Page 23 of To Spark a Dragon's Love
“What time is it?” I groaned as I rolled over to bury my face in the pillow. I felt like I’d barely gotten any sleep. Nightmares were common for me. This one wasn’t anything special, even if it featuredhim.
As far as my dreams went, this one was actually lame. Malachy’s dragon eye glowered at me while a distant, song-like sound called out to… Honestly, I couldn’t remember what it was saying.
“It’s morning,” Harper said.
“Thank you, Captain Obvious.” I reached out blindly and scooped her close with one arm, muffling her squeals of joy against my pillow as I tried to cuddle her.
She wasn’t very snuggly anymore. Her limbs were sharpening, giving me an elbow to the chest and a knee to the thigh. She’d lost all the cute baby chub around the time she stopped taking naps.
It sucked because I already knew I’d need a nap today. I hadn’t been able to sleep well for the past week. If it wasn’t the weird dreams, it was tossing and turning, being too hot and too cold, and stressing about the dragon shifter who haunted my nightmares.
I needed to face the music and speak with the guy. But maybe I could keep hiding and ignoring it for one more day. Bake some cookies. Cuddle with my daughter.
“It’s time for you to get up,” Harper managed to say once she maneuvered her face out of my snuggle hold.
This was another new thing—the alarm clock child. I missed when she would sleep in.
“Who says?” I teased as I tightened my hold and discreetly sniffed. She didn’t even smell like my sleepy little baby anymore.
“Miss Grace says.” Harper gave up struggling and huffed her frustration. “She’s at the door.”
Crap.“Why didn’t you say that?” I scrambled out of bed. My pajamas were ruffled. I couldn’t find my robe.
Harper sat up cross-legged on the nest of blankets, pushing her frizzed hair away from her face. “I was trying to and then you smushed me.”
There it is.I put on my robe and tightened the belt around my waist. “You’re not supposed to open the door when your parent is asleep,” I whisper-scolded.
“That’s for strangers.” Harper rolled her eyes. “Miss Grace isn’t a stranger. Besides, she brought pudding and pretty dresses.”
∞
My eyes were puffy from lack of sleep. I rubbed them, trying to clear my vision as I stared at my reflection in Ember’s olddresser mirror. There was absolutely no way the dress I was wearing looked like that.
“Ooh, la la.” Harper tried to whistle as I clasped my hands over the material—or lack thereof—on my chest. “I want a red dress too.”
It wasn’t just the candy-apple red color that screamed,“Wrong for me.”
The plunging neckline was designed for someone whose boobs hadn’t been stretched by motherhood. And the slit up my thigh was going to give the whole room a view as I walked down the aisle. Granted, I could barely walk with how tightly the chiffon and lace clung to my body.
It cinchedeverywhere.
“This is beautiful, Miss Grace.” I smiled, panicking as I looked at my reflection.Where the hell is Riley?“But I think I’ll just wear something simple. The lilac dress you made me for Ember’s ceremony is perfect.”
“Nonsense.” Her salt and pepper hair fanned around her rosy cheeks as the sweet—and ridiculously strong—plump woman stuck a pin in my side. “Guardian Malachy specifically requested this cut and style. I must say, he’s a dragon with taste. And he got your measurements near perfect.”
Since the only time I’d seen him during the past week was when we were in bed, I shivered to think how he’d been able to measure me.
But my daughter was in the room so I quickly locked those thoughts down.
“I think you look pretty,” Harper said. A wistful gleam was in her bright green eyes as she fingered the lace on my hip. “Can I have a dress like this someday?”
∞
“Absolutely not.” I laid the dress on the desk after barging into the room, cornering Malachy where he sat in Kieran’s study. It was weird how I knew where to find him. Or maybe not that weird, because I’d been using the same skills all week to stay out of his way.
“If something is wrong with the dress, Grace can fix it. I don’t sew like my brother does.” Malachy leaned back in the chair and cocked an eyebrow.
I hated the way my traitorous heart beat harder as his eyes swept over me. I’d almost convinced myself I wouldn’t have his full attention when I came to speak with him, that he’d be too busy. But he was here all alone in the study.
