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My hands shake as I collect what I came in the bathroom for.
The sight that greets me in the living room makes me fall more and more. These two people own me.
Leo’s eyes crack open at my laugh.
“You still glad you joined girls’ night?” I ask.
Meeting my gaze, he whispers, “Best night ever.”
“I got nail polish remover.” I hold up the bottle in my hand.
“Thank you.”
“Awww,” Riley moans.
“Sorry, baby. Daddy can’t have his fingernails painted at work. Even if you did do an amazing job,” he acknowledges. Lifting his hand, he spreads his fingers, tilting them to admire our work.
Pink nail polish covers his nail and the skin surrounding them.
“True.” I nod. “But I didn’t hear anything about toenails.” Lifting a brow, I plant the seed.
Riley’s face lights up. She has her dad’s socks off before he can even register what I said.
Leo lifts his head off the back of the sofa to squint at me.
Putting a finger in the middle of his forehead, I push it back down. “Don’t mess up your face mask.”
“I want mine!”
“Riley, that’s not how we ask for things, is it?” her dad corrects.
Sitting at his feet, Riley pouts, her eyes flicking from Leo to me. “Please, can I have one?”
“Sure, baby.” I squeeze her chin. “Which one do you want?” I ask, holding up two packets.
Riley points at the gold packet in my right hand.
Pulling out the slimy mask, I gently lay it across her small face.
“Careful of the bottle,” I warn when the nail polish in her hand starts to tilt.
Grabbing the other mask, I put on my own. Together, Riley and I get to work. She massacres her father’s toenails while I clean his hands.
“By the time we’re done with you, you won’t look a day over forty,” I tease.
Leo’s eyes snap open. “Woman, I’m thirty-eight.”
“Oh.” I frown, trying to swallow my smile. “Well, you have a stressful job.” I shrug.
His fingers capture my index finger. The pout he gives me is the exact one his daughter gave him a few minutes ago.
“I’m going to need another face mask,” he mumbles around his pout.
I raise a cheeky brow. “Is that how we ask for things?”
“When you’re old and wrinkly, yes,” he sasses back.
“Please.” I roll my eyes. “Like you don’t know you’re attractive. You have a town full of women after you.”
