Lily giggled again, but Jan wrinkled her nose. “What does humil—humanaiting mean?”
“Humiliating,” Lily corrected her. “It means embarrassing.”
My smart, smart little cookie.
“Oh.” Jan laughed, the dimples she’d inherited from her father flashing. “Yeah, a nappy would make you look silly, Daddy.”
“I don’t know.”
I glanced over my shoulder to look at him. “A nappy, really?”
He grinned, his own dimples flashing. “I could pull off a nappy.”
“Honey, I love you, and I think you are very handsome, but not even you could pull off a man nappy.”
He snorted. “Maybe you’re right.”
“Mum, would you rather be married to Daddy or the man from the washing-up liquid commercial?” Lily grinned mischievously.
I bugged my eyes out at her as my kid gave me away.
Nate gently eased me around to face him. “What’s this?” he teased.
I shrugged sheepishly. “He’s very good-looking.”
“So?” He raised an eyebrow. “Me or this washing-up guy?”
Now it was my turn to pretend to muse over it. “The washing-up guy does do the dishes.”
“We have a dishwasher.”
“He cleans kitchen countertops too.”
“Hey, we had a deal. I give you two cute kids, you clean the kitchen.”
“That’s a pretty good deal, Mum.” Lily smiled.
I made a face at Nate, who couldn’t contain his laughter. “She’s got you there.”
“She’s not got me there. I did the hard work to produce these two angels. That doesn’t make sense at all. If anyone should be cleaning countertops, it’s you.”
“Mum, would you rather —”
“No, my turn.” I bent down as far as I could with Nate’s arms wrapped around me and brushed my nose over Lily’s and then Jan’s. They both giggled and waved me away. “Would you rather live in the sewers with enchanted animals and pretty elves and mystical sewer cities, or in a beautiful, peaceful forest with a bunch of pretty princesses and charming princes?”
Our girls looked at each other for a second as they contemplated it and then turned in unison and said, “Sewers!”
“Good answer.” I nodded in approval.
“That was a tough one.” Nate was pensive. “I was really having a hard time coming up with an answer to that one.” He put a hand to his heart in a dramatic fashion. “Live in the dirty sewers with a bunch of lovable weirdos or traverse a beautiful forest with a gorgeous princess. It’s tough. Really tough.”
“Daddy!” The girls laughed at his joking, their giggles coming harder.
“You’re lucky you’re adorable in those glasses.” I pressed into him, laughing when his eyes narrowed at the word “adorable.” “Or I might just take offense to the whole gorgeous princess thing.”
“I wouldn’t,” he whispered. “She was dull as dishwater and kept falling asleep.”
“Sleeping Beauty!” Jan shouted, having overhead. “Can we watch Sleeping Beauty?”
“Yeah!” Lily shouted, dashing across the room to our DVD cabinet.
Nate looked from them to me and snorted. “Our wedding DVD has been bumped for Sleeping Beauty.”
I pulled him away from the girls, snuggling into him once I had him at the doorway. When I was sure the girls couldn’t hear, I whispered, “Perhaps there is something to the whole Sleeping Beauty thing.”
His hands flexed on my hips, his gaze turning low-lidded and hot. “What did you have in mind?”
“I’m thinking sexual fantasy. Tonight.” I brushed my lips over his. “Your choice? Do I play a damsel-in-distress fairy-tale style, or do we go with something a little more sci-fi?” I grinned suggestively.
“Never change,” he whispered hoarsely. “You are absolutely fucking perfect the way you are.”
“What are you talking about?” Lily called over to us nosily.
“Your dad is just remembering why he married me,” I called back, and he grinned, those irresistible dimples flashing again, like they were wont to do at least thirty times a day.
Johanna
“Belle loves it here.” I snuggled into Cam’s side as the breeze from the water sent goose bumps up all over me. “I should have put on a jacket.”
In response, Cam opened his and burrowed me into him, closing the jacket over me as far as it would go. “We should make an effort to come here more often.”
I nodded, watching Belle play on the beach with our friends, Lyn and Peetie’s daughter, Sara. Lyn and Cam’s mum, Helena, pretended to chase them, and their giggles floated up into the air to join the caws of the seagulls above our heads.
I always loved Cam’s hometown of Longniddry. I loved the nearby beach we were on, and I loved that my kid loved her grandparents so much. I loved that she was having the kind of life I’d always dreamed of having as a child.