Hope glanced at me. “You’re not going to turn me into a mutant turtle, are you?”
I huffed a laugh before I could stop myself. “I’ll try my best.”
She sat up a little straighter in her chair and tucked her hands neatly into her lap, then immediately untucked them when she noticed Perry watching her.
“Do I have to sitsuperstill?” she asked.
“Preferably,” I said mildly as I dipped the brush into pale blue paint. “I’m not the best at chasing moving targets.”
She scrunched her nose before winking at Perry. “But what if I wiggle just alittlebit.”
I touched the end of her scrunched nose with the back of the paint brush before responding. “Then I might mess up just alittlebit.”
Perry practically bounced in his seat as he watched our interaction and I could see his happy energy waiting to burst free.
“You have to let Daddy do sparkles on your face. He does the best sparkles in the whole wide world.”
I rolled my eyes at my Little before blowing him a kiss. “Let’s not oversell my talents here, dino nuggie. At best I can probably do adequate anything.”
Hope tilted her chin up obediently when I moved closer and closed her eyes without my having to prompt her.
The action was small, but it did something to me. I didn’t know if trusting came easily to Hope or if she was just trying really hard, but I felt honored that she was gifting me a piece of that trust, even if it was just to close her eyes with a perfect stranger.
I kept my touch light as the brush met her skin. She inhaled softly at the cool sensation but didn’t flinch or pull away. Instead, her fingers curled slightly against her skirt, like she was resisting the urge to reach out and touch.
Perry, on the other hand, had no such restraint. He reached over and grabbed hold of her clenched hand.
“You’re really pretty already,” he informed her seriously. “But now you’re going to look magical.”
Hope’s answering smile was unguarded. It was so unlike the polite one she’d worn when we first approached her.
“I like magic,” she responded. “When I was younger, I used to love playing with those magic kits. Doing card tricks was my favorite.”
I worked slowly as she and Perry discussed different magic tricks. As I painted, she relaxed further. Her shoulders lowered, and her breathing evened out.
At one point, she peeked at me through one of her eyes. “Is my talking messing up the paint?” she asked.
“Not at all, button.” The nickname slipped out without me even knowing where it came from, and I had a moment of panic that Perry might get upset at it, but then she grinned at me, and Perry giggled.
And I felt something shift.
Because Perry—myPerry—was giggling.
He didn’t do that much with other Littles. Not easily. Most of the time, meeting strangers overwhelmed him somewhat. He usually retreated, clinging to my arm, whispering what he wanted.
And I just realized, since the moment he met Hope, he’d been nothing but his usual rambunctious self. The self onlyIever got to see.
And now he was leaning against Hope’s shoulder, clutching her hand and explaining to her why glitter was one of the most important art supplies in the world.
He hadn’t once looked overwhelmed. He looked genuinely happy.
I took a moment to watch them both and realized even Hope was leaning toward my Little boy.
The longer I watched them, the harder it became for me to tamp down the—dare I say it—hope that this woman might be what we’d been looking for.
“Almost done,” I murmured as I added a dusting of silver glitter along the curve of her cheekbone.
“More glitter,” Perry demanded.
