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“If you do, maybe I’ll have two sisters,” Erin continued, oblivious to the fact Leah had stopped moving. “But I guess if Mom has a boy and you have a boy I could get two brothers.” She paused as if thinking about it before continuing. “Or maybe if you and Dad have a baby they’ll be twins like Dad and Aunt Vivian. That would be cool.”
First Erin had her having one baby and now she was talking about twins. Had she discussed this topic with Gavin too? If so, how had he handled it?
“I wish I had a twin sister. My two best friends in school are identical twins and they’re always playing tricks on people. Even their mom and dad get them mixed up sometimes. We had a sleepover on the last day of school and all night Ava’s mom thought she was Kasey and Kasey was Ava. But I knew who was who.”
Maybe if she kept Erin talking about her friends, she’d forget about her earlier question regarding whether she could expect a second brother or sister in the future.
“Tricking people does sound like fun. Are they on your soccer team?”
Erin nodded. “Their dad is our coach, and their cousin is on the team too.” They passed by a display of table lamps and Erin stopped. “This one matches the unicorn’s hair.” She pointed at a light with a bright aqua-colored lampshade.
Thank you.
If Erin was again focused on redecorating her room, she didn’t need to answer her question about babies or hopefully anything else pertaining to her and Gavin’s future plans. At least not this afternoon. Tomorrow Erin might ask again, but if she did, hopefully she would approach her dad with the questions instead.
“Then I think we should get it. Maybe one of those too.” Leah pointed toward the long purple lacy bed canopy, which attached to the ceiling and draped down around the bed. The color matched the mane of the second unicorn pillow, and as a girl she would’ve loved to have it in her room.
Erin considered the various colors on display. “I like the green one better.”
Since the lime green one did match the third pillow, Leah couldn’t steer her toward the purple using that
argument. And while it wasn’t a color she’d put anywhere in her house, they weren’t decorating her bedroom. “Sure. What else do you think we should get?”
A few hours and several shopping bags later, they walked into Gavin’s condo. The sound of music greeted them, as well as an aroma Leah couldn’t quite put her finger on but that had her mouth watering and her stomach making the most unladylike sounds.
“We’re home,” Erin called out. “We got everything for my room.”
Leah expected her to drop the bags she held and take off, but instead she carried them toward the kitchen, Gavin’s most likely location considering the scents filling the air.
Gavin came around the corner and met his daughter before she reached her destination. “Put it all in your room and you can show me later.”
“But I want to show you now.” Erin’s voice came out as more of a whine. It was the first time Leah had heard Erin truly complain about anything Gavin requested of her, but it didn’t shock her. Erin was very excited about all the things they’d bought, and she was only nine. Most children didn’t like to wait. At least, she’d never liked waiting as a child. She didn’t much enjoy waiting now either.
His expression didn’t change. Instead he placed a hand on Erin’s shoulder. “Dinner is almost done. After we eat, you can show me everything. Promise.” Gavin’s voice remained calm.
Erin pouted. “Fine.” She marched off toward her bedroom, and Leah bit down on her lip to keep from laughing.
Once Erin was no longer within hearing, Gavin spoke again. “Picked up just a few things?” He pointed at the bags Leah held.
“Hey, the room needed a lot of work, and now it’ll look like it belongs to a nine- year-old girl instead of a ninety-year-old man.”
The beginning of a smile tipped the corners of his mouth as he moved closer. “Thank you for taking her today. I’m sure she had more fun shopping with you than she would’ve with me.”
He stood so close she could feel the heat from his body, and memories of how he’d woken her this morning pressed forward, causing a shiver of wanting to race through her. Stretching up, she zeroed in on his mouth.
“Anytime,” she said before brushing her lips against his, a silent promise of what to expect later tonight when Erin was asleep.
“I’m starving,” Erin said, announcing her return. The annoyance at not getting her way was gone and again she sounded like the pleasant young girl Leah had spent the day with.
When they left this morning, Leah had assumed he’d spend the day working since he had the condo to himself. He hadn’t. Or at least he hadn’t spent it working in his office. The meal set before them had certainly taken some time and effort.
“This must have taken you all day.” She eyed the meat on the plate he’d placed in front of her. She wasn’t 100 percent certain, but she thought it was lamb.
Gavin set an identical plate, except for the portion size, down in front of Erin. “I wanted something special for my two ladies tonight.”
“It smells amazing. What is it?”
Please don’t be lamb. She’d tried it on previous occasions and wasn’t a big fan. If it was, she’d eat it tonight and smile. Then at some point in the near future, she’d tell him she didn’t like lamb so he wouldn’t cook it for her again.
