Page 87 of Single-Minded
“Okay,” Nova said, not lifting her head from my shoulder.
“Are you hungry?” I asked her. She hadn’t complained about it, understandably.
“Mm-hmm.”
Sienna zipped down the slide and came up to my side. “Hey, little sister. Welcome home.”
“Did you get stitches?” Scarlet asked.
I lowered Nova to the floor, trusting the twins to be gentle with her, as Presley moved to the top of the slide.
“You can use the stairs if you want,” I told her.
“Who would want to use stairs when you can slide?” she said, making the girls giggle.
Presley slid down and stood gracefully.
“Why don’t you girls take Nova to the kitchen and get her some pizza.” As they headed off, I told Presley, “Jagger’s waiting to give you a ride home.”
“Perfect. You won’t have to take the girls out again. What did the doctor say?”
I told her there was no concussion and nothing except one whopper of a cut. “We got lucky.”
“So lucky. I’m so sorry the evening ended that way, West.”
“Me too, but they had a great time until then.”
“I did too. I’ll let you get to the rest of your night. I don’t want to keep Jagger waiting.”
“Presley.” I grabbed her hand as she went past me to the living room.
She stopped and faced me.
“Thank you. I’m used to handling everything by myself. You did more for them tonight than their mother has done for them in months.”
“You don’t need to thank me. I’m glad I could help.”
Our eyes met and locked. I wanted to kiss her so fucking bad, but the girls’ voices in the kitchen reined me in.
Presley lifted our hands, still entwined, and kissed the back of mine. “Good night, West. I hope you all sleep extra well. And if you can’t make it to the shop tomorrow, it’s okay. Take care of your girls.”
“We should be okay. My mom will give her as much TLC as I would. Probably more.”
She dropped my hand and headed for the front door. I followed her, closed the door after her, then turned to find Sienna standing in the doorway to the kitchen, watching me.
“Are you gonna marry Miss Presley, Daddy?” she asked in a quiet voice.
The question had the effect of another emergency, pumping adrenaline through me in an instant.
“No, Si-Si,” I answered, rallying my brain cells to head this off gently. “Miss Presley is a friend and a customer and that’s all. Did Nova get some pizza?”
“Scarlet’s helping her.”
“Let’s go keep her company while she eats,” I said, holding out my arm.
Sienna and I went into the kitchen, where Scarlet was pouring Nova a glass of milk as Nova answered her questions. I wouldn’t be able to recall what they said if you paid me, as my brain was in alert mode.
I was getting too comfortable with Presley. Our secret fling was spreading into real life, into my girls’ lives, and that was a nonnegotiable no, regardless of how much I liked her.
