Page 70 of Fourth Heartwarmers Trilogy
They all settled around the pool after a long, fun-filled breakfast. At first, everyone was happy to sit around in the shade and enjoy the warm weather.
Angie relaxed in her favorite chair that was huge and perfect if a person wanted to rest. She appeared lost in thought and wore an expression of total preoccupation.
Mia shared a wide side-by-side lounger with him, and they talked softly about upcoming wedding plans, the whens and hows of the big day. She often glanced at her ring and then grinned his way, wordlessly telling him how pleased she was with his choice.
“That was brilliant, you asking Maisie to marry you too.”
“Except it backfired, and I made her cry.”
“Only ‘cause she’s too little to understand nuances. She just accepts what words mean. I think she truly believed you wanted to marry her too.” Mia giggled softly.
“I know. How precious is that? One day, she’ll laugh when we tell her what happened.”
“Jack, she loves her ring. It’s very close to mine, and it made her so happy.”
“I had the jeweler design it so it’s similar enough but the stones are just diamond chips. She’s happy now, and that’s all that counts.”
“The puppy’s an inspiration. Maisie loves her. I can’t believe she’s already so well behaved. You say she’s twelve weeks old?”
“Not quite. But she’s been trained a bit by the boys and has started to ask to go outside for her business. Angie was fine with the idea. Of course, I passed it by her first.”
“I know, we talked about it too. I just didn’t know you’d be arranging it so soon. But I’m truly happy and I already love the little beast. Beauty will keep her occupied while we’re too busy working to pay a lot of attention to her all the time. Plus, I did find a daycare for a few afternoons a week so she can start interacting with children her own age.”
Jack leaned over and kissed Mia, then had to stop as their breaths caught and passion flared. “God, I can’t wait until it’s legal, and we don’t have to sneak around to be together.”
“Me too. Angie said it would be fine with her if you wanted to move in, but I’m just not comfortable with that.”
“Hey, I can wait. It’s kind of fun tiptoeing around like kids sometimes. Just don’t make me wait too long… please?”
“I pwomise.” She kissed his chin and grinned when he laughed.
Jumping up from his place, he swept a happy Maisie into his arms. That is until she understood where he was heading with her.
“I don’t want to swim, Jack. I want to play with my puppy.”
“And so we shall, baby. You might not know this, but puppies love to swim too. I want you to sit here on the top step.” Glad that Angie had the foresight to place steps at one end of the pool, Jack called the puppy over to where he waited. Beauty lifted her head when she heard the man’s voice and galloped in his direction, her ears flapping, her mouth open in a huge grin.
Jack picked her up and carried her to where Maisie waited. “See Beauty, Maisie. She’s a baby too, right? Like you.”
“I’m not a baby. I’m a big giwl.” Incensed, Maisie crossed her arms and presented a mulish look that he adored.
“Maybe, but Beauty is still a baby. And she’s not scared of the water. She swims. Watch this.”
Jack lowered the puppy into the pool and watched as the little one’s feet began to paddle. She took off in the direction of the top step, swimming all the way until she could struggle to get onto the step. Then she wriggled her fat little body, water flying off her every which way.
“Jack, she can swim.”
“Yep. And she’s still a baby. She does what’s called a dog paddle. Like this.” He showed her what the puppy did, how she’d scooped back water with all her paws so she could move in a direction.
“I want to do that too, Jack. Like my puppy.”
Hearing those sweet words, Jack’s worry over forcing her into a situation that might have backfired disappeared, and he spent the next ten minutes chasing both puppy and toddler around the pool. Until finally, Angie and Mia joined them to give him a break.
Mia swam over to him and wrapped her body suggestively around his, teasingly. “You’re a genius, Jack. I would have never thought to use something like this to get her back to where she isn’t terrified of the water.”
“Just as long as we reinforce the rules of her never swimming alone, she should eventually forget what happened. At least I hope so. It was terrifying. We could have lost her.”
Sitting happily on the side with her puppy, wrapped together in an extra large towel, Maisie took a break and Angie swam toward the other two, overhearing their words.
