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“Okay, you win.”
“Damn right, I do.” And he planned to enjoy that victory to its fullest, all night long.
* * *
LEIGH
Thankgoodness she didn’t have to work today. After she’d claimed to have control over her sleep quantity, Sam had spent the next several hours ensuring she got far less than her usual amount. For the second night in a row.
She liked being in control. Needed to be. This weekend, though… Being out of control with Sam had its perks.
Swapping her coffee mug for her phone, she leaned back and tapped the screen to connect a video call. A couple of rings later, the screen opened to a bouncy view of the cottage with a sliver of Tim’s face at one side.
The sliver smiled. “Good morning.”
“Oh, hi. Sorry, I meant to call Lennox’s phone.”
“You did. She left it in the living room. I’m taking you to her now.”
“Is she still in bed?” she asked, as the cottage’s main hallway filled the screen.
Tim turned the camera on himself, laughing while giving her an incredulous expression. “She’s a mini you, Leigh. Up and at it, bright and early. She’s been out of bed for over an hour already.”
“Then what’s she doing in her room? She never hangs out in her room when she’s there.”
“You’ll see.” He aimed the camera at the door, then opened it. “Hey, Len. How’s our little friend doing?”
“Little friend?” Leigh asked as her daughter filled the frame.
“Hi, Mommy. Look,” Lennox whispered, pointing at her lap.
Instinctively, Leigh leaned forward, angling for a better view. “Is that a—”
The answer to Leigh’s question popped its head up from the nest of blankets covering Lennox’s cross-legged position.
“A puppy!” Lennox scooped the tiny black creature from her lap and thrust its face in front of the camera. “Isn’t she cute? We’re naming her Ladybug because Daddy wanted to call her Lady and I said we should call her Bug. What do you think, Mommy?”
“I think Ladybug is a good compromise and a nice name for a cute puppy. But why is there a puppy in the cottage?”
“Because she’s ours now.” Lennox pressed her face against the puppy’s head and smooshed it with kisses. “I love you, Ladybug.”
The sweetness of the moment wasn’t lost on Leigh. It was, however, overshadowed by the cyclone rising from the pit of her stomach.
“Honey, I need to talk to your dad for a few minutes, okay?”
“Okay.”
“Have a great day. I love you.”
“I love you too, Mommy. So does Ladybug,” she said, waving the puppy’s paw at the camera.
No. She would not get her daughter’s hopes any higher by talking to a puppy that wouldn’t be making the trip home next week. A smile and wave, that’s the best she could do.
Tim’s face filled the screen. No laugh this time. Just his usual calm, neutral expression. “Let me explain.”
“Please do. Because I’m certain we didn’t agree to get a puppy for Lennox. Ever. So forgive me for being confused and shocked by the appearance of a puppy that you’ve named and apparently claimed as ‘ours.’ You know what my schedule is like. I work long hours at the bakery, six days a week. I don’t have time for a puppy.”
“The puppy is ours as in, mine and Lennox’s. Ladybug will live with me. Lennox can spend time with her there.”
