Page 112 of The Alpha's Cursed Queen

She nods excitedly. “Can I put it on?”

“Sure.” I take off her jacket and help her into the new one. “What do you think?”

“So soft!” She presses her cheek against the sleeve before twirling around. “Do you like it, Mom?”

Alice nods. “It’s very pretty, Mira. What do you say?”

“Thank you.” She looks up at me, beaming. “Can I also get green shoes to match?”

“Mira!” Alice chastises her, but I nod happily.

“Let’s go shopping for them together.”

Alice sighs. “Sorry about that. She gets carried away.”

“I’m her father. She should get carried away.”

“She has a lot of shoes. She keeps losing them. Don’t get her anything expensive.”

“I’ve seen the things you have in your apartment for her, Alice. Don’t lecture me.”

Alice looks away, flustered.

“Can we go?” Mira holds out both her hands, one for me and one for Alice, and my heart warms. When she wraps her small hand around mine, I can’t stop myself from smiling. How is it possible to love somebody so quickly?

Mira is a bundle of energy, pulling us from stall to stall. She wants to try out all the rides, and I have to put my foot down when she points at one of the treacherous-looking roller coasters.

“Absolutely not.”

“But it looks like so much fun!” she insists, trying to drag me over to the line and failing.

“You just had two corn dogs. You’ll throw up—and that’s not as much fun as it looks.”

However, she’s not interested in listening to me. “Mom?”

Alice shakes her head. “I have to agree with your father. That’s too dangerous for you.”

Her lower lip begins to wobble, and I see Alice frown. I quickly point at a stall that has a fishing game. “Why don’t we try that out first?”

Fortunately, children are easy to distract. The carnival has plenty of games, and I help Mira hold a gun as she tries to shoot at moving targets. Her aim is way off, and when I try my hand at it, I’m no better. It’s a little embarrassing to fail so miserablyat what should be an easy task, especially in front of Alice. I consider bribing the carny for the large panda bear that my daughter has her heart set on, but Alice lowers my hand as it’s on its way to my wallet.

“There’s a trick to it,” Alice explains, pointing at the multiple targets. “You aim at the second target, and you get the third. Aim at the third, and you get the fourth. The targets move very quickly.”

“Because you’re an expert?” I scoff.

“Alright, hotshot.” Alice puts a five-dollar bill on the wooden counter. “Let me show you how it’s done.”

The carny hands her the gun, and she takes aim carefully before shooting. She gets all ten targets, much to my dismay and our daughter’s delight.

Setting down the gun, she raises her eyebrows at me. “What were you saying?”

“You’ve had practice.”

She hands the panda to Mira. “Of course. The carny and I are in cahoots, aren’t we? He gives me secret training lessons at night.”

“Aha, so you admit it!”

She looks down at Mira, shaking her head in exasperation. “Your father is ridiculous.”

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