Page 56 of Losing Faith

I don’t get to finish my sentence as Lisette plucks a spider from the bowl and flings it at me.

“Stop!” I take a few steps back in a hurry, pulling my shirt over my head to get it off of me. In front of me, both girls are literally crying from how hard they laugh. “Veryfunny.” I roll my eyes at the pair.

“Fine.” I kick the plastic spider further away. “I don’t like spiders. Stop bullying me.”

Isabelle smiles up at me as she slowly walks closer while holding the bowl out.

“I mean it.” I step away. “Please respect my boundaries. Making me uncomfortable isn’t funny.”

Immediately, Isabelle pulls away from me. “Oh, I didn’t know you were actually scared. Sorry, Daddy. We don’t have to put the spiders up. They’re kind of ugly anyway,” she reassures me as she walks back to the kitchen.

Lisette smiles as she watches her walk off. “You are doing such a damn good job at raising her.” She shakes her head before looking back at me.

“Thank you.” I smile proudly.

She nods in return, her eyes falling on my bare chest. Slowly, a pink blush meets her cheeks and I bite back a smile in return. “You should keep your shirt off. Pumpkin carving is messy.”

My smile widens. “You think so?”

“Mhm.” She hums, her eyes meeting mine.

Before I can tease her, Isabelle walks back out. “How are we feeling, people?” She smiles up at us. “I don’t want to see any sleepy heads. We have a long night ahead of us.” She treks into the living room like she’s on a mission.

“You mean we have two hours ahead of us since your bedtime is eight o’clock and you have school tomorrow,” I correct her as we follow close behind.

She gives me a knowing look that I return.

“Let’snegotiate.” She smiles and I’m so proud of her vocabulary constantly expanding but I wish I didn’t teach her that one. “Eight thirty,” she starts.

“Eight.” I smile down at her.

“Ten?” She tilts her head to the side.

I break into a laugh. “That’s a big jump. How about eight fifteen?”

She pretends to think. “Nine fifteen. Final offer.” She holds her hand out to me and it’s cute that she thinks she has the final say.

“Eight thirty.Myfinal offer on the condition that you’re in the shower by eight.” I hold my hand out and her smile returns.

“Deal.” She holds her hand out but pulls away before I can take it. “On the condition that I get to have two more pieces of chocolate cake.” She keeps her face stone cold, but I see she’s holding back a laugh.

I give her a knowing look, silently reminding her that she already had two pieces. “Half a slice.” I take her hand.

“Deal.” She shakes my hand firmly, her smile on full display. “I already showered and I hadthreecupcakes at school,” she reminds me and I shake my head at how well she just played me. She’s going to have a sugar rush, but I only hope she crashes quickly.

She giggles to herself proudly as she sits in front of one of the pumpkins.

“You’re raising the future POTUS,” Lisette whispers from beside me and I stifle a laugh.

“You said you were hungry, yeah?”

She nods in return and I walk over to the pizza and serve her.

We settle on the couch and as she eats, I draw the face I’m going to carve out on mine and Isabelle’s pumpkin. Beside me, Lisette watches a Halloween cartoon with Isabelle who’s stuffing her face in cake.

When something happens on the screen, Isabelle holds her belly as she laughs. A smile touches my lips and I watch Lisette as she looks down at my daughter, a bright smile on her face.

She leans over, kissing her cheek before wiping her mouth clean. “Pretty girl.” She kisses the top of her head and I watch in awe as she watches my kid.

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