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“I would love that, honey, but I had a really long day yesterday and there are things I need to do at home.” Her shoulders slumped, and I quickly thought of how I could cheer her up. “What if we take pictures together when we’re all done? How’s your dad with a camera?”
She wrinkled her nose, and Nellie copied her. It was so adorable I had to stop myself from squeezing them both.
“He doesn’t get the right angle,” Sage replied. “Selfies are better anyway.”
Jake huffed under his breath. “Can’t be good at everything.” Then he patted Sage’s shoulder. “All right, Ms. Critic. You’re done. Next victim.”
I knew Jake was patient. After all, he’d dealt with my reluctance without breaking a sweat and had waited for me to finally see what he already knew—that we’d be incredible together. But watching him do my wiggle worm’s hair, never getting angry or annoyed when her silky strands slipped from his fingers from her constant movement, made me understand his level of patience was near godlike.
He gave Nellie two little braids in the front that crisscrossed into one large one trailing down her back. For only three and a half, she had a lot of hair, and he’d had no trouble taming it. When he was finished, she ran to the bathroom to see herself. Jake lifted her up to stand on the counter, and she gasped, her little hands pressing to her cheeks.
“Oh, I love it,” she cooed. I swore, Jake melted at her “wuv it.” He met my eyes in the mirror and shook his head. But I didn’t miss his little grin or the way he let her examine her reflection for as long as she wanted before putting her back on the ground.
When it was my turn, his hands were firm but gentle, brushing through my bed-tangled strands until they were smooth. He braided the front from ear to ear, forming a headband. It wasn’t my usual style, but he’d done it for me, so I loved it and would wear it like that all day.
When I got up from the chair, my limbs were loose and relaxed. I leaned into his chest and sighed. “Maybe I want all my hair braided. And when you finish, you can take them out and start all over.”
He chuckled. “Liked that, did you, mama?”
“Yes. You have magic fingers.”
He dipped to whisper in my ear. “Think you already knew that.”
I shoved his chest, my cheeks aflame. “Shut it, you. There are children around.”
He glanced over his shoulder. Nellie and Sage were packing up her duffel bag for field hockey, paying no attention to us.
“This was a good morning,” he murmured.
“It was. I loved all of it.”
“We’ll do it again.”
I nodded. “Nellie would love another sleepover.”
He slipped his arm around my waist. “And her mom?”
I pushed up on my toes to graze his lips with mine. “I would love it too.”
He kissed me firmly. “Then we’ll make it happen.”
“He braids.” Bea stared at me, almost angry, like I was lying to her.
“He does!” I took out my phone to show her the selfies I took with the girls over the weekend. “See? Aren’t we cute?”
“There’s no proof Jake did this,” Bea pointed out. “But yes, all of you are very cute.”
Shira took the phone, murmuring how adorable we all were. I leaned over in my pedicure chair to scroll back a couple photos. I’d captured some action shots, which I was now happy for since I apparently needed proof my boyfriend was multifaceted.
“Okay, there’s no denying this,” Shira said, passing the phone back to Bea.
Bea hmphed. “Fine. He’s incredible. I admit it.”
I snorted at her dour tone. One day, a man was going to excite her when she least expected it, and I could not wait to see Bea all gooey and smitten. I wouldn’t admit that to her, though, since I valued our friendship.
“He is.” I smiled at the screen for a moment before sliding my purse away. “Which is why I’m terrified something’s going to go wrong.”
“It might,” Shira said.
