Page 49 of Blake

But Blake wasn’t letting her get involved, which was fair enough, since it was his mission. She just felt powerless.

“I’m always careful,” he replied, putting his arm around her.

She looked up at him. “Can I do anything to help while you’re gone?”

He smiled. “You can relax for me, little one,” he replied. “I’ve arranged for you and Rosie to play in the nursery together tonight. I want you to unwind and try to switch off from all this nasty stuff. Something tells me you’ve become addicted to the drama, young lady. That’s normal when you go through a lot, but I want you to remember how much you enjoy letting loose and having fun, too.”

She laughed. “Well, I guess that doesn’t sound too terrible. I just want to be helpful. Do you promise you’ll let me be helpful when the time is right?”

He pulled her close to him and looked into her eyes. “I promise, darling, that I will absolutely want your help when the time is right.”

She nodded, satisfied, and gave him a warm kiss on the cheek.

Just then, Rosie bounded up to her. “Savvy!” She was wearing a cute white dress with strawberries all over it. “Are you ready for a night of fun?”

Savannah laughed. “I sure am!”

“Then let’s go to the nursery!” Rosie took her hand and dragged her to the back of the club, pushing open the door on the right.

Savannah looked back over her shoulder, seeing Blake talking with his brothers. She took a mental picture of them, hoping that the sick feeling in her stomach was just nerves, not an ominous premonition.

“Hey, what’s in that middle room, by the way?” asked Savannah.

Rosie tapped the side of her nose. “I’m not at liberty to say.”

They entered the playroom, which was filled with stuffed animals, toys, and rainbow-colored furniture. Around the edgeof the room was a huge train track, and in every direction, there were more toys than Savannah had ever seen. Her eyes widened, taking in the sight.

“Rosie,” she said quietly, overcome with anxiety, “I’ve never actually . . . played . . . with another Little before.”

Rosie smiled. “You’ll be just fine. Just follow my lead!”

Savannah looked at Rosie, thinking how good she looked in her strawberry dress. She remembered that Rosie had said her Little was around seven. She looked like she had probably always been the cool kid at school, and her Little was immaculately turned out and fashionable.

Savannah looked down at her own crop top with a cartoon bear on it, and white hotpants, and she suddenly felt inadequate.

“Hey,” said Rosie, as if reading her mind, “let’s play dressing up!”

Rosie led Savannah to a nearby wardrobe, revealing an array of cute clothes designed for Littles. They eagerly selected matching pink dresses adorned with bows and lace, giggling as they changed into their new outfits.

Then Rosie went over to a little music box in the corner and wound it up. Funny little nursery rhymes started to play and Rosie said, “Now we can have a bubble disco!”

“A bubble disco?” asked Savannah.

Rosie giggled. “Sure! Go over to that big plastic penguin in the corner and press his beak.

Savannah did as she was asked and she jumped a little when the penguin opened its mechanical mouth and started shooting bubbles out into the room.

“Eek! I wasn’t expecting that!” she squealed, laughing.

The girls danced around, twirling with various stuffies in their hands, winding up the music box and leaping about to the silly music as the bubbles floated and popped all around them.

Finally, they grabbed a carton of juice and collapsed on some beanbags, giggling.

“So, is Blake your Daddy, then?” asked Rosie. “I hope you don’t mind me asking, but I saw you kissing him on the cheek earlier . . .”

"Um, yeah," she replied, her cheeks coloring.

Rosie's eyes widened with excitement. "He is? That's such amazing news! How do you feel about it?"

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