Story: Love at First Spark

Prompt: "What do you mean you don't like marshmallows in your hot chocolate?"

Couple: Amelia x Braden

***

The snow fell in a soft blanket to cover the ground outside, but inside it was cozy and warm. Braden lifted his daughter, Lucy, onto his shoulders. She gripped an ornament made in class between her grubby fingers and added it to one of the tallest branches.

"Beautifully placed, Luce," Braden said, kissing his daughter's cheek when she was back down on the ground. "Should we let Amelia do one now?"

I smiled, watching them together.

Lucy nodded. "Yeah! Miss Lawrence can do this one. It's my favorite." She dug around in a box and pulled out a Christmas tree-shaped ornament.

"Aw, Lucy, are you sure?" I asked. "If it's your favorite, I don't want to deny you that honor."

"It's ok." Lucy chewed on her finger, an old nervous habit. "I want you to do it."

"Okay, let's do it." I squeezed her hand then walked to the tree. I tapped a finger on my chin. "Where do you think it should go?"

Lucy scrambled out of Braden's lap and pointed at a bare spot on the tree that didn't hold any ornaments yet. "There!"

My gaze landed on the spot where she was pointing and I added the ornament to the tree. "How does it look?"

Lucy tapped her chin in thought. "It'll do."

Braden laughed. "She's a tough cookie."

"She sure is." I walked over to him, bringing Lucy with me and fluffing her hair. "So what's the plan? Pizza and a movie night? Should we let our little elf pick?"

"I'm not an elf, daddy!" Lucy planted her hands on her hips. "I'm a reindeer. Don't you pay attention?"

Now I was the one laughing. "Hey, now, miss reindeer. Give your dad a break."

Lucy nodded, hanging her head. "Yes, Amelia." She threw her arms around me and nuzzled into my chest before looking up at her dad again. "I'm sorry."

He booped her nose. "Okay miss reindeer. What do you want for dinner?"

His daughter's eyes widened—and we hadn't even introduced any sugar yet. "Pizza! Ice cream! Oh! And hot chocolate!"

"Pizza, ice cream, and hot chocolate coming right up!" I saluted her. "Can you go grab us the phone?"

Lucy nodded, scrambling away and leaving me alone with Braden for a minute.

"She's warmed up to you being here so much," he murmured, wrapping an arm around my waist. "I'm glad we get to spend this time together."

It was only a few months that we'd been together, but I cherished every second of it, especially being a second mother to Lucy. That was one of the best parts.

"Me too." I kissed his cheek. "Okay, while we wait for the pizza, what type of hot chocolate should we do? I've got all the flavors—classic chocolate, mint, raspberry, french vanilla, mocha, caramel?"

"Mint sounds delicious," he said as Lucy returned with the phone.

"I want chocolate, please," she announced. "Oh! And I want pepperoni pizza too."

"You've got it, chief." We put in the order then shooed Lucy to keep busy finding us a movie to watch for after dinner.

I recruited Braden to help me in the kitchen where we could have a few moments to covertly tease one another with Lucy out of the way. "So," I said. "I've got regular marshmallows and then giant marshmallows."

"Don't tell Lucy that," Braden commented, laughing. "Linda will kill me if I send Lucy back to her tonight hyped up on sugar."

"We'll make sure she's crashed before then." I grinned. "Alright, so regular marshmallows for Lucy to avoid the wrath of Linda. What about for you?"

Braden scratched at the back of his head. "I actually don't like them."

"What do you mean? Who doesn't like marshmallows in their hot chocolate?" I crossed my arms over my chest.

"Me, but it doesn't mean you and Lucy can't have them." He reached out to tuck my hair behind my ears. "What, is that a dealbreaker?"

I pursed my lips and turned to the counter where I still had dirty dishes to clean from earlier in the day. "No, not a dealbreaker. I've just never met a guy who didn't like marshmallows in their hot chocolate."

"Well, I mean I'm not opposed to them," Braden said. His arms found their way around my middle again. "They can be useful in other ways. Just like whipped cream."

I giggled pushing away from him. "Braden! Lucy is right there," I scolded but still couldn't help myself from smiling. I lowered my voice. "Are you saying you won't eat them in hot chocolate but will eat them on me?"

Braden shrugged. "Pick your battles I guess. I dunno, they typically taste too sugary but in other contexts that's not what I'm thinking about."

"Oh my gosh." I covered my face with my hands.

"What what what!" Lucy came running into the kitchen, her little feet skidding on the floor.

"Hey hey! Luce, what did we talk about? No running in the house," Braden scolded.

Lucy pouted. "Sorrrryyyyyy. But what happened? I heard Amelia screech."

I laughed. "It's nothing, sweetie. Did you pick a movie?"

"Uh huh." But Lucy's eyes were no longer on me. She'd found the marshmallows—the giant ones—on the counter. "Are those for me?"

"If you behave, maybe one," Braden said.

Lucy licked her lips. "I'll behave. I found our movie, I'll go get it!" She skidded away then stopped, making an exaggerated effort to walk very slowly and carefully form the kitchen.

I sighed and shook my head. "She's your daughter in all the ways. Except on the marshmallow front. And I gotta say, giant marshmallows are better than the small ones."

"I'm not so sure I know how that would work—ow!" Braden rubbed his arm where I'd whacked him. "I meant in the hot chocolate, Ames. This time."

I laughed. "Maybe if you behave, we'll test the theory. Without the hot chocolate."