Free Wednesday (Timeless Series #3) by E. L. Todd

realize it. “I’m lucky you never stopped loving me.” After what I did, I couldn’t have blamed her if her heart moved on.
    She ran her hands up my chest until she cupped my face. “And I’ll never stop loving you.”
    ***
    Axel and I went out to a bar that night. Marie had her friends over so Axel had to find something to do outside the apartment.
    “What are you getting Marie for Christmas?”
    He drank half his beer but didn’t pick it up again. “I found this jacket from Nordstrom I think she’ll like. It’s gray. That color always brings out her eyes.”
    I nodded. “That’s nice.”
    “And I’m trying to write her a poem.”
    I was about to take a drink of my beer when I stopped. “What?”
    “You know, a poem.” He spun his coaster in his fingertips. “Some kind of love song.”
    “You don’t strike me as the poetic type.”
    “Yeah, I’m realizing that. I’ve been trying to write it for a month. That shit is hard.”
    “What made you decide to do this?”
    He shrugged. “I got her some nice things to open on Christmas, but I wanted to make her something, you know? Marie likes stuff like that. It’s our first Christmas since we’ve been married, and I want it to be special.”
    Since the gesture was sweet, I didn’t tease him about it. “Maybe you should do something else?”
    “Like what?”
    “Something you’re good at.”
    “Dude, I’m not good at anything. You know that.”
    That wasn’t true but I wasn’t going to waste my time arguing it. “What about your wedding vows?”
    “What about them?”
    “What if you wrote them out in your handwriting? Something like that.”
    “Hmm…that’s not a bad idea.” He rubbed his chin as he remained deep in thought. “And I can do that.”
    “That shouldn’t be too hard.”
    “No, it won’t.” He gave me a playful smack on the forearm. “Thanks, man. I’ve spent so much time getting nowhere with that poem.”
    “Maybe next year.”
    He laughed. “It’ll take me a whole year to write it.”
    “So, you didn’t get anywhere with it?”
    “I got a few lines but it wasn’t that great.” He took a drink of his beer then eyed the TV in the corner.
    “Can I see it?”
    “It’s really bad…and I’m not just saying that.”
    “We’re always our worst critic.”
    He pulled out his wallet then unfolded a yellow piece of paper. He tossed it at me. “There you go.”
    I opened it and began to read.
    Marie, your ass is off the hook,
    Better than any book.
    Your heart is big.
    But your tits are bigger.
    I tried to keep a straight face as I finished it. It wasn’t the worst thing I ever read but it wasn’t the best either. I folded it back up and handed it to him. “Stick with the marriage vows.”
    He shoved it into his pocket. “It’s hard, okay? Not a lot of things rhyme.”
    I couldn’t wait to tell Francesca about his little poem.
    “What are you getting Francesca?”
    “Not sure yet.”
    “She’s so hard to shop for.” He ran his fingers through his hair like he was anxious just thinking about it. “I got her a recipe book one year and she threw it at me.”
    “Well, she doesn’t need a recipe book.”
    “I was just trying to do something nice and she was a total brat about it. So…good luck.”
    Francesca didn’t care about materialistic things. If I got her a new phone or some Beats headphones, she would never use them. Designer clothes and shoes weren’t her thing either. The only luxurious thing she seemed to enjoy was our vacation. But I couldn’t give her that.
    “You want to use my poem?” He pulled it out of his pocket again.
    I tried not to laugh. “I’m good, Axel.”

Christmas Eve
    Hawke
    The Muffin Girl closed at four since it was Christmas Eve, but I knew it would be insanely packed the entire day. I didn’t work because there was nothing to do during the holidays. No one was working because they were spending time with their families or traveling. Most of the guys took an extended