Her dark pigtails whip wildly as she runs into my arms, climbing my body to get closer. “Claudina Davenport, did you lose your first tooth?” I ask, surprised.
How did Harrison not tell me this?
“Yes!” She smiles to show me her bottom teeth. “The tooth fairy came last night and even left fairy dust around my room!”
I glance up at Nate and Leo, who stand off to the corner. I smile, thinking of these two men walking around sprinkling glitter. “Hi, you two. What a surprise to see you…one day early.”
“Surprise? More like entrapment,” Harrison mumbles.
I roll my eyes. “Ever so dramatic.”
“So do you?”
“Do I what, Claud?”
“Kiss my daddy?”
My lips lift in a grin at her forwardness. I love this girl.
Typically, I would follow Harrison’s lead, but since he’s gone mute, and I’m in their life more permanently—hopefully—I decide to take the reins here.
“I do kiss your dad.” I raise my eyebrows. “On the lips.”
“Gross!” She giggles. “Kissing your boyfriend is yuck!”
“And how do you know anything about that?” I tickle her side.
“Because Ben at school asked me to be his girlfriend, then he kissed my cheek.” She shivers with disgust. “His lips were all wet.”
Leo and Nate take a step forward while Harrison remains a statue.
I put my hand out to stop them. Every little girl has a boyfriend at five. They need to chill out.
“Well, if you don’t like it, tell your teacher or ask him not to do it again.”
She runs her fingers through my hair, playing with the ends. “I did. Now we just hold hands instead.”
Okay…time to get this girl outside before her dad and uncles have a conniption.
“Hey, where’s Skye?” I ask, changing the subject.
Claudina jumps out of my arms and begins to drag me outside. “She had to go potty, so she’s outside. You’re going to love her.”
The second the back doors open, Claud runs like a wild child across the lawn to get to Skye. The beautiful shepherd perks up when she spots her and gets just as excited.
“How does she know we’re dating?” I ask Harrison when he steps through the door. “I thought we were easing her into it.”
He points to Leo. “This one left the gossip column open on the counter, and she saw the pictures of us from last night,” he huffs, annoyed. “She’s beginning to read, and it’s not been easy for her, yet she knows the word girlfriend.”
“Did she say anything else?” I glance at Harrison, then his brothers.
Nate walks over and kisses me hello. “No. She couldn’t have been more excited. All she cared about was how beautiful you looked. Which you did.”
“Smokin’,” Leo adds.
“Thank you,” I mutter shyly. “So I guess the cat’s out of the bag for real now.”
Harrison steps up behind me, drapes his arms over my shoulders, and kisses the side of my head. “It was always real, baby.”
