Page 38 of A Little Twist

I sing the words to “Just keep swimming” softly, and her eyes blink a few times as her expression starts to relax. A hint of a smile lifts her lips, and we sing the words together, finishing the song.

She puts her hand on mine. “I can talk to you.”

“And I’ll do my very best to be a good listener.” I kiss her little forehead as I push myself to stand, grabbing a fluffy purple towel off the rack. “Now you need to get out of this tub and get ready for bed. The water’s all cold.”

She stands, and I hold out my hands for her to jump onto the bathmat where I quickly rub the towel all over her little body. “Ready to snuggle in your bed and dream about going up in a beautiful balloon?”

“Yes!” She holds my shoulders as she steps into her underwear. “My bath smells like Gram’s yard.”

“It’s called lavender.” I drop her Ariel nightgown over her head before taking her hand as we walk into the bedroom where her dad is sitting on the foot of her bed holding a thin book.

Our eyes meet, and his are so full, my stomach tightens. I can only imagine he heard our conversation, and I hope I didn’t overstep or say the wrong thing.

I help Pinky onto her pillow, settle Piglet at her side and kiss the top of her head. “I’ll see you in the morning, okay?”

She nods, and Alex moves to sit beside her, holding the book so she can see the pictures. Her little head is snug against his side, and I slip out of the room, going down to the kitchen to wait for him to finish.

CHAPTER11

ALEX

Cass is a fucking natural when it comes to kids. No wonder Britt said she should be a teacher.

Listening to them talking in the bathroom, P telling her about her mom and Cass sharing her own story, was a simultaneous punch to the gut and a soothing caress.

Why didn’t I consider that Penelope might misinterpret my mother’s trip to Italy as another abandonment? Of course she did, but Cass handled it beautifully.

So beautifully I want to give her a raise.

Not only did she navigate those waters, she managed to calm my little sugar fiend so well, she was asleep before I even made it halfway through the book, and it’s her favorite, a dog-eared copy ofDogzilla, passed down through the grandkids since it belonged to Adam.

Hustling down the stairs, I find Cass leaning on the bar studying her phone. I pause a moment to take in her long frame. Her hair hangs in loose waves down her back, and she’s wearing black yoga pants and another one of those sweaters that falls off one shoulder like a tease.

I imagine sliding the other one down, and the entire garment dropping to the floor. It’s an image that makes my dick hard, knowing what’s hidden beneath—her perfect breasts, her flat stomach, her round hips.

I want to taste her…

She hears me and stands quickly, shoving the phone into a pocket on the side of her pants. Her expression is worried, and she’s talking fast.

“I’m sorry I keep screwing everything up.” Her chin drops, and she shoves a shiny lock of dark hair behind her ear. “I didn’t know what to say when Penelope brought up her mom just now. I should’ve just listened to her and waited to ask you what to do. I shouldn’t have assumed or tried to—”

“Stop apologizing.” It comes out as more of an order than I intend, and she stops short. I walk over to the cabinet and take down a bottle of the single-barrel reserve I keep at the house. “Want a drink?”

She nods, and I take two tumblers from the cabinet and pour each of us a glass.

“I’m not angry at all. I’ve never heard Penelope talk to anyone the way she talks to you, outside of family, and I thought you handled it very well, considering she caught you off guard.”

“Thank you.” Her voice is soft, and she studies the glass of whiskey. “She has all your expressions. It’s so funny to see her little face so serious, so like you. Only the color’s wrong.”

“She gets that from Jessica.” I take a small sip, savoring the rich, smoky flavor.

“Was that your wife?”

“We were never married.”

“Oh, I thought…”

“Everyone did. But we were no more married than you and I are engaged.”

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