The Rules of Dating(48)
“Do you want me to forget, Billie? Because you sure as fuck didn’t seem like you wanted to be following the rules the way you came at me.”
“I lost control. It happens to the best of us. What can I say?”
“Feel free to lose control anytime. I’ll be waiting and ready.”
“Anyway…” She cleared her throat. “What’s the plan for today?”
As much as I was teasing her just now, I needed to cool my ass down a little before being alone with her again. The way I was feeling, I was likely to cross the line, move too fast, or fuck things up. So I decided that since I was in charge of this undate, I’d take the liberty of putting a very big buffer in between us. The biggest buffer I knew.
“So, good news and bad news,” I said.
“Okay?”
“The bad news is I couldn’t find a sitter today. But the good news is, we get to spend the day with a little girl who loves your presence almost as much as her father does. I hope that’s okay.”
“Aw... Of course, it is. That’ll be fun to hang out with her.”
“And with my daughter around, I’ll be on my best behavior. So that’s a win for you, right?”
She chuckled. “Where are you thinking we’ll take her?”
“She’s been asking to go to the carousel. I thought maybe we could go there and then grab lunch somewhere fun? What do you think?”
“Sounds good. I’m easy.”
I pulled on my hair. “My dear, you’re far from easy.”
***
Unfortunately, our plans to visit the carousel were shot. It wasn’t very smart of me to promise my daughter something without having checked the forecast. By the time Billie was supposed to arrive, it was pouring rain.
When I opened the door after she knocked, her hair was drenched. My eyes were glued to her, but hers went straight to my daughter.
Billie opened her arms. “Hey, pretty girl!”
Saylor ran to her. “Billie!”
“Long time no see!” Billie bent to hug her. “How are you?”
“I’m good!” She pointed. “You’re wet.”
“I am.”
“I like you wet,” I whispered.
“Get your mind out of the gutter, Lennon. I thought today was supposed to be rated G.”
“If G stands for gutter, then yeah.”
She slapped my arm.
“I deserved that.” I touched her hair. “I’m sorry you got caught in the rain.”
“Are we still going to the carousel? As you can see by my new style—drowned-rat chic—that may not be the best idea.”
“Nah. We’d better not.” I broke the news to my daughter. “Daddy’s an idiot, Saylor. We’re gonna have to pick another time to go to the carousel because it won’t be any fun in the rain.”
“It’s okay, Daddy.”
Billie smiled. “You’re such a sweetheart, Saylor.”
“I guess maybe we can hang out here? Are you okay with that, Billie?”
“I love cozy days inside when it’s raining.” Billie snapped her fingers. “You know what? I have an idea. Would you be opposed to an arts-and-crafts day?”
“Unlike you, I’m easy.” I wriggled my brows. “And I mean that.”
She smacked my arm again and turned to my daughter. “Saylor, have you ever had your face painted?”
She nodded. “Yes!”
“I have some paints that are made for skin downstairs. I’m gonna bring them up so we can have a painting party. Does that sound fun?”
My daughter squealed. Not only did she love art, but any opportunity to make a mess with paint as well.
Billie turned to me. “Is that okay with you? I should’ve asked first. The paints I have are non-toxic, though.”
“That’s perfectly cool with me.” I pulled lightly on Saylor’s ponytail. “Whatever makes this little girl happy, right? That’s my life’s purpose.”
“I’ll be right back,” Billie said.
“Hey, what do you want for takeout? I’ll order something while you’re down there.”
“Surprise me.”
I leaned in. “Like you surprised me last night?”
She rolled her eyes and headed out the door.
While Billie went down to the shop, I placed an order at this Japanese restaurant I remember her saying she liked. Since Saylor loved California rolls, I figured that place would be a safe choice for everyone.
When the food arrived, the three of us ate lunch and sat around the table for a while. After that, I cleared our plates to make space for the mess this paint party would likely create.
Billie arranged the paint and brushes. She had a bottle for every color of the rainbow. I gave her a roll of paper towels in case she needed it, and she had me throw an old zip-up hoodie over Saylor so we didn’t get any paint on her dress.
“What do you want me to turn you into, Saylor?”
Saylor spun around. “I don’t know!”
“I can make you a butterfly princess, a unicorn—anything you want.”
My daughter scrunched her nose for a moment, then yelled, “A tiger!”
Billie’s eyes widened. “A tiger? And here I was thinking you were a girly girl. You’re more my speed, apparently. Because I would have totally picked something like a tiger! In fact, I almost once got a tiger skin tattoo.”