Way to Her Heart - By Melanie Schuster Page 0,3
marital status. Alexis was his sister-in-law, but he figured she wouldn’t appreciate being interrogated about her best friend. He didn’t have a chance to dwell on the information he’d just received because Sydney wanted an answer. Right now.
“So are you going to do it, Uncle Lucas?”
She was totally serious—Lucas could see that. He wasn’t about to promise her something he couldn’t deliver, but he was totally on board with the idea. He’d asked Sherri out a few times, and so far she’d turned him down.
“It’s not just up to me, darlin’. What makes you think your mommy likes me? I might not be her type. What kind of guys does she usually date?” Wow, that was kind of sleazy. It was just wrong of him to use this situation to pump a six-year-old for information about her mother. But Sydney didn’t see it like that at all.
“She doesn’t go out, Uncle Lucas. Not with guys. She takes care of me and she takes care of her patients and we go to church and we visit with people and we have picnics and things, but she doesn’t have boyfriends.”
“Well, maybe she doesn’t want one. Have you thought about that? Maybe she’s happy with her life the way it is.”
Sydney nodded her head. “She says that all the time when Aunt Emily and Aunt Alexis try to get her to go on a date. She says she’s happy and she’s not going out with anybody until I’m in high school. That’s a long time, Uncle Lucas! I don’t think she should wait that long, do you?”
The word no came out of his mouth before he could stop it. No, he surely didn’t think that Sherri should deny herself the pleasure of having a mate for years to come. “I can see that this means a lot to you, and you’re really sweet to think about your mommy’s happiness, but I can’t just walk up to her and ask her to marry me,” he said.
“No, you can’t. That’s why you have to start slow. You have to take baby steps first, Uncle Lucas.”
She sounded so wise and worldly that Lucas had to smother a laugh. “Sydney, you’re pretty sure of yourself. This is a big enterprise you’re talking about. I like your mom a lot, but it’s going to take more than that for the two of us to start dating. I think this is something that you need to leave up to your mom. It has to be her decision, and you and I have to respect her wishes.”
“Uncle Lucas, don’t be a chicken baby. No pain, no gain, no gain, no glory.”
“Where in the world did you get that from?”
Sydney looked thoughtful as she told him she’d heard it on the Food Network. “I was watching Iron Chef America and Alton Brown said it. It made sense to me.”
This time Lucas laughed out loud. “Sydney, are you sure you’re only six? That’s some mighty grown-up thinking for a little girl.”
“I’ll be seven in a little while. And I’m precocious—my teacher said so. So, what are you going to do first? We have to have a plan. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. That’s on Mommy’s quote-of-the-day calendar,” she informed him.
“The first thing we need to do is take these refreshments to the ladies. Next I need to go to the store for some more provisions. Do you want to come with me?”
Her face lit up and she agreed. “That’s a good idea. We can make our plans on the way.”
He scooped her up off the high stool and placed her on the floor. Lucas covered the basket of tea cakes with another cloth napkin and handed it to Sydney along with a stack of smaller napkins. After filling a clear ice bucket, he grabbed the pitcher of tea and they went out on the deck to replenish the drinks. They were greeted with joy when the plump, golden pastries were revealed. Sydney took her job as server quite seriously, making sure that each woman had a fresh napkin and a fragrant, vanilla-scented cake. Lucas refilled each glass with fresh ice and sweet tea, making sure that everyone was comfortable as he did so. He was complimentary and attentive to all the ladies, but he had a private remark for Sherri. He refilled her glass and handed it to her with a smile.
“Sherri, as you know, we’re making a special Mother’s Day dinner today and I need to go