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I thought of my underused Kindle and the one book I had on it. “Ah, it’s sort of like a Cinderella story.” Which wasn’t an outrageous lie. Still, I could upload some kids’ books instantly if necessary.
“Okay,” Lyssa said. “But we need treats.”
“Treats?”
“Yeah, whenever Uncle Leo reads to me, we have treats.”
Of course they did.
“Okay, treats. As long as it doesn’t involve baking.” I never pretended to be a domestic goddess on any level. I had a stack of takeout menus and a few Slimfasts in my fridge. That was it.
She tapped her chin for a minute. “Rice Krispies treats!”
I let out a breath. Simple enough. “Let’s go see what the kitchen has.” Hopefully the Main House kitchen had the ingredients to make the Rice Krispies treats because if not, Lyssa would have to choose between Mr. Chows Chinese Delivery and a Chocolate Royal protein shake.
“What does that mean?” Lyssa asked, after I read a line from Wings. When I had told her I could download her version of Cinderella, she told me she would try mine first. For the past hour, we’d sat on my couch, reading and scarfing down Rice Krispies treats, compliments of Leo’s Main kitchen.
“Basically, the woman is saying that this man is the light in her day. It makes her happy when she thinks of him.”
Lyssa nodded and snuggled in a little closer to me, cramming another Rice Krispies treat into her mouth.
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bsp; “Like Ricky Drake,” Lyssa mumbled around a full mouth.
“Who’s Ricky Drake?”
“This boy in my class.”
“Aren’t you in preschool or something?”
Lyssa sat up, looking offended. “I’m in kindergarten,” she declared. “And I love Ricky.” When her face fell, I couldn’t help but pat her shoulder.
“Love can be hard,” I said. She looked up at me with big brown eyes and placed her sticky hand on mine.
“Yeah. My mom said I’m not ready for love.”
I nodded. “She’s right. You have to be more mature, I think.”
“Like third grade?”
I smiled. “Yeah, give it until third grade.”
Lyssa nodded. “Do you love my uncle?”
I laughed, then choked a little. “No, I work for him.”
She frowned. “You could love him. If you tell him he’s the light in your day.”
This conversation was going off track fast. Mostly because I didn’t know how to handle getting grilled by a five-year-old. A five-year-old who seemed to have a better grip on love than I did.
“Why don’t we watch TV and give the book a break?”
“Okay.” Lyssa grabbed the remote and between the two of us, we found some cartoons and settled in. It didn’t take long before her breathing went even and I felt a little drool on my arm from where she was resting her head.
She was asleep. The thought of getting up and waking her seemed mean, so I leaned my head back against the couch and shut my eyes, just for a second.
“Looks like you two had a fun day,” Leo’s voice rang through the haze of sleep. I peeled open my eyes. He was sitting on my coffee table, facing me.
