Page 53 of Timelessly Ours
“Mmhmm…Nicky, I had a crush on your brother for eight years. I know googly eyes when I see it. I recognize the blush when he catches your eye from across the room and you turn away.”
“Now that’s B.S., I never turn away.” I roll my lips together. The little witch.
A sly grin stretches her lips. “You’re right, you don’t. Usually, he’s the one to do it,” she says matter-of-factly and keeps walking like we're just talking about the weather.
I return to the house with a semi-warm new pretzel for Rory since Cora and I demolished the other one.
Rory and her father are in the den. He’s flipping through streaming cartoons.
"That one, that one,” she demands.
“No. I hate that one,” he retorts.
“That’s because you hate slime.”
My eyes drop to my bags. Slime? That would have been a lot cheaper than a leather jacket. Even a faux one.
Well, at least I know what I’ll be picking up when I go out tomorrow.
After unpacking my shopping bags, mostly facial creams, makeup and—okay, a new pair of boots I totally didn’t need, I call Rory up to my bedroom to play dress up.
I glam her up in her killer new outfit, hair clip, and shimmery lip gloss, and send her downstairs to show Daddy.
She tugs my hand. “Will you come with me?”
I hesitate. “Umm…well, I really need to clean up here. But come back and let me know what he says.”
“Pleeeaaseee.”
Pouting, I follow her out.
Fine, I wouldn’t want to miss his reaction to the mini me I’ve created, anyway.
When we get downstairs, Rory sprints into the kitchen, where her dad is cleaning up a tea party set from the counter.
His jaw drops as he stares at his sweet little girl. Realization crosses his features when he finds me behind her.
Pressing my lips together to fight my grin—to his reaction and the fact that he was playing tea party with her on his day off—I move to the refrigerator for a bottle of water.
“Can I wear it to school on Monday? Can I?”
“Umm…it’s not exactly uniform…and I don’t think Mrs. Matthews will appreciate it…as much as…I do.” His voice trails off and he sneaks a glance back at me.
“Awww.” She pouts.
“I’m sure you can still wear it plenty, but for now, why don’t you go change back to house-appropriate clothes?”
He watches her skip out of the room gleefully then brushes my shoulder and leans down to whisper. “Nice try. I happen to think she looks adorable.” He pulls back and catches the new yellow strands of my hair, curling it around his finger. "Oh and…I missed this."
He doesn’t give me a chance to respond, he releases my hair and leaves me there with my skin sizzling.
Since it’s turning out to be the longest day ever, I decide to burn off some energy in the basement gym. Can’t exactly stay locked in my bedroom all weekend because I’m trying to avoid my mouth running off again.
After about an hour, I head back up and sigh when I realize I still have hours of avoidance ahead of me. And of course, Royce is in the kitchen when I emerge from the stairs.
With a glance over his shoulder, he asks if I can get Rory and Rover from the backyard because dinner is almost ready.
Instead of the cold shoulder, I fire off a snippy comment. Because, as we’ve established, I can’t keep a lid on it. “Sure you trust me not to make a mess out there?”