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My eyes are locked on the cover instantly, loving the elegant fashion illustrations and the long, elegant figures wearing gowns from different historical periods.

I wiggle in my seat as I wait patiently—okay, maybe a little impatiently—for Adrien to hand it to me.

I open it right away, flipping through pages of Art Deco evening gowns, 1950s silhouettes with nipped waists and full skirts, Victorian dresses with intricate bodices, among so many others. Each figure is rendered in clean black lines, all blank white slates. I could spend hours choosing colors and imagining fabrics.

I’m speechless, and a little emotional. Adrien sees the wetness in my eyes and pets my head, asking, “Do you like it?”

“I love it,” I sniffle.

Adrien beams at my answer, then looks down at the book, my hands clamped onto it. “This one isn’t really for ‘little’ you, but I saw it and couldn’t pass it up.”

“It’s… amazing,” I murmur.

He takes out a box of crayons next, and the drastic contrast between the two startles a laugh out of me.

“Now these are for ‘little’ Kamden,” he announces proudly.

I finger the package. “I haven’t used crayons since elementary school.” He watches me quietly as I open the box, the waxy scent bringing a wave of nostalgia over me.

I had one of these when I was little. Well, not this exact one, because this has sixty-four colors and a sharpener built into the back, and mine had twenty-four, half the crayons broken because I would use them until I physically couldn’t anymore.

I lift one out.

Periwinkle.

I smile before I can stop myself.

Adrien notices, but doesn’t say anything, letting me have my moment. Once I close up the box and set it aside, he pulls out the next thing.

A pacifier?

My smile vanishes, replaced by a look of confusion. Adrien sets it down on the counter between us and waits. I stare at it for a while before I realize it’s much bigger than the ones real babies use.

“You want me to put that in my mouth?”

“Only if you want to.”

“That seems…”

I don’t know how to finish.

Babyish?

Oh… That’s probably the point.

My face gets warmer.

Adrien rests his forearms on the counter, leaning closer without crowding me. “Some littles like the sucking motion because it helps them settle. Same reason people chew gum, bite pens, suck their thumb.”

I immediately think about how often I chew my lip when I’m nervous.

He sees something register in my expression and adds, “You don’t have to try it now.”

“You wouldn’t think it’s weird?”

“No.”

“Not even a little?”