Ultimate Courage (True Heroes #2)(69)

“I never thought about it that way.” Boom tipped her head to the side.

Elisa shrugged. “You don’t need it. Honestly. You’ve got a great face with healthy, lovely skin and a natural blush to your cheeks. But if you ever want to learn, just so you know how to accentuate what you’ve got at the right time, we can sit down together.”

Any person looked a million times better when they could step out with confidence in themselves. For Boom, ten was way too early for the works, in Elisa’s opinion. But a little dab of gloss here and maybe a touch of powder could do wonders for her confidence level in simply knowing she could do it if she wanted to.

Then Boom could go back to being herself without the doubt.

Boom nodded. “Let’s do it. I want to learn to do it right so I don’t ruin my face.”

Elisa blinked. “Who said anything about ruining your face?”

Though that was another consideration. It could totally happen with bad habits.

Boom lifted a shoulder in a half shrug. “It’s one of the things those girls talk about when they make fun of girls who try makeup when they don’t know how. Mess up your face forever or end up with ugly, yellow fungus nails.”

Ugh. No wonder Boom had been twisted up about this. Elisa would’ve been, too, even as an adult.

“Good call. I like your face, so I’ve got a vested interest in helping you keep it the way it is.” Elisa winked. “A lot of beauty regimens are mostly about properly washing and moisturizing your face, anyway. The better you take care of what you have, the less you ever need to tweak the way you look.”

“Washing? Like taking those sugar baths you talked about?” Boom perked up at the idea.

Elisa laughed. “There’s different kinds of stuff. Sugar scrubs could be for your lips once in a while but mostly you use the scrubs for the parts of your body that take a lot of abuse, like your hands and feet or elbows and knees.”

“Break out the big guns for the extra rough spots.” Boom nodded sagely.

“Something like that.” Elisa shook her head.

Boom gave her that brilliant smile. “Thanks. I kinda like my face, too. It’s why I keep my guard up ’cause a punch to the face can ruin it, too.”

Elisa raised her eyebrows. Apparently Boom had taken a lot of talk into consideration. “Good point.”

Boom was going to grow up into one heck of a woman. Alex might not survive it.

“You know, Dad spends a lot of time looking at your face.” Boom’s voice took on a sly tone.

“Oh?” Nope. Elisa was not going to take the bait from a pre-teen.

“He seems to like you whether you have makeup on or not.” Boom chewed her lip.

Wait. Elisa deliberately stopped chewing her own.

“I bet if you did your makeup all special, his jaw would hit the floor.” Boom tipped her head back as she continued to consider. “But most mornings he has a silly kind of smile on his face when he sees you before you’ve had your coffee, and you don’t wear makeup most days. So I guess that’s a different kind of like, too.”

“Maybe.” Faint response, but it was the best she could manage.

Alex watched her that much? And she hadn’t noticed. Well, maybe it wasn’t a big surprise since it seemed to be before she’d had her morning caffeine, but still, she’d never thought he paid much attention.

“Yup. Maybe.” Boom bolted then, heading back to the kitchen and out the back door closest to her house.

Outmaneuvered. By a ten-year-old.

This round went to the Boom.





Chapter Twenty-Three



The outdoor patio was a good idea.” Rojas watched Elisa take in the décor of the cafe with a soft smile on her face.

This place was busy even on weeknights, a popular spot for couples of every age. Sitting inside would’ve been a nightmare for Rojas but out here, they could enjoy the autumn colors on the surrounding trees. The owners had set tall heat lamps out at intervals between the tables to keep patrons warm.

Rojas had taken mental note of the various couples, mostly younger and middle-aged sets braving the evening. All of the wait staff were teenagers and in fact, the entire restaurant was run by young people. It was trendy and hip, with a sophisticated menu. Exactly the kind of place he’d wanted to treat Elisa to.

Her dark brown hair was done in soft curls falling around her shoulders, and she’d worn makeup this evening, making her blue eyes brighter and somehow more striking. Her lips were even more tempting than usual, and he was sure he wasn’t going to get through the whole meal without wanting to steal a kiss. She was beautiful every day, and tonight, she’d highlighted a few of her charms specifically for him. He liked it.

“This restaurant has some interesting backstory, according to Sophie.” He took a sip of his water. “And Cruz has brought Lyn here a couple of times for dinner.”

“I like that it’s pet friendly.” Elisa leaned to one side to scratch the side of Souze’s face.

Rojas liked the way Elisa thought about Souze’s comfort, too. The big dog lay next to his feet, relaxed and wearing a service-dog-in-training vest. Lyn had sent it along from her supplies since the vests they had at Hope’s Crossing were mostly military working or K9 dog vests.

The staff at this café had welcomed them both and Souze, too, bringing out water for all three of them. Souze had his very own bowl under the table. As long as Rojas could remember not to kick the bowl, both Elisa and Souze would be happy with him. He hoped. It’d been a damned long time since he’d taken a woman out to dinner.