Merry Christmas! Another chapter as promised, and there's maybe going to be some additions later, haven't decided yet lol I don't know when the next chapter is coming, but maybe mid-January. Until then!
Bella was ready to throw herself on her bed and be done with the day, but of course Giovanna would be high on sugar. She blamed Charlie on that one.
"You're working as a baker for Sue, and you complain when I bake some cookies with my granddaughter?" Charlie asked, seeing the glare Bella was sending his way. "Ask me again if I'll do something nice for you."
She couldn't help but laugh at the exasperation on Charlie's voice. Bella knew Charlie loved Giovanna more than anything, and would do everything in his power to make the little girl happy.
"You're a lousy liar, Dad," Bella said, tidying up the living room. "You still have enough cookie batter for when Maya and Paul arrive here?"
"Of course I'll have," Charlie grumbled under his breath, returning to the kitchen. "I know how to entertain."
Bella tried not to roll her eyes, but her father was too much sometimes. Giovanna and Maya wanted to spend Christmas Eve together, and since Giovanna gushed about the cookies she made with her grandpa, they were going to spend some time together.
Things between her and Paul seemed to be a little weird, after the time Paul had babysat Giovanna. They met for the girls to go on playdates, but it seemed strained and full of weird silences and tension. Bella was curious to know how things would go today.
"Maya is here!" Giovanna yelled, when the doorbell rang. "C'mon, Mummy, open the door!"
Bella smiled at her daughter's antics but went to open the door anyway. "Welcome to the cookie madness."
"Thank you, that's exactly what any parent wants to hear," Paul deadpanned, making Bella's smile widen. "Maya won't stop talking about it."
"Gio asked if I wanted to come, Daddy," Maya said, glaring at him, before entering the house and squealing at seeing Giovanna.
"Sometimes I wonder if she's really my daughter, but when she glares at me like this, I don't have a doubt in my mind," Paul said, smiling at the two little girls.
"It's like having a mini you, isn't it?" Bella said, motioning for him to enter the house. "Gio has some quirks that Charlie swears are just like me at that age."
Bella always felt at ease talking with Paul, even if it was something non-consequential. It was good to have another single parent to talk about anything, no matter what.
"I completely understand." Paul was giving her one of those looks and she felt herself blushing. "And thank you for the invitation."
"No problem," Bella replied, walking towards the kitchen, where their daughters were already making a mess alongside Charlie. "It looks like Santa will be able to choose which cookie he'll want, huh?"
"Santa likes gingerbread cookies, Miss Bella," Maya said with a finality that made Bella smile.
"I'm sure he does, Maya." Bella caressed the little girl's cheek, and Maya smiled at her. "Why don't you two go to the living room to watch a movie, while us adults finish cleaning everything here."
"Kay!" the two girls said at the same time, before running towards the living room.
"These two act like siblings sometimes," Charlie commented, not giving a damn about Bella's glare. "Why don't you two go watch a movie with them, I can clean things here."
Bella tried to stop Charlie, but he was already shooing them away from the kitchen. Without knowing what to do, Bella just walked towards the living room, smiling seeing Giovanna and Maya huddled together under a blanket.
"Don't you two look cosy?" Paul drawled, walking towards the couch.
"Come sit with us, Daddy! Christmas is time to cuddle," Maya replied, looking at her father with a little smile on her face. "Miss Bella should come too."
She blanched, not wanting to read anything about what it meant, before Giovanna threw her two cents in it.
"Yes, Mr Paul, you and Mummy need to come cuddle with us." She was smiling cheekily at them, and Bella swore she was acting just like Charlie.
Sighing, Bella decided to appease the girls and just sat down. Bella felt Paul's eyes on her, but she played it off. So what if they were cuddling their daughters on the couch? This means nothing, and nothing will have to change between them.
"'The Sweetest Christmas'? This is the movie you wanted to watch?" Paul asked, looking at the Hallmark-ish movie the girls choose. "Why?"
"Because of the girl from 'Mean Girls'!" Giovanna exclaimed happily.
"How do you know 'Mean Girls'?" Bella asked, looking at Giovanna with a raised eyebrow.
"Grandma let me watch it," Giovanna replied and Bella swore she was going to kill René at her earliest convenience.
The reason why Giovanna and Maya had chosen that particular movie to watch it soon became apparent, when the protagonist of the movie was a baker—just like herself—who fell in love with a single dad.
Subtitle wasn't the girls' strength, and the fact they seemed to be getting closer and making Paul and her getting closer, was a dead give away too. Bella chanced a look at Paul, but he wasn't showing anything.
Shaking her head, and trying not to think much about it, Bella let herself get surrounded by the warmth and happiness of the room.