Page 106 of The Problem with Perfect

She nods as she chews some of her burger.

“Well, Millie, it was nice to meet you. Did you draw this?”

Her head bobs aggressively and she wipes her mouth with the back of her hand before declaring, “Iloveto draw.”

Ozzy laughs, a sweet sound that threads through my chest in an unfamiliar way I don’t like.

“Well, so do I. And I just wanted to say…” Her hand reaches across the table and taps on the sketchbook Millie was doodling in before she ran off to pick up her dinner. “This picture of the beach is really, really good.”

Millie’s smile looks like it could stretch right off the edges of her face as Ozzy stands.

“Keep at it,” she says, giving my daughter a wave.

For whatever reason, I can’t help but watch her go, my eyes following her as she crosses the room and heads down the hallway.

“She’s pretty.”

I blank my expression immediately and turn to look at my daughter, unsurprised by her description of Ozzy.

A part of me wants to correct her, though, tell her Ozzy isn’tpretty, she’s…well…the only word that comes to mind isexquisite, but I doubt she even knows what that means, so there’s no reason to say it.

Hell, I shouldn’t even bethinkingit.

She’s not exquisite; she’s a nuisance, and she clearly shouldn’t be working here if she can’t get through a shift without injuring herself.

I ignore the little voice that tells me I’m being entirely unfair and return my attention to Millie, dismissing her comment about Ozzy completely.

Besides, I have something fun to talk to her about.

“I know being stuck back here all evening isn’t your favorite,butit’s going to all pay off in the end. Wanna know why?”

Millie nods then tugs the lid off her shake and begins spooning it into her mouth like a savage.

Good lord.

“Because I’m going to take this week off.”

She stops her unladylike slurping and looks at me with a furrowed brow.

“I’ve been coming in early all week to make sure I’m ahead of everything, and Uncle Jon is going to be the manager during spring break. That way, I’ll be able to have lots of fun with you and your mom.”

Millie practically shoots out of her chair and launches herself at me, the chocolate smeared around her mouth getting dangerously close to my work shirt when she wraps her arms around my stomach and leans her head back to look at me.

“Are youserious, serious?”

I nod, smiling.

“Like, you’re not pretending and making a joke?”

Chuckling, I rest a hand on her head. “Why would I pretend about this?”

Her big smile returns and she jumps up and down while she hugs me, squealing in that little kid way I know I won’t get to hear too many more times from her.

Every time Toni comes to town, Millie asks why we can’t do something all three of us,as a family, and every year, Toni asks if I can take time off work to join them on their adventures. Normally, I just don’t think about it ahead of time, and it’s hard to cover all your shifts when you’re the owner. Some things just need to be done by me.

Which is why I planned ahead this year. Cleared my entire schedule. Covered all my shifts. Completed all my inventory and admin early. Taught Jon how to manage the things only I know how to do.

It’s all worth it to see this look right here on Millie’s face.

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