Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 82371 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 412(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 275(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82371 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 412(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 275(@300wpm)
“Yes.” His head popped up and he immediately forgot about finding a ridiculous name for Carrick. “Big. Big hungry.”
And getting littler?
“Does my monkey want to dip things for dinner?” That had Lorne’s eyes going wide like I’d promised he could have cake and ice cream instead of real food. “I have some fun things to dip.”
And that could be easily switched to a nice grown-up meal if that turned out to be necessary.
But it wasn’t going to be.
“Yes.” Trying to climb over me again, he focused on Carrick. “Papa. Papa. You dip too?”
Carrick seemed completely unprepared for the question but caught up after a moment. “Yes, but that sounds suspiciously like I have to use my fingers.”
And the giggles were back.
I managed not to drop my wiggly monkey, but he was definitely a good workout. “Silly monkey. Do you want to play toys while I make dinner or do you want to color at the table?”
I wasn’t sure what his favorite toys were or even what he liked to do because every question had been met with a rambling nonanswer that had been cute but not helpful in the slightest.
I had a feeling someone had told him to like whatever I’d bought him.
What they hadn’t told him was how frustrating that would be.
“My room, Daddy.” Leaning over my shoulder again, he giggled and waved at Carrick. “See my playroom?”
He was so confident and so cute.
“Are you sure your Daddy has a playroom for you?” Carrick’s suspicious and slightly dry tone delighted Lorne.
“Yes, Papa. My room.”
When he nearly went overboard again, I laughed and set him down so Carrick wouldn’t kill me for dropping our boy. “Do you want to search for it? Should I make Carrick hide it?”
Lorne gasped, shaking his head as he gave me a wide-eyed look. “No hide and seek, Daddy.”
That idea seemed scary enough that he grabbed Carrick’s hand and started dragging him through the house. “No hiding, Papa. No hiding.”
Carrick scoffed and very noticeably didn’t agree with the order. “What are you doing?”
Giggling, apparently, once he had his Papa safely out of my reach.
“Hurry. Hurry.” Lorne had a nose like a bloodhound and went right to it, but that was also because the house wasn’t that big.
In the past I’d spent more time at the shop, so I hadn’t needed a big house. “Don’t fall.”
That got another scoff from Carrick. “At least I’m not going to drop him.”
He was so ridiculous…but he made Lorne laugh. “Sparklies bounce.”
Carrick’s rude sound earned peals of laughter from Lorne until it was abruptly cut off. He’d found his playroom.
“My room, Daddy.” The awe in his voice matched the wide eyes he gave the room as he paused in the doorway. “Pretty, Daddy.”
The subtle, sparkly pink paint wasn’t as overwhelming as I’d feared and actually just made the room look bright instead of like bubble gum had vomited all over it. But the best part was watching Lorne inch deeper into the room just so he could run his hand over the paint. “Oh, I can feel my sparklies, Daddy.”
So textured paint had been the right decision.
That was good to know.
“My monkey likes sparkly things, so I wanted it to be special.” When I managed not to apologize for having help and hadn’t tattled on myself, Carrick gave me a subtle nod.
Not telling Lorne that he was right and our mage cheated was the hardest part, though.
“Toys, Daddy.” Lorne turned around and reached back to grab both of us and tug us into his room. “Look.”
Carrick rolled his eyes, probably because he’d looked at everything already when he’d done his Mary Poppins routine.
She was definitely a mage no matter what that movie had said.
“You’ve got a lot of toys here.” Carrick pretended he was seeing it all for the first time, though. “Is that a tea set?”
It seemed like everyone in town had heard of the tea parties he had at Stefan’s place.
Lorne clapped his hands before dragging us over, doing a drive-by as he kept going. “Tea parties and books and animals and Transformers and outfits, and oh, beads, Daddy. Look, Papa.”
Those were going to get everywhere and I could see the moment Carrick realized that. He frowned and turned to glare at me. I just smiled because at least it wasn’t glitter. “There’s lots of craft supplies for when your friends come over.”
I still wasn’t sure the exact delineation of what toys were for friend time and what he’d do when it was just the three of us—those conversations had been confusing to sort through—but I knew we’d figure it out.
Trial and error would help at the very least.
“And my bed and my pillows and my chair for Daddy and my soft blanket.” He sighed, finally releasing our hands so he could pet his bedding. “Pretty, Daddy.”
Carrick had been grateful that everything wasn’t pink, and the mix of pastel colors looked great against the walls and were a fun backdrop for his toys.