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Iris
The next couple of months Zach, and I had talked things over in detail. We'd gone on little coffee dates, out for dinner, and a weekend away together. I'd even started helping his mother and him at the inn on the days I wasn’t at the bookstore and had gone with him to a furniture store in Cedar Landing to help him choose some things for the last two rooms in the inn.
We'd also spent a lot of time with the kids either at our place or at Zachs. Tonight, we decided we'd try something a little different. Zach was taking the boys to a hockey game at an arena just outside of Willow Valley to watch Willow Valley’s new team play, and while they were gone, I was taking Grace on a girls’ night.
I'd just come downstairs from getting ready when I heard a knock on the door, followed by Zach's voice.
"Hey, guys! You ready to watch the hockey game?"
Noah and Dylan screamed, and I couldn't help but laugh at their excitement as they jumped around the living room.
"Hey, Grace." I smiled. "Are you ready for our girls’ night?"
She shrugged, and then I caught Zach looking over at her. I’d told him it was okay if she was off occasionally. After all, she’d just lost her mother, and while I’d be there for her, I wanted him to make sure she knew I wasn’t trying to replace her. "What...what are we doing?" she questioned.
I glanced over at Zach. "Well, I thought we'd go have a special dinner at The Italian Affair, then we'd head on down to Raindrops Retreat and we'd both get a manicure and pedicure."
For the first time since they’d been back, I saw Gracie's eyes light up. "Really? That sounds like so much fun."
I hadn’t been expecting her reaction. In fact, I’d been nervous about hiding my surprise for fear she decided at the last minute she didn’t want to go. "Great! Well, I guess we should get going. I have reservations for our dinner." I winked.
"Really?"
"Yes. They are holding a special table for us, too."
Grace smiled up at me and then ran over to her dad and wrapped her arms around him.
"Don't go too crazy with the colours on your nails. Okay," he said, hugging her to him.
"Promise," she said as she ran back over to me.
I walked over and placed a kiss on both Dylan and Noah's head as they both complained I was treating them like children when they were both so grown up.
"Have fun, be good for Zach."I laughed, ignoring them both.
"We will."
I glanced over at Zach, who then walked over and pulled me in for a hug. "Have fun," he whispered into my ear and placed a kiss on my cheek.
"You too."
* * *
With our stomachs full, we both entered Raindrops Retreat and were immediately taken into a private room. I'd specifically asked for this room, knowing that Grace's favorite colour was now purple.
She looked around, a smile on her face as she climbed into the chair and sat down. She removed her shoes and socks, as did I, and we both stuck our feet into a foot bath filled with purple bubbles.
"This is so much fun," she said as she leaned back and closed her eyes.
I smiled. "I'm glad. What colour do you want to get?"
She held her finger to her lips and appeared to be thinking hard. "Do you think they have this colour?" she asked, pointing to a purple heart on her dress.
"They might have. We will ask," I said, winking at her.
When the attendant came back, I asked her for the colours of polish they had and was given a colour ring that both Grace and I looked at together. Grace and I worked to match the colour of the heart on her dress, and I settled for a nice light almond colour.
While two girls went to work on our feet, I ordered each of us a virgin Shirley Temple and a plate of snacks that the spa offered, and we sat there snacking away while Grace told me all about how when she grew up, she wanted to work in a place like this. It was weird listening to her go on and on. After all, I was used to boys.
