She raises a brow. “I’m not sure if Kurt von Trapp was meant to have multicoloured eyeshadow, but Gabe is insisting he learn how to do it so his eyes ‘pop for the performance,’ as he says.”
I can’t help but laugh. “Honestly, your kid sounds awesome.”
Lex glows from my compliment. “He is. But he’s been keeping me up obsessing over his lines, and practising his parts in all the songs. Usually, an older kid plays Kurt but there aren’t that many boys in the program, and he’s always been a bit of a keener. On top of all that he’s trying to learn how to do makeup and he gets super upset when it doesn’t turn out like in the YouTube tutorials he’s watching. I’m really out of my element—I’m not much of a makeup person.”
“Well, I’m happy to help! I can show him some tips and tricks, if that’s okay with you?”
She straightens, hand pausing on Winston mid–belly rub. “You’d do that?”
I shrug. “Of course!”
Lex smiles so genuinely at me through the mirror it makes my chest squeeze.Fuck, I love it when she smiles for real. Before she can protest, I whip my phone up in selfie mode and snap a picture of the two of us—her on my bed with Winston and that gorgeous smile of hers, me in the foreground making a dumb face and sticking out my tongue.
“Hey now!” she complains, blocking her face a second too late.
“Got ya!” I giggle.
Lex throws a pillow at me, which knocks my curling iron off my vanity and onto my lap. I squeal as I jump up from my seat, trip over my stool, and land in a heap at the foot of my bed. Winston leaps into action, barking and snuffling, and lands right on top of me, rescuing me with gingivitis licks.
“Shit, sorry!” Lex climbs off the bed and pulls Winston away. “Are you burned?”
I sit up and place my curling iron back on my vanity before it can set anything on fire, then inspect my leg. “I think I’m okay.”
“You’re all red,” Lex tsks, eyeing the mark on my thigh. “Wait here.”
She grabs her bag from the bed and pulls some ointment and a Band-Aid out of it.
“Damn, girl, did you steal that thing from Mary Poppins?” I joke. Is there anything shedoesn’thave in there?
Lex smirks but doesn’t reply, focusing on my leg. She peels the paper off the bandage and squeezes a drop of clear goop onto it before carefully applying it to my inner thigh. I can’thelp the slight gasp that escapes my lips as the coolness of the goop paired with the gentle pressure of her fingertips sends a tingling rush across my skin. I look from my leg to Lex, meeting her gaze.
“You okay?” she asks, her voice low as her eyes search mine.
I manage to nod. Force myself to swallow. Then I slap her on the arm and say, “’Tis but a flesh wound.”
Lex’s dimples pop as she rolls her eyes. It’s only when she stands that I realize her hand had been resting on my leg, and the sudden absence of her touch makes me shiver.
“Come on, we’re going to be late,” she says, reaching for my hand and pulling me to stand.
After finishing my hair the two of us hop in her Subaru. I crank the radio and sing along to an old Maroon Five song as Lex tolerates my terrible pitch all the way to Hayward Lake. It’s such a gorgeous, sunny summer day, and the picnic area is so pretty it has me wishing I could skip the date so Lex and I could enjoy it without the curse looming over us.
Lex rolls down the windows and sets herself up to spy with her binoculars.
“Are you sure you don’t want to ditch and get some food?” I ask.
Lex twists in her seat to face me. “Don’t worry. It’s only a picnic. Just... don’t go near the water. Maybe don’t go into the porta-potty. And don’t eat anything.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Don’t eat anything on a picnic?”
“Avoid deli meats and soft cheeses, at least. We’ll grab something after. Okay?”
“Okay. Cheeseburgers?”
She nods solemnly. “Cheeseburgers.”
I take a deep breath, steeling my resolve.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be right here the whole time.” Lex shifts in her seat, looks around, and then points to a shady tree justpast the parking lot. “Actually, I’ll be over there. It’ll to get too hot in here.”
