Page 8 of Coffee and Christmas Kisses
“What else do we need to know about each other to prove we’ve been dating a while?” I nodded in the direction of a parking lot coming into view. “We’re almost there.”
Cole shook his head. “I think we can wing it.”
As I put the car into park, I gave him a little grin. “That sounds like a dangerous plan.”
“I’ll show you a dangerous plan,” he murmured, leaning forward. For a fraction of a second, I thought he was going to kiss me, and my heart thumped hard as his mouth got closer to mine. Just before our lips met, though, a knock on the driver’s side window behind me startled us apart. My heart raced as adrenaline spiked through me.
“No making out in the parking lot!” said a voice from behind me.
I turned to see my youngest brother, Rhett, grinning widely and waving at us from the parking lot.
I hissed a swear under my breath and Cole chuckled.
“Showtime,” he murmured before climbing out of the car.
Here we go, I thought.
Chapter Five
Cole
What in God’s namehave I gotten myself into?That was my only thought as we crowded into the nursing home’s lobby with West’s brothers, their girlfriends, and the Davies parents. My head spun as I realized I’d need to try to remember everyone’s names. I took a deep breath and focused on the introductions.
“You’re the boyfriend?” Mr. Davies asked, stepping forward to shake my hand. He wore a dark gray V-neck with a red and white cardigan sweater over it, along with jeans, and the only word I could conjure to describe him was “jolly.” I nodded and took his hand to shake it.
“Yes, sir. Pleased to meet you, Mr. Davies.”
He waved my pleasantry away. “Please, call me Chuck. Everyone does.”
“And I’m Eleanor,” his mom said. She looked elegant in a cream sweater and pearls, a dark green skirt, and her hair pulled up and tucked away into a bun.
West cleared his throat. “And these are my brothers, from youngest to oldest—Rhett, Nolan, and Beckett. And their partners, of course. Lacy, Noelle, and Summer.” Each person nodded or waved at me as they were being introduced and I had absolutely every confidence in the world that I’d completely forget everyone’s name within the following five minutes.
“Where are the kids?” West asked after introductions were done.
Chuck waved his hand as if the question was inconsequential. “We hired a pair of sitters. They’re at home. We didn’t think bringing a half-dozen kids would be a good idea for the residents. You know how the kids are.”
West nodded, but all I could think about was how there could have been anothersixnames to learn, and thanking my lucky stars the kids had been left at home.
While I pondered that, Eleanor handed out a stack of white three-ring binders, each stuffed with the words and music to a number of carols—most of them classics, but a few I hadn’t heard of before. Seeing the music printed in front of me, panic gripped me again.
I leaned close to West. “I can’t read music,” I hissed.
He shrugged. “Don’t worry about it. You’ll get the tunes pretty quickly. If you don’t know it, just stay quiet until you’re ready. Nobody will notice.”
“Is there a backing track, at least?”
He shook his head. “We sing a cappella. You’ll be fine, trust me.”
With a tentative nod, I opened my book and followed his lead.
Eleanor clearly had a master plan, because she led us directly to the dining room to start off. We began by singing a few classics, including “Frosty the Snowman” and “Silent Night.” The residents mostly stopped eating and sang along with us, seeming to enjoy the music and entertainment. The room was decorated with swaths of garland, red and gold ribbons everywhere, and several Christmas trees decked out with ornaments set off to the sides.
After delighting the main dining room for a good fifteen minutes, we wandered on. The nursing home was big—much bigger than I’d expected—and the hallway patterns were so complex it felt like a labyrinth. “If we get lost here, I’ll never find my way out,” I murmured to West, who chuckled.
“Don’t worry, I’ll rescue you.”
We continued on, stopping at the entryways to activity rooms, at small apartments clustered together, and two more dining rooms. It was overwhelming, but rewarding to see the smiles of joy on the residents’ faces.
