Page 108 of Irresistible

I wish I hadn’t wasted a single second panicking about this.

It’s gonna be okay.

With Wyatt, everything will be okay.

“Mama, look!” Dakota calls.

I look over and she’s waving at us.

“It’s so beautiful,” she says.

From the time she could first say it, she’s always pronounced itbootiful, and I will be so sad when she corrects herself.

“Wow, it sure is,” I say.

“Do you feel better?” she asks.

“So much better. Thank you, sweet girl,” I tell her.

“Remember when I almost went potty in my pants and you picked me up and we ran so very fast?” She runs out of air, takes a deep breath, and keeps going. “And there was that yucky place with the—”she makes a disgusted face—“ewww-y floor, and you said—”

I open my mouth to interrupt because I’m not sure where this story is going.

“Don’t hold it so long next time,” she finishes. “That’s what you said. Oh, and you said, ‘When you put off the poop, you gotta scoot.’” She covers her mouth and giggles when Logan and Wyatt lose it.

“It’s really good to know how well you listen.” I nod, trying to keep it together. “I do remember that. You didn’t want to go potty before we left the house, so we had to stop and go in that gross gas station.”

She shudders again and I’m making an icked-out face right along with her.

“Let’s not think about that place right now, okay?” I reach out and run my hand over her cheek.

Wyatt hasn’t stopped laughing during this entire exchange.

“I feel like I’m out on the boat with the crew instead of outside this fancy restaurant, with all this potty talk going on,” Logan says drily. “When you put off the poop, you’ve gotta scoot. That is valuable information right there. Such great slogans to live by, Low.”

I roll my eyes at him but can’t stop laughing.

“Can we put that on a T-shirt?” Wyatt wheezes out.

“Absolutely not.” I jab him in the side and he yelps, ticklish, which strikes Dakota so funny. “Let’s get out of here before someone complains about the disruptive potty talkers.”

Dakota’s eyes widen and she looks around. “Are we in trouble?”

“No, I was just kidding,” I tell her, wiping the tears from my face from laughing so hard.

Goodness, my heart has gotten an emotional whiplash today.

She still looks worried, so I put my hand on hers and squeeze it.

“I promise we’re not in trouble,” I say.

My little tenderhearted girl. I want her to always stay like this, and it pains me to think of whatever hurts she’s going to face. But if I’ve learned anything tonight, it’s that the people we love can make everything better, just by loving us back.

“I love you so much, Kota.” I lean over and kiss her cheek.

“Love you too, Mama.”

“You want to walk back to the gondola or want me to keep carrying you?” Logan asks her.