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Alice jerks in surprise. I laugh at her.
“We’re talking in our minds,” she says.
Benji scowls. “You can’t do that.”
“Can too!”
“Can not!”
“Can too,” Alice insists. “It’s a best friend thing.”
“My best friend and I can’t do that.”
She shrugs. “Give it another decade.”
“I can talk to Maisie like that!” Angie yells.
“Who is Maisie?” I ask.
Benji grumbles. “Her stupid stuffed dog?—”
“She’s not stupid!”
“It’s just a stuffed animal?—”
“We are best friends!”
“Kids, stop fighting.”
At the sound of their dad’s voice, they both hush. I feel like my head is swimming. I have a feeling my mom has no idea how lucky she got with mine and Lewis’ age difference.
But then, David comes downstairs, and I lose my train of thought.
He looks…good.
The long line of his suit accentuates how tall and broad he is. The color is sharp and clean. It’s dark black, but somehow, it looks better than any other black I’ve ever seen. We aren’t matching. My dress is clearly blue while his is clearly black, but somehow I know that we’ll still look good together.
He looks at me, and his eyes widen.
I feel a burst of self-conscious fear. What if I don’t look right? What if I look too young? Too dolled up? Not fancy enough? What if?—
“Laura,” he says, and his voice tilts a little. I can’t quite read the emotion in it, but it makes my heart beat faster. “You look…”
He doesn’t say anything.
“Like a princess!” Angie interjects.
The moment dispels.
“I don’t know,” I say, tapping my finger to my lip. “I thinkyouare the princess.”
“No,” Angie says, voice patient and condescending like only an eight-year-old can manage. “I’m in pajamas.”
“Spin for us!” Alice insists, and then Angie screams in delight. I laugh and spin in the dress while Angie and Alice clap. Even Benji is hiding a smile when I’m done.
I stop spinning, hand to my head as I try not to reveal how dizzy that actually made me. My eyes lock with David’s. His eyes are warm, wrinkles at the corners as he smiles at me. It’s the loveliest I’ve ever felt, being trapped in David’s gaze.
“A princess indeed,” he murmurs, and my face burns with a blush. I clasp my hands together, unsure of what else to do, and my heart hammers in my chest.
