whisks!”

He nodded easily. “The one I need at work stands on the floor and can do ten dozen cookies at one time.”

“No shit?”

“Daddy!”

Ben blushed. “Sorry, y’all. That’s incredibly cool.”

“It is. You should come see the behind-the-scenes at the kitchen, shouldn’t he, Liv?”

“After Christmas. Until Christmas, you’re too busy to breathe.”

“This is true.” He’d forgotten that a little. Maybe a lot. He was just having such a great time.

“So do you love the holidays? Hate them?”

“Oh, I adore them. They’re just lasting longer every year, right? Now people want Halloween cookies and fall cookies and parties last until after the Superbowl.” It got frazzling. Frazzled? Freakishly frazzle making.

“I suppose busy means good business, right? Although, I understand. I miss being a stay-at-home dad.”

“Do you?” That was both wonderful and sucky. Ben had to support Olivia. “Can you work from home more?”

“I’m sure trying to. I’m not—” Ben stopped himself. “I’d love to.”

Looked like there were problems he didn’t know about, and it wasn’t fair to drag that out in front of Olivia. Of course, Ben was running his husband’s business, not doing what he loved.

That made a huge difference, and Gray had to bite back the urge to offer to help. Instead, he nodded. “I always try to hire someone to do more of the admin at the bakery, but they never stay on.”

“The back-of-house paperwork is a bear, isn’t it? That’s what I used to do for Dale, backup admin. It was crazy.”

“It is. I mean, payroll isn’t so bad, but—” He glanced at Olivia, who patted back a yawn in a dainty way. “Yeah, yeah. Should we talk cake?”

“Nope. What kind of movies do you like?” Olivia gave him a pointed look.

“Uh. Bad comedies. LikeDodgeball.” What was she up to?

“If you can dodge a wrench…” Ben intoned and they all cracked up, the three of them giggling madly.

“What do you like, Miss Liv?” He expected Frozen.

“Wonder Woman. She’s a boss.”

“So is Captain Marvel, right?”

Ben pulled a face. “We haven’t had time to see that one yet.”