Page 51 of The Flirt

Bella sighed, then turned to me. "See, Dad? Adults can like Harry Potter too."

"What's going on?" Scarlett asked.

"Dad is a Muggle," my daughter explained. "He hasn't seen any of the movies or read any of the books. And he won't let me watch more than Prisoner of Azkaban."

Scarlett bit her lower lip. “Well, as a devoted Harry Potter fan, I know the movies and books by heart. I totally agree with your dad. The first three are whimsical, but the fourth one is much darker.”

Bella groaned.

"But hey, that means you have something to look forward to every year you grow up," Scarlett went on.

"Are they amazing?"

"I can confirm they are."

Bella turned to me again. "See, Daddy? Scarlett likes them."

"Cricket, we don't have time to go into another Harry Potter debate right now. We need to get to school on time, remember?"

She groaned again.

"We can talk while baking," Scarlett told her. "Who's your favorite character?"

"Ron because he doesn't like school either."

Scarlett started to laugh. "Good answer."

"And yours?"

"Harry, probably, because he's brave and has a good heart."

They went on to discuss every single character that appeared in the first three movies. I couldn’t stop watching them.

Half an hour later, it was time for us to go. "Baby girl, you have another minute," I told her. I’d given them warnings in five-minute increments starting fifteen minutes ago.

"Okay," Bella said, finally climbing down from the step stool. " Can you take the bonnet off my hair?"

"Sure, cricket." I carefully removed the hair clips and the hat.

"I want to go to the bathroom to wash my hands."

"But you can do that at the counter," Scarlett said, "at the kitchen sink."

"The bathroom hand cream smelled so nice." She looked at me pleadingly.

"Fine, go, but be quick." Tomorrow I was going to give them an earlier quitting time so we wouldn’t have to rush.

As soon as she darted out, I turned to Scarlett. "Thanks. It means a lot to me.”

She licked her lips, giving me a smile before glancing away. "This was so much fun for me too. Oh, we should probably take the apron off you."

"Sure," I said. I unhitched it at my back and then pulled it over my neck, handing it to her.

As she grabbed the fabric, I touched her wrist and circled it with my fingers. "Eleven o'clock. Are we on?"

She gave me a wry smile. "Well, if the owner commands it."

"He fucking does," I replied.

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