‘Not many.’
‘You should move here,’ Poppy decided. ‘We have lots for you to ride,’ she added exuberantly. ‘Zeph and Spud and Spirit and Diablo and Moon and Princess and Spot.’
‘That’s a lot of horses,’ Nina affirmed.
Poppy nodded, her smile bright. ‘If you lived here, you could ride them all the time.’ Using one little hand, Poppy pushed her tangled hair away from her face. ‘And I can ride with you.’
The childish argument shouldn’t have held so much appeal for Nina. But it did. She thought about what Mav had told her – that she’d always have a place there. And she remembered the lyrics to the song. And only remembering had a warm glow rising within her and spreading throughout her body.
She thought back on what Shannon Carlyle had told her, and alarmingly found herself easily bashing through any arguments she’d made against her and Maverick working out. She and Shannon might have both been career women, but Nina had something with Mav that Shannon self-admittedly never had. That counted for something. Didn’t it?
‘Can I ask you a really important question?’ Nina asked and turned in her chair so that she was facing Poppy fully.
Poppy nodded.
‘Would it be okay if I asked your dad on a date?’
‘A date?’
‘Yeah. You know, when two people like each other and want to spend time getting to know each other better.’
Poppy seemed to think about this very seriously for a moment before asking, ‘Can I come?’ Her eyes narrowed on Nina’s face.
Nina hesitated, but only because she knew that inviting Poppy would complicate things for Mav, who always thought about his daughter’s heart before his own. But she also wanted him to know that she understood that, and that she would do her best to leave Poppy’s heart intact. ‘I think that would be so fun,’ she said. ‘Like a two-for-one deal.’
‘Yeah!’
‘What do you want to do on our date?’
‘Hmm, I dunno.’
‘Do you like movies?’ Nina asked.
Poppy nodded her head vigorously. ‘Yeah! Daddy and I likeBarbie. Maybe we can go watch that?’
‘I think that one’s done in theatres. But we can see what else is playing. And then maybe we can go and get dinner afterwards.’
‘Pizza!’ Poppy declared.
‘Pizza.’ Nina smiled. ‘Pizza’s my favourite.’
‘Mine too!’
‘Okay.’ Nina exhaled. Who knew that asking a five-year-old for permission to date her dad would be so nerve-racking. ‘Movie and pizza date. I’ll ask your dad and let you know what he says.’
‘He’ll say yes,’ Poppy predicted. ‘He loves pizza.’
Nina couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled up and out of her mouth. There was no point in telling Poppy that dating was a little more complicated than that. But the little girl’s simple acceptance also had her wondering: why couldn’t it be simple?
A date was hardly a marriage proposal, after all. People dated and broke up every day, and though their situation was admittedly more complicated, they both deserved just one evening of simple, good fun.
Needing a distraction from her own thoughts and hoping to entertain Poppy too, she asked, ‘Do you want to bake some cookies?’
Poppy’s eyes rounded with delight. ‘Yeah!’ She hopped off the bar stool and went to the little bookshelf to the side of the kitchen cabinets. Without waiting, she climbed onto the counter and, kneeling on the granite top, fished through the recipe books until she found one with a blue cover. ‘This one has cookies in it!’ she declared and waved the book in Nina’s direction.
‘Okay.’ But because she was terrified Poppy might fall, she hurried over to her, plucked her off the counter, and put her back down on the floor before taking the recipe book. ‘What type of cookies are we going to make?’
‘Chocolate chip.’
