Page 37 of Just One More Affair
She nodded. “I saw you put your hand on her back like Daddy does with Fallon.”
Aah. That made more sense. He’d have to be even more discreet in the future so the girls didn’t get ideas Charlotte wasn’t ready for.
He debated on the best way to answer and finally decided. “Well, I want to get to know your mom and you girls even better. Is that okay with you?”
They tipped their heads to the side in the same manner. “I guess so,” Dylan said.
Dakota nodded.
As approval, he’d take it. “Let’s finish eating so we can go pick paint!” He deliberately changed the subject, not wanting to be interrogated further.
Once they arrived at the paint store, however, he almost wished he was back at the diner being grilled by them. The salesperson at the store had laid out a bunch of light pink swatches and the girls had narrowed their choices to four colors, which hadn’t been easy. Who knew there were so many shades of pink?
“Okay,” he said, glancing at the similar-looking samples. “We have Rose Silk, Pleasant Pink, and Touch of Pink for your light pinks.” He touched each as he spoke. “And then we have Damask Rose, which is a little deeper and has more color.”
“I don’t love the really light ones,” Dakota, who was known for liking brighter colors, said.
“Okay, but I love Touch of Pink.” Dylan pointed to her choice.
“I think I like the Damask Rose.”
He chuckled. “Those are both good colors.” And they were very different.
“If I may?” the salesperson asked.
He nodded. “Please. Any help would be welcome.”
“Girls, what if you do one wall with the Damask Rose? It’s a darker color and I think it would make the room feel too small. And the other three walls can be Touch of Pink? That way, both of your choices are included.”
He watched them closely. Dakota tapped one finger on her color but remained silent, obviously thinking. Since he’d been a kid once, he assumed she was adding up the three light pink walls to her one.
“You could ask your mom if you can buy sheets and pillow cases in your color, Dakota. That would give you more of it.”
She nodded. “It would! Good idea!” She smiled, beaming at him, and he felt ten feet tall.
“Dylan? Is that okay with you?” he asked.
She nodded with a smile. “I like the compromise. That’s what Mommy says we have to do. Compromise.”
“Your mommy’s very smart. And so are you two. Okay, let’s take pictures to show her, and can we take the color swatches with us?” he asked the saleswoman.
“Of course. I can also paint color samples on paper so you can hang them up on the walls to see how they look.”
After the photos were snapped, the saleswoman handed off the paint colors to a colleague to do what she’d promised.
“Can we FaceTime Mommy?” Dakota asked.
He nodded, opening his phone and pulling up Charlotte’s contact. “Go ahead.” He handed Dylan the phone.
They talked to their mom and after a few minutes of chatter and happy squeals, Dakota said, “Mommy wants to talk to you.”
He took the phone and turned it toward him. Charlotte was grinning as she said, “Hi.”
“Hi, yourself.”
“Rough day?” The smile turned into a laugh.
He shook his head. “Not at all. They were perfect angels.” And for ten-year-olds, bickering was normal.
