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“Oh.” Miranda’s voice was full of surprise. “I’ll take care of that.”
She walked right by Harley and snatched Rebel up, taking her to the back bedroom. Harley eyed Tori suspiciously, then she wrinkled her nose and ran out to the living room laughing maniacally. That was a close one. She definitely had to be more careful from now on.
Sitting on the couch, Tori waited for Miranda to come back with Rebel in tow. It wasn’t long, and when Miranda sat next to her, it was right next to her, their thighs touching, Miranda’s hand resting gently on Tori’s knee, her thumb drawing designs on the outside of her thigh. Tori sucked in a breath, eyeing Miranda suspiciously. Was this just to torture her?
Miranda’s raised eyebrow back confirmed that suspicion. She clenched her jaw. Well, two could play at this game. She just had to figure out exactly what she was going to do next. The girls picked out some dolls, and Rebel started lining them up one by one. Harley kept trying to make some school game out of it, but they babbled on, not paying a lick of attention to the adults in the room.
“What were we doing for dinner?” Tori asked, leaning in to whisper to Miranda, making sure that her breath would flutter across the open collar of her blouse. She was still dressed up from work that morning, and Tori couldn’t resist toying with her since the opportunity presented itself.
“Did you want to order something?”
“Why don’t we go see what you have in the kitchen?”
Miranda’s lips parted, her cheeks rushing with red. She slowly moved, using Tori’s leg to push herself off the couch. As soon as she stood up, Tori glanced at the girls, figured they weren’t looking, and pinched Miranda’s butt as she walked by. Miranda squeaked and moved her hand down sharply.
“That, Tori, wasn’t nice.”
“Right, because I’m the only one playing tonight.”
“Touché.”
Tori laughed as she clambered off the couch and followed Miranda into the kitchen. They made it into the room, and Tori skimmed her hand down Miranda’s shoulder to the small of her back. “Do you actually have anything to cook?”
“I cook.” Miranda tossed a look over her shoulder. “Why does that surprise you?”
Tori shrugged. “I don’t know. You seem like a workaholic who eats out often because she can and needs to.”
Miranda shook her head slightly. “I rarely eat out. Well, present company aside.”
“Smooth move, Miranda.” Tori laughed. “What do you cook then?”
“Anything. I have some pasta we can make. The girls will probably actually eat that.”
“Harley loves pasta. Got marinara and cheese? She’ll love you forever if you add in that combination.”
“I can see what I can come up with.” Miranda opened a cabinet. She pulled out the ingredients slowly. Teasingly.
Tori couldn’t tear her gaze away. Miranda was winning this one, that was for sure. But the worst part was that Tori couldn’t decide if she was doing it on purpose or not.
Rebel screamed. They both jerked with a start. Harley started crying instantly, and Tori raced out of the room, her heart in her throat until she could adequately figure out what was going on. Harley had her hand clutched over the side of her head. Rebel was back to playing like normal.
“She pulled my hair!” Harley whined.
Tori held her arms out while Harley ran into them. She checked her over, but aside from red and tear-stained cheeks, she didn’t look worse for wear. “What happened to instigate Rebel pulling your hair?”
Miranda had Rebel in her arms, staring at the two of them and waiting.
Harley started sobbing harder.
“Harley Quinn, you tell me what happened.”
“I took her toy.”
“Right, and so she pulled your hair because you took her toy without asking, am I right?” Tori wanted to sympathize with her kid, but there was no denying that she was somewhat at fault here. At Harley’s nod, Tori sighed. “I think you should apologize. You know better than to take toys without asking.”
“She should apologize to me!”
“Probably, but Rebel is two, and can’t really talk yet. You might have to settle for a hug and smiles.”
