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She turned her head to watch Eden position herself in front of them. Then she held her phone out for a selfie, with herself in the foreground and the rest of them in the background.
“Candy!” they cried together, erupting into giggles once more.
A throat clearing had her turning her head to look back. Clint stood there, hands on hips, a frown on his face but she could see the twinkle in his eyes.
“What are you all doing?” he demanded.
“Group hug!” Charlie told him.
He shook his head. “Pizza’s ready. You all need to get something in your bellies besides sugar. Especially you.” He pointed at Daisy, who was looking rather ill as Caley helped her stand. She nodded her head.
“Right, all of you into the kitchen. Eden, take them with you.”
They all followed Eden out, chatting together and Clint bent down to pick Charlie up.
“Having fun, little darling?” he asked as he placed her on his hip.
“The best, Daddy.”
He grunted, looking around. “It’s a mess in here, want to explain that?”
“Umm. Confetti monster?”
“That so?”
“Yep. He snuck in, threw up confetti everywhere and then ran off. Such a naughty confetti monster.”
Clint just grinned and shook his head as he carried her from the room. “Yes, confetti monsters can be very naughty. So can a bunch of Littles who’ve been eating too much sugar without supervision.”
“Why, Daddy, I have no idea what you are talking about.”
* * *
Marisol felt almost at a loss as she walked out of the house. She couldn’t believe how welcoming and kind everyone had been. Sometimes, when she did these private parties, she was treated like a maid, asked to fetch drinks and food. Once she’d even been told to wash the dishes.
But all the women in there had been so sweet. And Ms. Silvers had even handed her a wad of cash as a tip. Just meeting the famous singer had almost rendered her mute. She’d barely managed not to act like a complete dork and stare at her all night.
She wondered if she could hide part of the tip from Rosalind. Was it worth the risk if she found out? Then again, how was she ever going to get away from the other woman if she didn’t have the cash to do it?
She was carrying two containers stacked one on top of the other. She probably should have carried one out at a time. But Rosalind was expecting her back and she didn’t want to be late. She shuddered. She knew what happened when she was late.
Stepping forward, she tried to see around the container to where the step was. She took another step and realized she’d misjudged it as her foot landed on air. She started to stumble forward, the containers slipping out of her grasp.
Oh no!
A firm arm wrapped around her, stealing her breath. She was lifted and set back on the porch. The containers crashed to the ground. Shoot! She hoped she hadn’t broken anything. Rosalind would be furious if she had.
As she was placed back on firm ground, she looked up at the man who had caught her. She wished she could see more of his face, but the only light was coming from inside the house and his face was in shadow. Still, she could tell he was tall and broad. And he smelled nice. A mix of leather and the outdoors.
“You all right, sweetheart?” a husky, pleasant voice asked her.
“Oh…oh yes. Sorry. I misjudged the step.”
“What are you doing carrying around all that stuff? You should have asked someone to help you.” His voice was a gentle scold.
Help her? Why would anyone want to help her? Who would she even ask?
“Oh, that’s okay, I’m used to carrying it on my own. I just misjudged where the step was. It’s not the first time it’s happened. You saved me from another skinned knee, thank you.”
