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I looked up, blinking innocently. “Whatever do you mean? There’s no way someone could get in there without the key. You always have it locked. And there’s security!”
“Yes, he seemed unconvincingly puzzled about how someone might have got in there without him noticing,” Shane told me with a smirk. “Though not nearly as unconvincing as you’re being right now. The theater is not your future.”
“Tell me about it. The only time I was ever in a play was when I was eight years old. It was some scene from Charlotte’s Web, and instead of saying the line, I broke down in tears and ran out of the gym,” I said with a laugh at the memory. “My mother found me hiding in a classroom and tried to comfort me. My dad? Oh, he had to hide behind her because he was trying so hard not to laugh. In my fit to run away, I knocked over a couple of kids, including the one playing the pig, and he got stuck on his back.”
Shane narrowed his eyes, leaning forward. “I can’t tell if you’re trying to change the subject and using a touching family anecdote or if the story is a genuine recollection.”
“Eh, bit of both,” I said with a shrug.
His expression softened. “Do you miss them?”
“Sometimes,” I admitted. “But it’s been so long it’s sometimes hard to remember their faces. But I remember my dad always liked to make me laugh, and my mom’s singing voice was the best thing I ever heard. How much you remember isn’t important. It’s what you remember.”
“My little philosopher,” he said softly, a smile on his lips.
I grinned. “And I definitely picked the lock of your door and let myself in to drop off your gift.”
Shane snickered, finally taking another drink. “And just where did someone as moral and right as you learn to do something like that?”
I rolled my eyes, turning to face him. “You do remember I told you I got into a lot of trouble as a teen, right? Well, I also picked up a few…troublemaking skills along the way.”
“Just what were those charges you said were almost laid against you?” he asked curiously.
“Theft. I’m probably not as good as I used to be, but I used to be able to pick a mean pocket.”
“Not that good, it seems. You were caught.”
I shrugged. “That was when I was thirteen. I was still working on it. The second charge was assault, but Diane and Tony stepped in to smooth things over. They’re pretty well known in that little town of theirs, and a lot of people respect them. I never asked what was involved, but I’m betting it was just them explaining they had another ‘difficult teen’ in their house and they would deal with it.”
“My little troublemaker,” he said, setting the glass down and rounding the counter. “Whatever will I do with you?”
“I have this suspicion you already have a few ideas,” I said with a chuckle. Despite my admonition for his earlier behavior, I did nothing to stop him as he drew closer.
“Several,” he said, bending forward to rest a hand on my chair and the table so he hovered over me. “But they can wait until later. At the moment, I want to thank you for the flower. It’s beautiful.”
“And very hard to kill,” I pointed out, gazing up into his eyes.
“So I read once I discovered the label you helpfully placed on it,” Shane said, the corner of his lips curling upward. “You have atrocious handwriting.”
“People have always joked that I should have been a doctor,” I chuckled.
“I want to tell you something else,” he said, leaning closer.
“What’s that?”
“I like that hat on you.”
“You’re going to ask me to wear it later tonight, aren’t you?”
“Just that.”
“Jackass,” I said, giving in and reaching up to pull him closer for another kiss. “Merry Christmas, Shane.”
“Merry Christmas, Kevin,” he said before our lips met.
CHAPTER NINE
I did my best not to fidget in the backseat, not wanting to wrinkle the nice suit. Sophia had allowed me to keep the one she’d bought for the party she dragged me to, and it had stayed in my bedroom closet. I hadn’t known I’d need it again anytime soon until Shane had mentioned a few days before New Year's Eve that I should probably drag it out. Apparently, whatever we were doing was a black-tie sort of thing, so I quickly found somewhere to get it cleaned and ironed because putting me in charge of that sort of task was a disaster waiting to happen.
