Page 15 of Surrender
She giggled. “Yes. You have a very beautiful smile.”
“Thank you. Now that you’re my wife, are you gonna hook me up with that family discount?”
She laughed out loud. “I service children.”
“I’m a child of God.”
“You play too much!”
She playfully slapped my arm with a grin. I loved her smile already. I knew it was going to be one of those things that brightened my day.
“What’s your office called?” I asked.
“Superhero Smiles. Every Friday, we dress up as superheroes, and the kids get to dress up too.”
“That’s dope and cute as hell. You must know a lot about superheroes, then.”
“About as much as I know about teeth. I love DC and Marvel movies and have seen every one. I’ve been to Comicon at least ten times. I also have a collection of Funko Pop action figures.”
I clutched my chest. “A woman after my own heart.”
“I actually have a Wonder Woman tattoo.”
She turned and lifted her hair, showing off this sick-ass tattoo of Wonder Woman on her shoulder blade. The detail and color were amazing. Reaching out, I traced the artwork, taking notice of just how soft her skin was. It was smooth like butter and blemish-free.
She also smelled so damn good. I couldn’t stop myself from leaning in closer to sniff her. She looked back at me with a shy smile on her face.
I apologized. “I’m sorry. I know that was weird as hell. You just… damn, you smell good.”
She giggled as she turned back around. “Thank you. I may or may not have a perfume obsession.”
“Do you need a sponsor? I’ll happily pay to have you smell like this every day.”
She smiled. “I think I like you already. So… what do you do for a living?”
“I write and illustrate children’s books.”
“Oh! Interesting. Anything I might have seen?”
“You ever heard of J.A Mitchell?”
Her eyes widened. “Yes! Oh my god! That’s you?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I have every book you’ve written on the bookshelf in my lobby.” She looked at me in amazement. “When I saw you, I thought you looked familiar. I just couldn’t put my finger on it. Wow. Maybe you could do a story time at my office one day.”
“I’d be down for that.”
“Do you travel a lot?”
“I have speaking occasions every now and then. Sometimes, I do press tours. I love children, and my books help me fund many programs around the city. Giving back to the community that raised me has always been a priority. Why not start with the kids? I do back-to-school bashes, summer reading camps, and Christmas giveaways.”
“I take it you want children of your own someday?”
“Yes. At least three, preferably not with the thirteen-year age gap like my sister and I.”
“Are you two close?”