Page 15 of The Lucky One
She cackles. “The sauna, for real? I thought that was just a cliche.”
“No, it is real. The Finns love their saunas. Sometimes we jump from the sauna into the ice cold lake, and then back again. There is also vodka involved.”
She laughs. “What kind of berries are these?”
“Lingonberry and blueberry, I think.”
“It’s deli…” I hear a crunch, and her eyebrows fly upwards.
“You found it!” I exclaim. “The lucky almond. Congratulations.”
She covers her smile with one hand. “I hope you weren’t counting on it.”
“No.”I am already lucky. “Maybe you need it more.”
“Maybe.” She makes a face. “Although it would be fair to argue that luck isn’t what held me back last year. I think stupidity was the problem.”
“Hey—take it easy on yourself for Christmas?” I suggest. “I am trying to have a lucky meal here. What movie are we watching?”
“Have you seenHome Alone?”
“No, I do not think so.”
“Then we have to fix that right away,” she announces.
* * *
It is a veryfunny movie about a little boy who does not have his family with him for Christmas. I know the feeling. But today I do not mind.
After the movie, we go upstairs, carrying the ham that I’ve baked and Chiara’s bottle of wine. There is a big room on one end of the topmost floor, and the team has rented it out for our party.
“Ivo!” our captain yells as I step into the room. “You cooked a ham? And who is your lovely date?”
A dozen heads swivel in our direction. “Dude, Ivo has a date?” someone asks. And someone else makes a cat call sound.
“I told you it was casual,” I grumble. “Guys, this is Chiara. She was responsible for helping my English go from miserable to only very bad last year.”
There is a round of laughter, but then Heidi Jo skips forward and offers Chiara a glass of champagne. “Are you an English teacher?” she asks.
“No,” Chiara says with a shy smile. “I was his favorite waitress at my family’s café, and he used to come in for lunch three times a week.”
“The food must be excellent there,” Heidi Jo says with a wink. “It’s lovely to meet you. How do you feel about playing poker?”
“I love poker,” Chiara says.
“Be careful, she is ashark,” I insist.
After that, the party is easy. There are games and there is a giant amount of food and drink. “It’s nice meeting your teammates,” she says as Heidi Jo shuffles the deck with the flair of a dealer in Las Vegas. “Who knew Tank would wear a baby carrier on his days off?”
“Right?” Georgia, our publicist exclaims. “Men look extra hot wearing babies on their chests.”
“I will bear that in mind,” I say, and everyone laughs.
“Your English reallydidget better last year,” Castro says. “How’d you do that, Chiara?”
“I quizzed him every time I saw him,” she says with a shrug. “He is motivated by desserts.”
Another laugh. And the time just flies by. This party is twice as fun for me this year as it was last year. Having Chiara at my side is a big part of it.
