31. Chapter Thirty-one

Chapter Thirty-one

Clara

I woke to an empty bedroom and the sound of giggles coming from the living room. Stretching my stiff limbs, I smiled. What a lovely way to wake up.

Once I snagged a pair of Jake's sweats, I ventured out to the living room, surprised at what I found. Sage was sitting on a chair, and Jake was standing behind her, braiding her hair in two plaits. Nellie was perched on Sage's lap, facing her, watching Jake's hands with rapt attention.

"Good morning, everyone." I walked over to Jake and kissed his arm. "Seems you've been hiding a secret talent from me."

"Morning, sweetness." Jake leaned over to kiss my head. "I've got a line formed. If you want a braid too, you have to get in the back of it."

I poked my bottom lip out, pretending to pout about waiting. "That's fair, I guess."

He chuckled. "No pouting in this house. It's a rule."

"Hi, Mommy," Nellie chirped. "I'm gonna get a braid like Sagie."

Sage tried to turn toward me, but Jake held her head steady. "Daddy watched a bunch of YouTube videos to teach himself how to do my hair. He's way better than my mom. He can even do fishtail braids."

I cocked a brow. "Fishtail, huh? That isn't in my repertoire."

"Marina braids my hair," Nellie said.

"That's true. I'm utterly inept at anything more complicated than a headband or ponytail."

Jake leaned into me again. "You never said whether you want a braid too."

I glanced at Sage, who was trying to nod despite her dad holding her head, then at Nellie, who was copying Sage.

"Well…I'll feel left out if all the girls are doing it. One braid, please."

Sage clapped. "Yesss. You guys have to come to my field hockey game so everyone can see us."

Jake's movements stilled for less than a heartbeat, but it was long enough for me to notice. Last night, he'd said there wasn't anything to talk about. Today was a new day, and we absolutely had to discuss how we were going to handle our kids going forward. But we couldn't have that discussion in front of them, and I got the sense from his hesitation he wasn't ready for us to play happy family at Sage's game.

"I would love that, honey, but I had a really long day yesterday and there are things I need to do at home." Her shoulders slumped, and I quickly thought of how I could cheer her up. "What if we take pictures together when we're all done? How's your dad with a camera?"

She wrinkled her nose, and Nellie copied her. It was so adorable I had to stop myself from squeezing them both.

"He doesn't get the right angle," Sage replied. "Selfies are better anyway."

Jake huffed under his breath. "Can't be good at everything." Then he patted Sage's shoulder. "All right, Ms. Critic. You're done. Next victim."

I knew Jake was patient. After all, he'd dealt with my reluctance without breaking a sweat and had waited for me to finally see what he already knew—that we'd be incredible together. But watching him do my wiggle worm's hair, never getting angry or annoyed when her silky strands slipped from his fingers from her constant movement, made me understand his level of patience was near godlike.

He gave Nellie two little braids in the front that crisscrossed into one large one trailing down her back. For only three and a half, she had a lot of hair, and he'd had no trouble taming it. When he was finished, she ran to the bathroom to see herself. Jake lifted her up to stand on the counter, and she gasped, her little hands pressing to her cheeks.

"Oh, I love it," she cooed. I swore, Jake melted at her "wuv it." He met my eyes in the mirror and shook his head. But I didn't miss his little grin or the way he let her examine her reflection for as long as she wanted before putting her back on the ground.

When it was my turn, his hands were firm but gentle, brushing through my bed-tangled strands until they were smooth. He braided the front from ear to ear, forming a headband. It wasn't my usual style, but he'd done it for me, so I loved it and would wear it like that all day.

When I got up from the chair, my limbs were loose and relaxed. I leaned into his chest and sighed. "Maybe I want all my hair braided. And when you finish, you can take them out and start all over."

He chuckled. "Liked that, did you, mama?"

"Yes. You have magic fingers."

He dipped to whisper in my ear. "Think you already knew that."

I shoved his chest, my cheeks aflame. "Shut it, you. There are children around."

He glanced over his shoulder. Nellie and Sage were packing up her duffel bag for field hockey, paying no attention to us.

"This was a good morning," he murmured.

"It was. I loved all of it."

"We'll do it again."

I nodded. "Nellie would love another sleepover."

He slipped his arm around my waist. "And her mom?"

I pushed up on my toes to graze his lips with mine. "I would love it too."

He kissed me firmly. "Then we'll make it happen."

"He braids." Bea stared at me, almost angry, like I was lying to her.

"He does!" I took out my phone to show her the selfies I took with the girls over the weekend. "See? Aren't we cute?"

"There's no proof Jake did this," Bea pointed out. "But yes, all of you are very cute."

Shira took the phone, murmuring how adorable we all were. I leaned over in my pedicure chair to scroll back a couple photos. I'd captured some action shots, which I was now happy for since I apparently needed proof my boyfriend was multifaceted.

"Okay, there's no denying this," Shira said, passing the phone back to Bea.

Bea hmphed. "Fine. He's incredible. I admit it."

I snorted at her dour tone. One day, a man was going to excite her when she least expected it, and I could not wait to see Bea all gooey and smitten. I wouldn't admit that to her, though, since I valued our friendship.

"He is." I smiled at the screen for a moment before sliding my purse away. "Which is why I'm terrified something's going to go wrong."

"It might," Shira said.

I nodded. "I know."

"You also might be struck by lightning," Bea added. "Does that stop you from using an umbrella in the rain?"

"Well, now I might." I had to laugh. "Thank you for putting things in perspective. Both of you."

Shira reached over and squeezed my hand. "It's okay to be scared. It's what you do when you're afraid that matters—and look at you. Moving on right alongside everything that scares you. It's there, but you're not letting it stop you. Take it from a woman who hides from her own shadow; you're doing great."

"Don't talk about my friend that way," I admonished gently.

She shrugged, giving me a small smile. "I think I'll get sky blue on my toes today."

"Nice choice, Shir." Bea fluffed her blue hair. "And brilliant change of subject, no segue or anything."

Shira shook her nail polish. "Pretty, right?"

I laughed. Shira was very shy, but if you paid attention, her personality shone, and she was terribly funny in her own low-key style. Not enough people gave her a chance, and it was a damn shame.

"Lovely," I agreed. "I'm going blue too."

Bea pointed to us both. "One time, friends. I'll allow it once, so long as you remember blue is mine."

"Sure, Beatrice," I agreed. "Have you run into your billionaire lately?"

"You mean besides you?" she drawled.

"Obviously."

She studied her nails. "There was an incident last week with a corkscrew."

Shira hissed. "Did you stab him?"

"No. He was in one piece as far as I could tell. His car, on the other hand…" She flicked her fingers. "I was walking Benjamin in the park"—her gray Staffy who was more hippo than dog—"and we came across some boys attempting to open a juice box with a corkscrew."

"As one does," Shira murmured.

"Mmhmm. If they'd been teenagers, I wouldn't have intervened. Because, let's be honest, most teen boys deserve a little humbling via bloodletting. But these boys couldn't have been older than ten. So, I helped them, properly stabbing the juice, then confiscated the corkscrew."

"I bet they loved that," I said.

"Oh, they did." Bea smirked. "But since I was saving their lives, I decided to commit to the act and tossed the corkscrew into a trash can on my way out of the park."

"And then…?" Shira raised her brows expectantly. None of Bea's stories ended so merrily when it involved her mysterious billionaire.

"Then the corkscrew ricocheted off the inside of the trash can and flew into the road, piercing the tire of a limo idling at the curb," she deadpanned.

Shira gasped. "Was it his ?"

She nodded. "His driver got out to inspect the damage. I didn't stick around for his assessment."

I snorted. "Well, he is worth billions. Surely he can afford a new tire."

She pointed to me. "Exactly my line of thinking."

"Wait—you recognized the driver?" Shira asked, incredulous since Bea hadn't actually seen the billionaire from the front.

"Of course. We're old friends. Formally met six or seven months ago, after a guy on a bike told me I was dazzling then crashed into a woman carrying a tray of coffees. They went flying through the air and landed on the windshield of the limo waiting at the traffic light." Her nonchalance was truly a thing of beauty. "The driver's name is Igor, by the way."

I narrowed my eyes. "You never told me this story."

"It wasn't that exciting." She let her head fall back and sighed as her technician massaged her calves.

I exchanged glances with Shira, laughing silently at our friend. We could have both used a little more of her laissez-faire attitude. It was probably what had drawn us to her in the first place.

If only being carefree was contagious. My work life required me to be as careful and methodical as possible. Unfortunately, I'd allowed that to spill over to my real life, and I was sick of it.

My phone alerted me to a text. I smiled when I checked the screen.

Jake: Dinner tonight. I'll bring the beer. You bring your pretty face.

Me: I like how you invite yourself over.

Jake: I like it too, so I hope there's no sarcasm behind those words.

Me: None at all. I like you wanting to see me.

Jake: Always. Tell Nell-Belle I've got a special drink for her.

Me: Not beer, I hope.

Jake: Haha, nope. Found her some lavender lemonade. She told me her favorite color is purple. Has that changed in the last couple days?

My breath caught, and I had to pinch my nose so I didn't do something stupid like cry in the middle of the nail salon.

Me: Not yet. It's still her very favorite. She'll love that.

Jake: All right. Can't wait to see her smile. See you tonight, sweetness.

I closed my eyes and sank down in my chair, my heart a wild, throbbing thing.

If I could have, I would have channeled some of Bea's fearlessness. Then, I wouldn't have been so afraid of tumbling head over heels for Jake Hayes since that was exactly what I was doing.