“So, when will it happen?” Roman asked.
“Already thinking ahead to crashing his wedding and hooking up with whoever you can find?” Andre teased.
“I have to ask her first,” I said, looking forward to it.
The next night, when Natalie was over at Claire’s to watch the baby for a little bit, I sat down with Maisie at the table. She’d requested hot cocoas before we watched a movie, and I obliged.
It was also a good time to get her opinion about the matter.
“Maisie, did you like it when Claire and Mikhail had their wedding?”
“Hmm-mmm. The cake was yummy too.”
“What would you think about me and your mommy having a wedding?”
Silence reigned.
She dropped her spoon into a mug, splashing out some of the cocoa. Her mouth hung open in sync with her spoon falling.
Oh, shit.
I wasn’t sure that I’d ever shocked her like this. Her eyes opened so wide, bugging out at me as she stared.
“Maisie?”
“Can I get a pretty dress?”
I relaxed, breathing easier.Oh, thank God.I hadn’t freaked her out.
“A pretty dress? Sure. Isn’t that what pretty little girls wear to weddings?”
“Yeah. Unless they’re princesses. They can wear pretty dresses all the time.”
“You can wear a pretty dress whenever you want.”
She licked her lips, smiling. “Will there be lots and lots and lots of flowers?”
“As many as we can have.”
She sighed happily. “Will it be in the big ballroom?”
“Wherever we want.”
She tapped her chin. “Can I help taste the cakes before it like I did for Claire and Mikhail?”
I nodded, getting a little worried that she was focusing on what I considered the petty details while glossing over the huge one. The fact that I wanted to marry her mother. And be her father.
“We can do whatever you want. Whatever your mommy wants.”
“Really?” Her eyes lit up with more excitement.
Just what do you have in mind, kid?
“Really.”
She smiled, sipping her cocoa.
Silence spanned again for a long enough moment that I started to worry that she wasn’t letting it sink in.
