Glancing over at Rhonan, I ask for guidance with my eyes. “What do I do?”
“You’ve never heard of a pinky promise?”
“Uh, can’t say that I have.”
He gently grabs my hand and brings it to Ellis’s, intertwining our pinkies. “Lock them together like this and then shake your hands up and down.”
“Like this.” Ellis guides me as our hands remain connected, laughing. “Good. Now you can’t break the promise, or I get to break your pinky.”
Rhonan groans. “We talked about that, Ellis. You can’t break people’s pinkies.”
“But that’s what Johnny said you have to do if someone breaks a pinky promise.”
Ellis mentioning one of the other kids from her class makes me think. “Oh, Johnny said that, did he?”
“Yeah, Johnny likes to say all kinds of shit,” Rhonan replies.
“Daddy, you said a bad word.”
“You’re right. I’m sorry, Ellis. Stuff—Johnny says all kinds ofstuff.”
“You know better, Daddy,” Ellis says with an arch of her brow before running back to the living room.
A snort leaves me before I can stop it. “Oh my gosh, your daughter is something else.”
Rhonan shakes his head. “Trust me, I know.” We arrive at a door, and Rhonan twists the knob open, revealing a beautiful bathroom with pale blue walls and purple décor. “As you can tell, this is Ellis’s bathroom, but I promise you, the showerhead won’t fall off the wall.”
“Thank you, Rhonan. I really appreciate this.”
He shrugs. “Again, it’s the neighborly thing to do.” He moves to walk back down the hall but pauses just as he passes behind me. Lowering his voice, he leans toward me. “By the way, glad to know what body wash you use.”
“Why is that?” I ask almost breathlessly.
I can feel the heat of him as he moves closer, his lips just near the shell of my ear. “Because that night, I couldn’t pinpoint what the scent you had on was. Now I know. And I wasn’t lying, it is unforgettable.”
Before I can reply, he walks away. Now I’m even more confused because for a man who told me he wants us to keep our distance, he keeps finding ways to get closer to me, and I can’t deny that I don’t want him to stop.
***
After I’m finally clean and dressed, I gather my things and step out of the bathroom, only to find Ellis sitting on the couch, apparently waiting for me to reappear. As soon as our eyes meet, she jumps from the couch and races toward me.
“Ms. Lewis! Do you like ice cream?”
“I do,” I tell her, laughing at her urgency.
“Do you want some? Daddy said you can have some with us if you want.”
When I reach the living room and see Rhonan standing in the kitchen area with his arms crossed over his chest, his face is unreadable. Seems like that’s his signature look.
“Is that so?” I turn to look at Rhonan. “What kind of ice cream is it?”
“Vanilla. We keep things simple around here.”
“Any toppings?”
Rhonan arches a brow at me. “Chocolate syrup and sprinkles. Will those suffice?”
I turn back to Ellis. “Sprinkles are my favorite.”
