Page 26 of The Biker Needs A Nanny

“So good,” Poppy says through a mouthful. The colored frosting now smeared across her face.

I laugh. “You girls are a mess. Let’s clean you up before we look some more.”

“Can we look for something for Daddy?” Ella asks.

“Of course. What do you think he might like?” I wipe both the girls’ faces with a paper napkin

“I don’t know.” Her head droops.

“I’m sure we can find something perfect.” I assure her and soon were off on the hunt for the perfect gift for my grumpy boss. Now if I only knew what you get the man who hates Christmas.

We look at ornaments, shadow boxes, candies, popcorn tins, and even argue over whether he’d like a singing fish before we find a lady who paints beautiful custom paintings.

“What about these?” Poppy points to a drawing of the back of a man walking with two boys beside him. Above it reads “The best boy dad.”

“I wonder if they have one for girls?” I ponder aloud while sifting through some paintings.

“We sure do,” a lady behind me comments. “I can even paint the girls to look like you two.” She gestures to the girls.

“What do you two think?” I wait for them to decide.

“Yes!” Poppy grins.

“I think it’s perfect,” Ella agrees.

“Great. What color hair does your daddy have?” the lady asks while leading them to the back of the tent where she has an easel set up.

“Brown,” says Ella.

“And he’s big like that guy.” Poppy points to a muscular man at a booth next to us.

The lady’s lips curl, and she nods.

Once she’s finished, there’s an image of a man holding the hands of two little girls that looks just like their little family from behind. She even writes each of the girls’ names below their images and, written on top, reads,Best Girl Dad.

“It’ll take it about an hour to dry,” the lady tells me when I pay for the painting.

“All right.” I turn to the girls. “How about we go get some lunch, and then we’ll come back to pick it up?”

After grabbing some hot sandwiches and returning to the painter, we decide to make a final stop in a cute little corner bookstore.

When we walk in, a bell jingles above the door. The smell of crisp paper and ink wafts through the air.

“Mmm, that smell and a Frappuccino. Two of my favorite things.”

“That drink did look good.” Ella nods.

We mosey down the aisles, taking in the different book sections and end cap displays, until we find ourselves in a small children's section. Pillows are scattered on the floor under a mural of a magical tree filled with forest creatures, fairies, gnomes, and dragons flying in the distance. The owners have added ornament stickers to the tree and a star on top. Little wrapped boxes with ribbons fill the floor at the foot of the tree, giving it the appearance of Christmas morning.

“Look, they have Christmas books!” Poppy squeals, running toward a display of Santa, elf, and reindeer books.

“Can we get one?” Ella asks, flipping through the beautifully illustrated pages.

I reach into my pocket and pull out the change I have left from the sixty-dollars I took from Lucky’s side table this morning. After our morning treats, lunch, and the gift we bought their dad, I’ve only got a few bucks left.

“I’m sorry girls, we can’t. But I can take you to the library, and we can get one,” I suggest, hoping it will ease the disappointment.

“The library? Like at school?” Poppy asks.

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