She offers me a sad smile, but shakes her head. “It’s fine. You can go ahead and throw them out. The dye has run, and the water would have stretched the seams. There’s no saving them.”
“Leo, why don’t you run upstairs and get ready for bed? I’ll be right there to help brush Donkey’s teeth, okay?”
Nodding, Leo rushes off, and I hold Flo’s creations out in front of me. “I’m not going to throw them out. They may still be salvageable.” Walking into the bathroom and hanging them over the towel rack, I continue talking. “We should at least give them a chance. They’ll be dry by morning, and you can take a look at them then and decide what you want to do with them.”
“Thank you.” She sits on the edge of the couch. “I don’t know, maybe it’s a sign from the universe or something that she’s outgrowing being gifted the clothes I’m making.I mean, she’s been absolutely obsessed with dolls lately. Has been begging for this stupidly expensive Super Sparkle interactive dollhouse that my sister can’t afford, so I guess she’s growing up.” She forces a laugh, but the hoarse sound coming from her throat hits me square in the chest because this isn’t the happy-go-lucky, sarcastic and witty Florence McKenna I know.
I frown, releasing a small sigh, studying her as she stares off into space. “Don’t stop making her clothes, trouble. They’re really beautiful.”
Her lips spread in a small smile, and I take a step closer until I’m within reaching distance.
I tighten the towel around her body. “What’s going on in that pretty head of yours?”
She scrubs at her face, body shivering. “I needed to send them off in a few days, so there’s no time to remake them, and now I don’t have a gift to send her.”
Pulling my eyebrows together, I nod, again, picking up on the way goosebumps pop up on her arms.
“Okay, we can fix that, but we need to get you out of these wet clothes before anything. You can borrow some of mine and stay here until I can get that roof fixed. We’ll go and collect everything from the cabin once the rain has stopped.”
“You want me to stay here?”
“Want is a strong word, Florence, but I don’t really have a choice, do I?” I say with heavy humour, and a smile breaks out on her face.
There she is.
“I’ll run you a bath. I’m afraid the only bubble baths we have are Spiderman Sherbet, or Dumbo donut .”
“Idolike donuts.”
Flo has a hot bath upstairs after I’ve got Leo and Donkey all tucked into bed. I lay out some of my clothes for her and wait downstairs, glancing at the endless coffee cups I’ve gone through today as I wash them up since the dishwasher is already running.
Flo pads down the stairs, and my stomach twists at seeing her in my sweatpants and T-shirt, entering my kitchen. It’s utter perfection, and it shouldn’t be. I should feel uncomfortable with the idea of her touching my possessions—I did with the other nannies—but I enjoy the view, and my eyes map out all of her so the image is ingrained into my brain forever.
She’s tall, so the sweatpants don’t drag across the floor, but the T-shirt drowns her, and I think it’s because she’s more legs than torso.
“How many cups of coffee do you drink a day?”
I shrug as I finish washing the last mug, and she immediately grabs a dish towel to begin drying them. “I don’t count. You don’t have—”
“If you try to tell me that I don’t have to help you dry, I’ll gag you with this.” She holds up the yellow and white flowery towel, jutting out her hip.
Holding my hands up defensively, I take a step back. “Alright, take it easy, Flor—” The look shegives me is enough to have me click my teeth together and stop talking, and with what she’s been through today, I decide to give in to her and let her have her way, just for today. I offer to help her dry, but she refuses to let me, so like a good obedient boy, I lean against the counter and watch her.
“What would happen if you didn’t drink coffee? Would you combust?”
My shoulders rise in a shrug. “I don’t know, maybe. You can talk, though, with the amount of matcha you drink.”
“Matcha has less caffeine in it, and it doesn’t give you a big energy spike and crash. It happens slow and steady. You should try it.” She’s smirking as she dries, knowing my answer.
“No.”
Her eyes flick up in a humoured roll, but her brows don’t budge, almost like she’s forcing this version of herself for my sake.
“I’m sorry, Flo.”
“For what?”
“If I had got that cabin fixed earlier, like Coach had told me to do, like everyone had told me to, then I wouldn’t have had to hire someone shady so last minute, the roof probably wouldn’t have leaked, and your clothes wouldn’t have got all wet.”
