"She said she wasn't going. I had to yank the blankets off the bed and steal her pillows before she got up." He paused to take a drink, then murmured his appreciation before continuing. "She's in the shower right now, and I gave her fifteen minutes before I'm back in."
"Does this mean I should call you Daddy again?" I teased.
Luke caught me around the back and pulled me up against him. "Woman, that does not work the way you want it to. I keep seeing you pregnant, and I'm pretty sure that's not what you're going for."
"I kinda like being a mom," I admitted. "Not so sure about the pregnancy bit, though. Now, if one of you guys want to handle that part, I'm down for it."
He chuckled. "You know Ash would photograph you all day, every day. Lingerie, loungewear, bathing suits, winter clothes - he wouldn't care. He'd just want to prove to you that you're beautiful, and I'd hang every last one on the wall."
I poked him in the gut. "Drink more of that coffee, and then remind me about the birthing." I lifted a brow. "And this tattoo is not meant to be extra-large. I don't even want to think about fighting my eating disorder."
"Not yet," he promised. "I just like thinking about one day, far in the future. Mostly because I really like the idea of a far future where I'm still doing this with you." Then he checked his watch. "Faith!"
"I'm getting dressed," she yelled back through the closed door.
"Violet's here if you need help, cupcake."
The door immediately opened. "Yes!" Faith said before her head even made it out. "Violet, I need to look perfect."
I headed her way, telling Luke behind me, "Go help the boys with breakfast. Tell Ash to brew her a half and half."
"Coffee?" Luke asked.
"It's her first day, and trust me." Then I stepped into Faith's room and closed the door. "Ok, where are we at?"
She turned to show me her outfit. "I look fat!"
It was the same outfit we'd picked out on Sunday. The one she'd said was super-cute and she loved. I had a feeling that it wasn't that she thought she looked bad as much as a serious case of nerves, but I could deal with this.
"First, you don't," I said, setting my coffee on her dresser as I headed to her closet. "Second, we can fix that feeling. There's always a backup plan, Faith."
I rummaged quickly, finding a pair of relaxed jeans that were a little distressed, but didn't have any holes that would violate the dress code. Those got tossed to her, and she immediately began changing. Then, just to make sure that her bad-assery was turned up to ten, I found her favorite boots and carried them over.
"Socks?" I asked, pointing at the drawers.
She stabbed a finger at the one I wanted. "Second one."
In there, I found a pair of pink-and-black striped things that would be cute with what she was wearing. Never mind that no one would see them. She'd know, and that was all that mattered. Those got dropped on her boots, and then I headed for the blow-dryer. I was plugging that in when Faith finally got the last bit of her clothes on.
"Better?" I asked.
"I still look frumpy," she grumbled.
"Sit." I pointed at the chair, and carried the blow-dryer over.
After making sure the cord was long enough, I reached over her shoulder to turn on the straightening iron. While that heated up, I took over her hair. In fashion shows, we often had only minutes to change everything. I was good at making this happen fast. Ash was better, but Faith would prefer to have me helping because I was another girl.
So I made a miracle. Her hair got dried and then straightened. When that was done, we made a team effort on her face. She handled the moisturizer for the foundation. I added a little highlighting and took over her eyes, then she finished the mascara. When that was done, I turned her back to the mirror.
"How about now?"
The sigh that fell out was filled with relief. "Thank you, Violet. Mom would've just told me to deal with it. She didn't like waking up in the morning with me, and I know you didn't have to, but..." Her eyes shined a little too much.
"Shh," I breathed, squatting down before her. "No tears, because then we'll have to start over, right?"
So Faith obediently dabbed her eyes. "I'm good."
"Yeah, you are," I agreed. "And I know today is going to be hard. It's ok to admit it. You're still going to do great. If your bullies try to say something nasty, you're just going to lift your chin and smile like you know something they don't. And if you can't remember what, then it's that you are going to be a model for one of the biggest companies in lingerie. Not because we know you, but because Ashton Walker thinks you're perfect, ok?"
