Winter Tales

Chapter 4 - Ladies' Man

The blonde turns towards me, her gaze full of anticipation for my reaction. She can't have expected what is to come, though. Because Lily starts giggling, which clearly confuses Tanya. I guess it doesn't help when I join in.

"What...?" she asks slowly, looking from me to Lily and back to me.

"Jordan's not my dad, he's my brother!" Lily explains, still grinning from ear to ear.

It always amazes me how much joy she gets from this whenever people mistake us for father and daughter. And that happens more often than not, which probably is understandable. Most people don't assume that a guy in his late twenties and a little girl are siblings. And they certainly cannot know that there are eight more siblings in between her and me in age.

Occasionally, when she is not in the mood to talk to people or explain our somewhat unconventional family set-up, Lily just goes along with what people assume and doesn't correct them. But normally, she acts exactly like now and takes great pleasure in first making fun of people and then clearing things up for them.

"Oh...wow...I mean...I'm sorry!" Tanya splutters.

Her cheeks are red and she looks really uncomfortable.

"Don't worry, you're not the first person to think we're father and daughter," I quickly assure her.

Before I think this through properly, I find myself patting her shoulder in a conciliatory way. When I notice what I am doing, I immediately pull my hand back.

"It's because he's so old that he gets mistaken for a father," Lily adds cheekily.

The way she says this, with that incredulous tone in her voice, I should actually be a bit offended. She makes it sound as if it would be impossible for me to be a father. I guess, despite me certainly having been involved in her upbringing during the first six years of her life, she has always looked at me as her big brother and not a father figure. That is clearly Alex' place, and rightfully so.

"I don't think you're old at all," Tanya say to me. "I guess I just thought you look alike and you're both so gorgeous...oh my god, did I just say that out loud?"

This time she is literally burying her face in her hands and shakes her head. I cannot help but feel even more attracted to her now that she has shown her true personality. She is not only beautiful but also very natural and – well, human.

"Thank you, I take that as a compliment," I tell her quietly, my voice kind of hoarse.

"I should just shut up now, before I dig myself an even bigger hole," she groans, refusing to look at me.

I grab her hands and hold them in mine, leaning down to capture her gaze. She slowly lifts her head and we lock eyes. I give her a gentle smile.

"No need to apologize. And certainly no need to shut up," I whisper. "I think that was pretty cute."

She smiles tentatively at me as if to see if I am making fun of her.

"Do you have to flirt?" Lily's voice interrupts our moment and we both jump apart.

"Nobody's flirting, kiddo, so don't get your panties in a twist. What would you know about flirting anyway," I shoot back, causing Tanya to let out a small giggle.

"Hey, I'm eight, I'm not stupid. All you guys do is flirt. Like, all the time," she claims dramatically.

"Don't listen to her. She doesn't know what she's talking about," I am quick to let Tanya know.

I won't let my precocious little sister ruin my chances with this beautiful blonde, because she makes her think that I am flirting with every woman that I meet. I glance at Lily and find her opening her mouth to protest some more, so I quickly fix her with a stern look and say: