"I think she'll be alright for ten minutes," Killian says. "She's allowed to play with matches, right? And use a hatchet?"
I narrow my eyes. "You better be kidding."
"Am I?" Killian taunts.
"I'm not allowed to get near fire," Chloe says. "That can burn you."
"Bummer. When I was your age, I played with explosives."
"Killian!"
He looks at Chloe. "Don't play with explosives."
"What are explosives?"
"Nothing you need to know about," I interrupt. "Ten minutes. Don't let her talk you into ice cream. And no matches. Or sharp objects. Please don't burn down my house."
"Killjoy," Killian mutters teasingly.
"I have a sore throat," Chloe protests. "I should have ice cream."
"Uh-huh. Eat your soup before it gets cold."
Upstairs, I scramble to pull on clothing a cotton skirt and an unwrinkled t-shirt. I even manage to find a set of matching bra and panties. I brush my hair quickly into a ponytail, then decide against it, surveying in the mirror the messy waves that tumble down to my shoulders. Butterflies flit through my stomach, my body a bundle of nerves since Killian showed up at my house.
Killian is in my house. Interacting with my kid.
I'm not supposed to let guys I date meet my kid. This is definitely not how it's supposed to go. I swore that if I ever dated someone, he wouldn't even meet Chloe until the relationship was serious. Really serious. Like long-term serious. Now Killian is just downstairs – and I'm not even dating him.
Why is my stomach all tied up in knots?
I try to shake off all of the doubts running through my head as I look in the mirror. I pick up a tube of lipstick and set it back down. Too much. A dab of lip gloss is good enough. At least I showered and shaved my legs today.
When I get to the living room, I stop short. Killian is still in the armchair slouched over and angled to the side, and Chloe stands in front of him with her back toward me.
Holding her makeup case out to the side like an artist's palette.
Oh, no.
"Chloe, what are you doing to Mr. Saint?"
"He said I could, mom." She doesn't turn around. Instead she finishes applying whatever she's putting onto Killian's face.
"I'm a girl dragon," Killian explains. "Who needed makeup."
"It's perfect," Chloe declares, turning around and stepping to the side.
Killian sits up. "How does it look? Am I pretty? I feel pretty."
"It's mah-velous," Chloe says, affecting an accent.
"Marvelous, right?" Killian asks, looking at me. Purple and green eye shadow is plastered up to his eyebrows and across his temples. His cheeks are an unnatural shade of pink and his lips are fire-engine red. The makeup makes him look more like a deranged clown than a girl dragon.
"That's one word for it." Laughter bubbles up in my chest at the sight of Killian - gruff, bearded, built-like-a-linebacker Killian - covered in Chloe's makeup, and I have to cover my mouth with my hand, my chest shaking so that Chloe doesn't see me laughing.
"It's beautiful!" Chloe decrees.
"At least someone appreciates the effort I've put into my appearance," Killian deadpans, and I actually snort, covering it up by doubling-over and coughing loudly. "Did you just snort?"
"Oh yeah, she does that when she sleeps, too," Chloe says.
"Oh, really?" Killian asks.
"Yeah, she's really loud sometimes."
"I do not snort! Or snore."
"Your kid just ratted you out," Killian points out.
"Oh be quiet, fashionista."
"You're jealous of my beauty."
"The dragon needs her nails done too," Chloe interrupts.
I look at Killian, my eyebrows raised. "That sounds like a great idea. Nail polish would really tie the whole thing together."
"I don't know about that "
"I have all different colors!" Chloe exclaims. "They’re in my room."
She dashes off to her room and Killian looks at me. "Don't pretend you're not turned on, cupcake."
"I'll try to maintain control over myself." I pause for a second. "Thanks for letting her do that."
Killian shrugs. "What's a little makeup? It washes off."
I look at him blankly.
Now he looks worried. "It does wash off, right?"
Chloe bursts back into the room, two hands full of mini nail polish bottles in a rainbow of colors. "You can even use all of the colors!"
"All of the colors?" Killian asks. "Lucky me."
25
Killian
"She's already asleep." Lily rounds the corner from the stairs and stops short when she sees me. "It's been like two minutes since I said goodnight to her." She giggles. "You're still looking mah-velous."
"I tried to find something in your bathroom to clean up with, but all I saw were white towels." I suddenly feel awkward standing here in her house with her alone, despite the fact that I should have felt a hell of a lot more awkward an hour ago when Chloe was applying layer after layer of makeup on me.
"I should have told you where to find a washcloth. There are some in the linen closet."
I follow Lily down the hall. "I didn't want to go poking around in your stuff."