Page 86 of Strictly Business : A Lesbian Romance

when she saw the granola bars and fruit snacks hidden underneath.

“I hope that’s okay. I was going to ask about allergies before I gave her

anything.”

“Yeah,” Taylor said tightly. “That’s fine.” She rubbed her hands on her

jeans but not before giving a once over, like she just couldn’t believe this

was the same person as the day before. “I better get to work out there. By

tomorrow, we should have it all done.”

“That’s great news.”

/> Taylor gave Chloe a hug. Chloe squirmed, trying to get back to the bag

of goodies. Taylor just grinned at her daughter before she walked off

towards the back.

“So?” Christina was basically just faking whatever confidence she’d put

out there. She had no idea about kids. Her brothers didn’t have any. She’d

been sent to boarding school growing up. She hadn’t had a normal

childhood. She had no friends with children. She really had no friends in

Austin, period. “What should we do first?”

Chloe was apparently an easy child. She held up the paint book, but

stayed silent, waiting for Christina to approve her choice.

“Sure. That looks like a good one.”

“Do you like to paint?” There was no doubt that Chloe was utterly

adorable. Christina felt some of the nervous anxiety tightening her chest

give way.

“I do. I used to paint while I was growing up. When I was in school. Art

was my favorite thing to do. I liked it much better than math and science.”

“Craft and paint station is my favorite too!” Chloe exclaimed. She

sobered as she looked down at the book, then held it out to Christina.

“There’s only one. You can paint it if you want. I can color instead.”

Christina was so touched that she felt moisture hovering on the

periphery of her vision. Kids really were refreshingly innocent. Why

couldn’t more adults be like this?

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