Well, until the knock at the door woke the dog up barking...

That was it! She was sick of being ignored. Dolly St.James was not the kind of woman you avoided - not even if you were a grouchy dragon tamer that could dispose of her body quickly. She was marching right over to Felix’s and giving him a piece of her mind - and then she would make him take her dancing to sooth her wounded feelings. Four owls! Four owls he had ignored, she knew the holidays were hard for him, they had been since Gabby was little - but now that she was older and especially after last Christmas when she’d set off the fireworks… well she didn’t expect this year to be easy for him, not after Gabby wrote home she wasn’t coming.

She was just at that age - which is what she had told the grouchy man in several letters over the last few months. It seemed to be Dolly’s excuse for everything - but to be fair Dolly had a had written account of what she’d done at fifteen. Gabby hadn’t encorched on any of that sacred ground yet. For the most part she was a good kid, she just needed a woman in her life. Not that Dolly was volunteering for the job. God who knew what would happen then. No, she watched all of this from the sidelines through letters from Dagon when he could be bothered to write.

Checking herself once more in the mirror, smoothing the lines of her dress she headed out the door to the nearest apparition point. Standing on the front porch she realized the house was dark and huffed a little. It would be nearly impossible to get him to go out now. Who went to bed this early anyway? It was only… oh,. Well for normal people maybe it was about that time. Still, she had expected Felix to be up drinking. What a bore. Knocking on the door she tried to hush Merlin up from the other side, “Oh quiet you! You like me remember? I’m not one of your Daddy’s trollops… I’m my own trollop”. Ah, she may or may not have already put away half a bottle of vino while getting really. Felix would enjoy this.

The bark had made him nearly tumble off the sofa, the piece of wood he had been whittling on falling with a clank to the floor. Groaning, his head aching, Felix slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position, rubbing at his sleepy eyes. Who came around at such a bloody hour?! The bottle of brandy was nearly empty on the coffee table as well, which accounted for the way his brain refused to acknowledge that it was bound by his thick skull and could not pound out of it.

Still, he heard the feminine voice and the excited dog. Or at least heard the tone of voice—he couldn’t catch the words. Running his fingers through his hair, Felix finally staggered up off his spot, stepping on to the almost forgotten wood, and hopping around with a yell, finally ending in a tumbled noisy mess on the hardwood floor.

Clearly he was still not quite recovered from his private New Years party. Now aching in other places than just his head, Felix forced his way back to his feet and limped cautiously to the door. One hand held him up against the doorway while the other grasped the front door handle. Felix’s leg roughly pushed the excitable dog away, though it didn’t do much to Merlin, before he finally opened it up. Frowning and blinking in his half awake state, his head aching and his foot throbbing, he pursed his lips and stared at Dolly.

Well. He took another look anyway, just in case it wasn’t her. “What’s-a-matter?” His words slurred together before he finally pulled his hand off the door, pressing it open slightly for her to slide on in the house if she chose. Which, if she came all the way out here, he didn’t expect a Christmas Carol and her to be on her way. Licking his lips, Felix took a couple of awkwardly dangerous side steps, unsteady as he went, before he finally stood back from the door, slowly shuffling back to his place of rest. And this time, he made sure to step around the wood.

Dolly heard a familiar sound inside - drunk stumbling, and man grunts. Right, she had completely wasted her dress then. Well actually most of her sinful attire was wasted on Felix anyway. For whatever reason he was her off limits cohort. She’d never “bagged him” as Mel would put it and certainly wasn’t going to try. He probably had any number of witches infections the way he skirted about all of Wizarding England. She adored him, she really did, but he made her look chaste in comparison  - and she didn’t have a bloody impressionable teenager to be looking after. Of course as he slid open the door she just looked at him and shook her head. Tonight was obviously not the night they were going to be talking about that.

Slipping inside she went to kiss his cheek but he stumbled away, rubbing his head. He was such a git sometimes, “Well I see someone decided to have New Years Eve without me. D’you suppose next time you might owl and tell me you’re just drunk and not dead when you decide to have a bit of a pity party?” she sounded vaguely amused as she bent to pat the dog’s head. He was such a furry little beast, and she’d seen him growl and go after several of Felix’s dates before. It rather amused her that he just sat with his fat tail thumping the ground while she scratched his ear.

“Have you read any of your mail lately? Honestly Felix, being your friend is such a chore sometimes,” she said it in a rather distracted way, leafing through the letters in a pile on the stairs. “Four letters, Felix! Four charming letters written at great pains while I was only partially intoxicated asking you to be my date for New Years,” shaking her head she made her way to the sofa, dropping the envlopes on his lap as she leaned over and kissed his cheek before sitting next to him and dangling her legs over his, “Pour me a drink. I’ve come all this way I better at least get a rub for my trouble Love. And I’ll listen to why you’re being such an utter bore”.

“You always go out for New Years…” And this year, Felix hadn’t felt much in the celebrating mood. Having the house to himself for the holidays made him even more grumpy than usual. It allowed him to dive into thoughts and emotions he tried to only consider when he was perfectly and quietly alone. And during a time of the year when you clearly shouldn’t be alone.

He scoffed at her mild insult—he was not having a pity party. Or maybe he was. Either way, she shouldn’t bring it up like that. Maybe he was really sensitive about that sort of thing… “The owl’s a bit too lazy to make the trips required to hold a letter conversation with you, Doll.” He used it mostly for business, after all, and it wasn’t used to late night messages. Felix thought it was getting close to eating its last mouse, by the way it staggered around sometimes.

Still, he had a hard time throwing things away, and stable, useful pets were a soft spot. And when no one was around, he felt something for the mutt that got in his way. He just didn’t like to show it. Merlin knew how he felt, though, which was why he stayed with Felix when Gabby was in school. Well, that and because it was warm.

Why would he read his mail when he knew she would come around eventually and tell him everything she had written down? Chuckling dryly at that, he shook his head. “I screen my letters, you know that.” Hadn’t he done the same thing with the copies of her books? Not that he didn’t mind the scenes depicted and all of that, it just wasn’t his thing. Gabby had them in her room, come to think of it… “And that might be your only chore, so work harder.”

Rolling his eyes as she went on and on about the letters, he felt like curling up on the couch and falling back to sleep. “Mmhm…” He amused her by agreeing with whatever she was saying, his eyes drooping slowly and slowly shut. At least until he felt the landing letters on his lap, forcing his eyes to flutter open, and a surprised half open mouth to accompany her kiss. Sighing, he just leaned back against the couch, pulling the letters out from under her legs to look over the fronts.

“I’m always a bore.” Leaning to the coffee table, he picked up the brandy and offered it to her, distracted by the mail now. Opening the first one, he sighed and glanced through it, smirking. “Who did you end up taking for your festivities, then?”

Grinning at him as she took a sip straight from the bottle - now that was class, she rolled her eyes, “I’ll have you know that I am a brilliant authoress and as such my calendar is chalk full of chores lately. Like playing nice with Dominik’s new flavor of the month while she interviews me for the Prophet,” she winkled her nose resting her chin in one hand as she slipped off her shoes that were far more fashionable than functional and wiggled her toes at Felix, an indication he should be rubbing her feet since he had not bothered to read her letters. Merlin curled up on the floor next to them and watched the back and forth banter between them before drifting back to sleep. He was almost enough to make Dolly wish she had time for a pet. Almost.

“You know the solution to that would be for you to get a new owl,” taking out a cigarette she grinned at him before lighting it, “Alternately you could just get off your overindulged arse and come to the city to see me. You know you’d have scads of fun trying to skim my leftovers,” she nudged him with her foot, waving the smoke from her cigarette away from him before taking another drink from the brandy bottle. She didn’t like how much time he spent alone, and she also didn’t like that the time he did spend with people was spent between sheets and not having an actual conversation. She at least made then buy her dinner first…most of the time. Actually she’d gotten into a fairly regular thing with Oz Whitman now. All fun, no commitment, just how Dolly liked it.

Raking her fingers through her dark curls she shook her head, “Screen is so…presumptious of you. Honestly you should thank Merlin I put up with you and come around at all,” taking another drag she rested her head against her arm, rubbing her shoulder lightly, obviously they were not going out dancing tonight. So it was best to settle herself in, she silently wished she’d worn something besides stockings and garters. She was not dressed for comfort, she was dressed to leave a trail of broken hearts behind her at the bar - and was with a man who was already too drunk to notice. “I took Melly to a couple parties, and met Oz for drinks. It was terribly boring. Well, compared to years I’ve managed to get you out of this damn house,” she grinned at him again, peeking at the stack of letters in his lap, “Any word form the demon child?”

Again he entertained her with a mere nod and agreeing grunt—brilliant authoress, from the mouth of herself… How trustworthy was that? It seemed foolproof! Rolling his eyes, Felix merely smirked and gave her a knowing look. “A reporter? Does he need more publicity than usual to make himself feel adequate these days?” It was fairly obvious how Dolly felt about Dominik. Or at least to Felix. Sometimes he found it a fun subject to tease her about—of all the men to get attached to, right?

However, he wasn’t feeling in the spirit right then. Maybe later, after his head stopped spinning. The toe wiggling did nothing for him, and he pretended not to feel them move as he rested his head back, his eyes closing briefly while his bare feet rested on the cold ground. Thinking about how chilly it was made him shiver. Sometimes he wished he was a dragon so he could have a belly of warmth at all times.

Sighing, he shook his head and leaned it towards her, opening his eyes in the soft light. “My owl works when I need it to. Why overstress it? If you get a new one, you have to train it and deal with its moods and learn how to keep it happy… I all ready know this one.” Shrugging, as if that explained everything, he watched the cigarette momentarily before drumming his fingers on her calf. Chuckling, a lazy smirk sliding on to his face, Felix shook his head. “The city can’t handle me.” They had been separated lately, Felix and the City. It was better that way.

He seemed to get into too much trouble otherwise.

He hoped when she said ‘you should thank Merlin’ that she meant Merlin and not the fluffy one sleeping near them. Still it forced another laugh from him. She had a way with making him come out of his moods. Wincing, he shook his head. “That sounds boring. Meeting for drinks… that means you have to keep up a conversation with him.” He was amused with this line of conversation at least.

Well, until Gabby was brought up. His smile dropped slightly and he glanced back down, once again leafing through what he all ready knew held nothing from her. He’d checked every day. No word on what she thought of her gift, nothing on having a good time at Hogwarts, not even an insulting rub at how much fun she was having without him. Grasping the stack of letters lightly, he tossed them on to the coffee table and forced a tight smile.

“No. Her pre Holiday letter was probably enough to last me through the New Year.” His fingers once again drummed lightly on her soft skin, his eyes dancing in the air in front of him, unseeing as he considered. “It’s odd… Her not being here for Christmas. Doesn’t feel like the holidays.” And without decorations up (minus the nearly empty bottle of brandy), he hadn’t partied at home. His folks had forced him to dinner, but otherwise… well. Spiked Eggnog with a dash of pumpkin juice hit the spot no matter what time of year, in Felix’s opinion.

She made a sour face at his assement of Dominik and shrugged, “I have no idea what he’s playing at. We had a howler of a fight on my birthday, I saw him when I came home and I haven’t bothered to darken his doorstep since,” she leaned forward, trying to untangle a blanket from the back of the couch  unsuccessfully as one hand was occupied with her cigarette. “What do you suppose it is about me that demands I show up on doorsteps where I’m not wanted?” she grinned at him and lightly tickled the side of his neck with well manicured nails. She hadn’t heard from Dom all through the holidays. Normally it might have bothered her more but there was something different about it this time.

The feeling of not being enough had left a bitter taste in her mouth and she had no desire to revisit the scene of the crime any time soon. It was one thing to sit with Felix and not have him try to get her out of her dress - he never had. To have Dominik be so cold… well. There were plenty of men who did want her. There were even scads of acceptable men who wanted nothing more than to be seen with her on their arm. She didn’t need Dominik… but she couldn’t keep herself from wanting him, late at night when she lay awake in someone else’s bed, or the rare occasion when she haunted the halls of her own flat.

As he leaned forward her blue eyes stayed on his face, fingers running through his shaggy hair as she grinned at him, “Your owl is about two flaps from keeling over dead. He doesn’t get enough exercise and you probably feed him horribly” her face was close to his, lips twitching with a playful smile as she lightly tugged on his hair, “I think you’ll find any part of the city I’m in will find you terribly out of date no matter how stylish the girl you’re with is,” biting her bottom lip she brushed his nose with hers before leaning close to his ear, her breath warm, “Frankly, I very much doubt your ability to keep up”.

Tugging once more on the blanket she managed to free it from behind his back and tossed it over their shared lap, being sure to tuck her feet in, she was not dressed for a house with no fire roaring and no extra body heat radiating toward her. “We mostly play footsy under the table and he wants for people to spot us so he can pretend he’s not waiting for someone to see us. Honestly if he wasn’t so good in bed I’d be bored with the whole thing,” she giggled a little taking another sip of brandy, “I did manage to piss his ex-wife off thoroughly at Bombay’s Christmas dinner. It was a rather brilliant in it’s tactical simplicity”.

All their joking aside, the sound of his voice when he talked about Gabby made her sad. There was no easy way through this transition. Dolly had quit talking to her family almost full stop by this point in her fifth year. She was sick of her sisters always being around and tired of having to be a perfectly prissy princess all the time. She was only happy when she was with Dom and Daz. She spent nearly every school break at the Wiedman cottage. Lightly touching his cheek she sighed and shook her head “Felix Dagon, if I didn’t know better I’d think you were getting sentimental in your old age”.

“I think it shows an unhealthy desire to bother those who don’t need bothered.” Poking her teasingly, he blinked and smirked, refusing at that moment to let her tug the blanket from behind him. He even pressed some weight back against it to slow her down in her one-on-one tug-o-war. “You do start some intense arguments though… good for you.” Her displeasure could be intense and wild, which he found enduring.

Who knew he found someone’s temper to be a likeable quality?

With her fingers in his hair, he growled softly at her, making a face and shaking his head slightly in her fingers before giving up—he worked on his hair being perfect, and there she went messing it up. “Now he’s never allowed to take a letter to you again, with that sort of talk. You might poison his biscuit or something.” His eyes glanced down to her lips on instinct, with the close distance and inhibited thought process. And then she bit hers and he couldn’t help but copy her, eyebrow raising as he let out a hard breath through his nose.

And then she insulted his athleticism. A disbelieving gasp escaped him and he gave up the blanket fight, pulling away from her teasing breath and pursing his lips. “I’ve been keeping up with you for years, why would that suddenly change?” Smirking, he tapped her nose with his index finger for good measure, like disciplining a naughty cat or something. “I have to keep up or I’d be missing limbs.” He wiggled his fingers as if to prove it. Dragons were sometimes friendlier than wounded females.

Then it was time to gag. Footsy? How much of a man was Oz to partake in such a womanly game? Making a face, Felix merely shook his head. “Congratulations. Why isn’t she working just as hard to piss Oz off as he seems to be doing with you?” Why wave a new, younger thing in front of the other woman at all? Felix had an odd feeling of ‘this isn’t a good sign,’ but didn’t feel like pointing it out. If it happened, it happened.

The touch of the cheek brought him back from memories, and her words snapped him away from the nothingness a breath away. A forced laugh escaped him and he rolled his eyes, running his hands over her lower leg once again. Felix hated the feel of stockings, and wished they weren’t there… The thought of helping her out of them briefly crossed his mind, and was quickly chased away with a quick grab for the brandy bottle, the burning liquid removing the idea from the front of his mind.

“Sentimental? Isn’t there a difference between that and lonely?” Winking at her, he sighed and pulled his wand out, toying with it a moment—the fireplace had died down a couple hours before, after all, and the cold was creeping in from all sides. Even Merlin seemed to move closer. “It just doesn’t work anymore. I’m losing the patience to be both parents for her.” If he ever had the patience to begin with. For a while, though, it was easy. When she was younger. When she was willing to think her Dad walked on water.

Scratching absentmindedly at his arm with the old scar, covered with a tattoo, he finally put it across the back of the couch towards her. “So why are you so dressed up tonight?” He raised an eyebrow before sending a charm at the fireplace, a small flame beginning amongst the firewood.

Dolly looked at him innocently, lips drawn together in a little pout, “Of course you need bothered. If I didn’t come bother you you’d stay passed out on your couch all hours of the night instead of tripping over blocks of wood trying to get to the door,” Felix liked fighting with her - though he seemed to enjoy her temper spouting off at other’s more. If she didn’t know better she’d have believed he was one of those men who derived some sort of sick pleasure from being verbally lambasted on a regular basis. He did like to fight - but he liked to think that he got to win most of the time.

It was the depth of their honesty with one another. She new that without fail he would tell her exactly what he thought of exactly what she was doing. There would be no malice - usually only bewilderment at how she’d managed to survive for twenty-five years with some of her hair-brained schemes and notions. Likewise she could be honest with him in a way that was not afforded to her with anyone else. As a recluse he didn’t have much of a chance to betray her trust not that he would in the first place.

Sticking her tongue out at him she made an ugly face, “You’re so mean to me. Down right abusive sometimes Dagon. I don’t know why I insist on spending time with you anymore. All you do is avoid me,” she feigned a wounded look, large blue eyes searching his face as her bottom lip quivered. “I would never hurt a helpless owl! I save all my poisoned biscuits for you silly”. She grinned then, pinching his cheek - and laughed outright at his next statement. “You haven’t been out with me in ages Felix Dagon. You’ve no idea what I’m capable of”.

Letting her gaze drift to the end of her cigarette she gave a shrug, “I believe Alieen did all the damage she could possibly before she ever left him,” her voice was genuinely thoughtful as she shifted a little on the couch, her body scooting closer for warmth, “I didn’t know him then, obvious, but for a man like Oscar, to have been cheated on… well it isn’t something he could ever forgive. I’m sure I’m not the first new toy he’s waved under her nose - just the one that gets him the most press coverage,” she was ok wit that really. As much as he was using her she was using him too - to get at Dominik.

His despair over Gabby hurt her heart. There weren’t many things that really moved her. She had spent years numbing herself to any kind of pain but knowing how much Felix loved his daughter and how much she was fighting that love because of anger she probably didn’t even understand… it just broke Dolly’s heart - that’s right, her cold dead heart. She wanted to make it better for both of them but fully realized she barely took proper care of herself. She was no wife or mother, she couldn’t even pretend. Her fingers lingered on his jaw, thumb rubbing a soft circular pattern against his temple.

:”There isn’t much choice is there Love? You are, for better or worse, both - for the rest of forever,” her voice was soft as she laid her head against him arm, pressing a small kiss against his wrist as she closed her eyes, smile twitching on her lips, “This old thing? I surely don’t know what you mean. I certainly didn’t get completely dolled up with the intention of luring you out of the house to go dancing with me. I would never spoil a man’s evening of self loathing in such a horrible way. Not ever,” opening one eye she extended her hand motioning for the bottle of brandy again, “Don’t be selfish. I’m freezing”.

An eyebrow rose as he pursed his lips, looking at her. Was she really comparing bothering him to letting him sleep? Because sleep sounded glorious… “Well, I was tripping over my wood.” Smirking, he pushed the block of wood on the floor to the side with his foot.

“I’ve never said I wasn’t abusive, St. James. Or claimed to be nice.” He chuckled and rolled his eyes, sighing as she continued to complain. “For avoiding you, I got to the door quick enough.” And his foot still hurt, however dull it was. He did laugh at the thought of biscuits. “If you cooked them, I imagine they’d be poisoned whether you meant them to be or not.” Felix attempted to pull away from the pinch, grimacing slightly in distaste—he wasn’t a little boy!

“And the same could be said about you, Dolls. Maybe I’ve only improved in my stamina.” As he got older, it got harder to stay out late night after night. Maybe that was why he had chosen to stay in more this holiday season. Listening to her, he repositioned himself slightly so when she scooted closer, her heel wouldn’t dig into his precious packaging. Aileen Reid… Felix smirked thinking about her. She was always fun. And quite something to admire. Her personality made her more colorful, in his opinion.

“I’m sure she wouldn’t have cheated if he had fulfilled her needs.” Felix could play devil’s advocate on things that he wasn’t involved in. Plus, he had a soft spot for Aileen. Or maybe not soft… He’d work on the wording later. “Maybe that’s why I don’t go out with you anymore… I don’t like all the bright lights that follow you.” Poking her playfully, Felix grinned.

“There isn’t much choice is there Love? You are, for better or worse, both – for the rest of forever.”

That was the truth, whether he wanted to think about it or not. His mood soured slightly as he considered it—how selfish Kayleigh had been! And on the other side, how selfish was it of him to want her to not join the fight? Never-ending guilt for the rest of forever… and Kayleigh wasn’t around to partake in it. If he believed in karma, he might have been a nicer person.

At least Dolly had a way of drawing him away from his disastrous mind with sarcasm. “Of course not. That’s not like you at all.” His free hand rested over her legs, keeping a loose grip on the bottle now in question. Self loathing?! He wasn’t loathing… He was just…  like… resting. With a bottle of alcohol. Alone.AKA self loathing to some.

“Don’t be selfish. I’m freezing.”

Felix lifted the bottle and offered it to her, pulling it back just as she went to grab it. He laughed and continued to play that game, making her sit up more and more, finally ending up with her in his lap. Giving up the bottle, his arm that had been on the back of the couch slid closer, elbow hanging off the back of the couch while his other arm draped over her legs. A satisfied smirk settled on his face. “You complain about being cold when you wear so little.” The fire was growing, the flames cackling amongst the firewood.

“Hey!” Dolly pretended to scowl at him in the low light, “I’m a devine cook I’ll have you know. My eggs are to die for,” she stuck her tongue out at him and tried not to laugh. It wasn’t often anyone was allowed to savor her delectable treats - but she did know how to cook. It was part of her training as a teen. She was meant to be the ideal housewife. As progressive as her parents had been they wanted her to marry well. Wrinkling her nose she pushed the side of his head, “Don’t make that face when you talk about her. She’s awful and old. I’m much prettier,” stiffening her spine she thrust her chest out a little, creamy skin straining against the glittering silver of her dress - wicked grin twitching on her lips, “Fuller and more bouncy too. She probably sags to her belly button,” brushing a dark curl from her eyes she awaited the obvious praise. Dolly was rather in love with her body, it wasn’t ego it was contentment and comfort.

Rolling her eyes she scoffed slightly, “I’m not saying he’d made me forget anyone’s name - but tossing a man like Oscar Whitman out is the stupidest thing she could have ever done. Lost of married women have affairs and manage to keep their husbands happy. It’s a pureblooded way of life. The fact she couldn’t manage a simple task makes me worry for her ability to teach. She must be simple,” it was rare that Dolly sounded so catty over another woman. In all honesty she was as quick to seduce them as she was men - if they seemed at all interesting. There was something about sinking her claws into…fresh meat, for lack of a better word. She liked the chase and enjoyed the catch, then she released them back into the wild but most hung around for scraps of attention.

There were very few people in her life this rule didn’t apply to… Felix was actually one of them. He’d missed her desperate cling phase after Dominik when she’d been seventeen [which was how she’d ended up with Kurby]. If he’d been there then… well, who knew how differently life would have been. He was grieving then and raising a baby. As destructive as she was in that time, for him, she just wanted to help. It would have been easy for them to fall into bed together but something held her back. Perhaps it was the idea of damaging him more and hurting Gabrielle in the process. She didn’t want to be one of those women Grabby despised. She liked being the one the fifteen year old wanted around. It made her feel useful… then when things got too real she could go back to her shallow life and write letters.

“I would believe that,” she grinned, “but I happen to know you adore the attention - and besides they never get pictures of you. You’re always shagging some blonde in the coat check,” she returned his poke, reaching for the bottle as she offered it, whining as he kept pulling it away. He was a tricky devil, she didn’t even realize she was scooting into his lap until she was there. “How clever of you Felix,” she grinned at him over one shoulder as she snatched the bottle and hugged it to her chest, “if you wanted me on your lap all you had to do was bribe me,” still she was cold and he was warm, so she tugged the blanket around them with one hand as she took a generous swig from the bottle, making herself as compact in his lap as possible, “It wouldn’t be nearly as fun to have me on your lap if I wore more clothes”.

“See? To die for.” Felix couldn’t help but smirk. He had been forced to become a decent cook over the years, partially to appease Gabby and partially because he liked good food.

Then they started talking about his other enjoyable meal: females. And Ms. Reid… Well, she was a mouth-watering all her own. Rolling his eyes at Dolly, he sighed and shook his head in disagreement. “No need to be jealous, Doll. You both have your up and down sides.” Squeezing her thigh to entice her further, Felix sagged back into the couch smugly. All this talk of food was making him a little hungry. “I don’t recall her sagging more than women usually do. Quite full, actually.” Why not get her good and riled up?

That was easier done than he expected. “Or maybe she was bored with him. Why not have fun with an affair, rub it in his face, and watch the games?” Then again, Felix had clearly not put much stock in the whole ‘marriage’ idea. Even with Kayleigh, though they’d talked about it, they hadn’t taken their relationship to that level. Even after Gabby. It had worked for them. Besides, from what he’d been told, marriage just messed up a relationship. Almost as much as children could.

Busted. He did like attention. Laughing and shrugging, caught red handed, he sighed and nodded in agreement. “Wait, not always in the coat check. Sometimes those rooms smell like… cabbage. But I see your point, at least.” As she moved further on top of him, Felix enjoyed the little game, watching her carefully. “I can be clever sometimes.”

And then he tsked at her, as if she was simple herself. Really, she accused poor Aileen of it… “Why bribe you when I can get what I want for free?” Then she had to go and say something clever. Biting his lower lip, glancing down to hers, he merely nodded slowly. “If I were one of your mindless teddy bears, that would be true.” Finally his eyes met hers once again, and he settled back into the couch, an arm lightly around her under the blanket.

“So if you stay here until the sun comes up, does that mean you are obligated to make me breakfast?” His eyebrows rose in hope—eggs and bacon sounded scrumptious.