Free Perfectly Kissed by Lacey Silks Page B

Millie? For the universe to finally be balanced?” Dave echoed behind me, following me like a puppy dog. It’d be cute if he were a puppy, but Dave was a mature hound, all the time focused on me as if I were in heat twenty-four seven.
    And a balanced universe would be one where the hunky-dory piece of meat that was Dave Mayers would turn into an ugly toad so that I could easily resist him. This buff cop was a sin waiting to happen. I probably should have seen that as a good quality, but not when the money he made was one of the many reasons why we weren’t together.
    “The day we are in bed together is the day that the universe gets sucked into a black hole.”
    “Sucking and holes - now we’re talking.”
    “Shh, there’s a child in the room!” I pointed to Parker, my godson (who also happened to be Dave’s godson), who was sitting by the dimming fireplace in the family room with his beats on, bopping his head. I guessed he’d gotten those from his uncle as an early Christmas gift.
    Dave sighed.
    Yes, I had a tendency to mention Parker to change the subject. He was like the best contraceptive against Dave, if there ever was one, because Dave and Simon - Parker’s deceased father - hadn’t gotten along. Dave blamed himself that he hadn’t stopped April from marrying Simon just because she’d gotten pregnant. But now he was gone. And like I said, the universe had a way of finding a balance. It selfishly made me happy for April that he was gone, but I wasn’t about to ruin Christmas for my best friend by mentioning her deceased husband, whom she still thought about. But between me and Mother Earth, well, we were grateful that he’d made space for another, better human being, and himself became compost over at Crossover Cemetery.
    I put the kettle on and set the cup with a pouch of chamomile tea, waiting.
    The front door opened and Justin stepped through, carrying a load of wood for the fireplace. He looked so much like, and yet was so different, from his fraternal twin brother that sometimes I wondered whether they’d sprung from the same womb. Although a cop, Justin at least had the right idea about life. Live free; don’t worry, be happy; let the Zen guide you. When I was still with Dave, April often teased us that I’d fallen for the wrong brother. I disagreed. Opposites attract, even if they weren’t always meant to be. Looking at the brothers as they stacked the wood at the side of the fireplace, I had no regrets. Our relationship had taught me an important lesson: that not all pain was worth it.
    So why was I always so sad on the inside? What was missing in my life? I’d searched for that feeling of completeness, and nothing ever fit the bill. Nothing… except Dave. Well, that was a lost cause anyway. I walked to the first step of the staircase, fastened the mistletoe back onto the ceiling, and then hugged my friend.
    “I’m sorry, April. You’re right. It’s Christmas. And I promise you that I’ll be the green little elf of happiness this season.”
    At least I would try.
    “And you will kiss on the cheek and wish luck to anyone you meet under here?”
    I sighed, kissed her on the cheek, and hugged her, making a mental note to walk around that spot for the remainder of our three-day stay.
    “Of course I will. I wish you happiness,” I then leaned in closer to her ear, “and for you to find Mr. Healthy Zucchini and dump Mr. Pinkie.”
    She gave me a look of warning not to talk about the man she’d just dumped, and rightfully so. Pinkie, as we’d nicknamed him, wasn’t worth it for all the reasons that his nickname implied.
    “I wish for you to find that happiness as well. I love you.” She squeezed her arms around me.
    “I love you too,” I said to her, yet my eyes flew to Dave’s sad emeralds. Sad but determined - he held my gaze until I looked away.

Chapter 2
    I popped two pills with a glass of water. The excitement of the next day’s preparations was likely to keep me up all