Page 116 of Bottles & Blades

“Okay,” she chirps, and this time I can’t help but laugh.

So much spirit in this one. I hope that never changes.

“All right then”—I toss the bag of candy between us and settle back into my chair—“get going, kid.”

“Tiff?” she asks after she’s earned ten M&Ms.

“Yeah, Queen Rox?”

She giggles. “How many M&Ms do I get when I finishallof the problems?”

I still, glance up from my notes, mouth curving. “The rest of the bag.”

She whoops, that pencil moves faster, and before too long, she’s earned the rest.

“What about you?” she asks as she chomps down on the candy.

“What do you mean, kiddo?”

“What’syourreward?”

I think about rough fingertips and strong arms, the bristles of a beard between my legs and a solid body pressing me into the mattress. “I’ll come up with something,” I tell her, thighs squeezing together. I shift on my seat, trying to ease the ache that comes every time my mind drifts to Jean-Mi.

“Gummy worms?”

I grin. “Those areyourfavorite, baby girl.”

“I’m not a baby.”

I ruffle her hair. “No, you’re not.”

Suitably mollified, she asks, “What’s your favorite?”

“These.”

We both turn to see Stefan walking into the room, and I know that he speaks the truth as he holds up a bag of miniature peanut butter cups.

Chocolate and peanut butter.

My kryptonite.

Roxie hops off her stool and runs to her dad, throwing her arms around him. Then she snags the bag and holds it up. “Is Dad right?”

“He sure is.”

She skips over, tearing the top off the bag and carefully counting out ten.

“Why ten?” I ask.

“One per card,” she says matter-of-factly before turning to her dad. “We’re rewarding ourselves for doing our homework.”

“That sounds like a great plan,” he says, ruffling her hair and snagging the bag back. “But I think you’ve probably had enough rewards for tonight. It’s time for bed.”

“It’s notthatlate.”

“Off to bed, munchkin,” he says, ignoring the puppy dog eyes she throws his way as he kisses the top of her head. “I’ll be up soon to tuck you in.”

“Aw, man.”

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