Tea Parties and Feather Boas (Luke Kuechly)

Chapter Sixteen: Again

•I'm in love with the shape of you
We push and pull like a magnet do
Although my heart is falling too
I'm in love with your body•

Lydia returned home early on the afternoon of the 28th. She'd caught an early flight and a cab back to Luke's. Renewed and refreshed, the woman felt unstoppable.

Setting her bags down in the foyer of the Charlotte home, Lydia could hear voices echoing through the house from upstairs. Quietly, Lydia proceeded up the stairs avoiding the ones she knew creaked. She followed the voices down the hall to Isla's room.

The door hung open. Inside, Isla served invisible tea to her father and stuffed cat, Lady Cordelia. This must be a make up tea party. Lydia smiled to herself. Isla and Lady Cordelia hadn't been on speaking terms since before the nanny's arrival in early July.

Isla, of course, was dressed in her yellow Belle dress with a purple hat and a white boa. Much to the amusement of Lydia, Luke wore a white hat and pink boa, and this time he'd obviously let Isla apply a coat of sparkly, pink lip gloss, shiny blush, and a lot of eye makeup. The woman could hardly contain the laughter as it threatened to pour out. "Thank you, Lady Isla," Luke said properly as his hostess daughter finished pouring imaginary tea for him.

"You are most welcome, Duke Daddy," the five year old giggled, sitting down as she picked up her own cup. "Pinky out," she reminded.

"Oh yes, where are my manners?" The father chuckled, doing as his daughter instructed and sticking out his pinky before sipping his tea.

As Isla followed her father's suit, she looked up catching sight of Lydia in the door way. Her eyes lit up like a Christmas tree at the sight of her nanny. "Miss Lydia!" The child exclaimed, jumping up from her seat her tea party forgotten. "I missed you!" Isla threw her arms around the woman's waist.

"I missed you too," Lydia smiled, returning the embrace.

Luke stood, becoming painfully aware of the makeup he now wore. Discretely, the tough NFL linebacker tried to wipe the lipgloss and eye shadow off only smearing it in the process. "Don't even try, I've seen it now," Lydia teased playfully.

"It's good to have you back," Luke replied sheepishly.

"It's good to be back," the nanny nodded. "How was your Christmas?"

"It was good! Meemaw and Papa and uncle Henry and uncle John came for Christmas and there was so much wrapping paper that I hid from daddy under it and it took him five minutes to find me," the happy child giggled.

"Oh really?" Lydia smiled. "Sounds like you got a lot of Christmas presents. Did you like mine?"

"I don't know," Isla shrugged.

"What do you mean?" Lydia furrowed her eyebrows.

"She wanted to wait until you got back to open it," Luke chimed in.

"You didn't have to do that," Lydia smiled, touched by the child's thoughtfulness.

"Can we go open it now?" Isla looked up at the adults with sparkle, excitement, and a little bit of mischief in her eyes.

Laughing, Luke nodded. "Let's clean up first and then you can open your gift."

"Sounds good," Lydia smiled, joining in to help.

"Ok," Isla agreed. "You know, I was more patient than Daddy. He opened your present on Christmas."

"Is that so?" The nanny laughed.