Page 92 of One Touch

“Thank you.”

“Right. Well. I guess I’m gonna have to get another sleeper sofa.”

There was no way that I was going to have just one bed in the house. You didn’t need to be a romance expert to figure out exactly where that would lead.

“Good idea,” said Lily, nodding. “Maybe you’ll be able to find one with a mattress that isn’t stuffed with cornflakes and rusty nails this time.”

I glared at her. “Wait, you never told me it was uncomfortable.”

Ava cackled. “Daddy, everybody knows that bed was a torture device.”

“What do you know about torture devices?” Ethan asked, raising an eyebrow.

“We’ve been studying medieval history at school,” Ava replied with a mischievous grin. “And there was a picture of that sofa sleeper in our textbook.” Ava held out her hand and Lily gave her a high-five.

I shook my head. “Right. Well, I’ll drop Ava off at Cole’s for her sleepover, then I’ll head to Hung, Drawn, and Altered.”

Hung, Drawn, and Altered was a soft furnishings store on the outskirts of town. The prices were a little on the high side, but I needed something for today. I wasn’t going to take any risks.

Lily let out a long, languorous yawn. “I’m so tired.”

“Sorry,” I said. “You must be exhausted after all that jumping on the bed.”

“I did not jump on the bed! I’m tired because this death trap of a sofa tried to eat me! Then I had to sleep on the floor all night.”

“I’m sure a couple of jugs of coffee and some romance book sales will perk you up.”

“You know, I don’t think I’m going to go in today. I’m too exhausted to deal with it.”

“Are you coming to Lexi and Rhea’s for the sleepover?” Ava asked, bouncing up and down.

“No, I don’t think so, Raver,” she said, mussing Ava’s hair.

It was nice to hear her use my nickname for Ava.

“Oh. Okay,” Ava replied.

The words left my mouth before I even had time to compute what I was saying. “Why don’t you come pick out a new sofa sleeper with me? One without cornflakes in it?”

Lily looked stunned. “What? Really?”

“You don’t have to. Maybe it’s a bad idea. Forget it.”

“No, I’d like to!”

I paused for a moment, hoping I hadn’t done something stupid. “Ava, honey, are there any toys you want to take to your cousin’s place?”

“About a million,” she deadpanned.

“Go get them and we’ll head out.”

After Ava had scampered off to her own room, I whispered, “What about the rules? I shouldn’t have suggested it.”

“There’s no rule that says we’re not allowed to go furniture shopping together.”

“But . . . isn’t it kind of a date?”

Lily laughed. “Are you kidding me? You’d take me to buy a bed for our first date?”

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