Series: Paige Michaels
Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 45455 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 227(@200wpm)___ 182(@250wpm)___ 152(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45455 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 227(@200wpm)___ 182(@250wpm)___ 152(@300wpm)
“I would have gotten you the other,” Kiki said with a laugh.
“I know you would have,” the cheerful woman assured her.
Fifteen minutes later, Beverly sat rinsed and shampooed in Kiki’s chair once again, sipping coffee. “You know that handsome man didn’t look at a single other woman in here.”
“He didn’t, did he? I’m pretty lucky to find him.”
“It seemed like he felt exactly the same way. That was nice of him to warn you that there would be company for dinner. Have you moved in yet?” Beverly probed.
“No. We’re a long way from that,” Kiki said quickly.
“I bet you’ll be there before my gray roots scream to be covered in a month.”
Kiki didn’t know how to respond to that. Her heart hoped Beverly was right, but her dating history was pretty lame. She’d be lucky if Terry was still interested in her in a month. Trying to be subtle, she crossed one leg in front of the other as she combed the woman’s hair free of tangles.
Thank goodness the coworker at the station next to Kiki walked in to distract Beverly’s attention. Kiki appreciated the diversion of the stylist’s mermaid hair. It looked very flattering on her.
“Think I could do that next time?” the octogenarian asked Kiki.
“You want to rock out the assisted living place, huh?” Kiki asked with a smile. “We could just start with a streak of color.”
“Better idea. I don’t want to make the others too jealous.”
“I’ll add a few minutes to your appointment to do something fun next time,” Kiki promised her long-time client.
“Thanks, Kiki. I’m glad you like to have fun. Never lose that in your life.”
“Promise!”
After parking in Terry’s driveway, Kiki got out of her car and hesitated. Should she take her bag inside? Maybe that was too pushy. He might have changed his mind about having her stay.
“Hi, Bumblebee. I’m glad to see you,” Terry called as he stepped out the front door. When he reached her, he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her to his chest.
“Hi, Daddy,” she whispered and earned a kiss.
“That’s my Little girl. Let’s get your bag and go inside. There’s just enough time for you to tell me about your day before our company arrives.”
“I didn’t know you were great friends with Hunter and CC,” Kiki commented as she opened the trunk to reveal her duffle inside.
“We’ve talked a bit about Little girls and how to take care of them. I appreciate being able to ask questions from an expert. I think you’ll like CC. Her business is fascinating, combining her love of coffee and cats. Just don’t let her convince you we need a kitten,” he teased.
“Have you ever thought of having a pet?” Kiki asked, suddenly curious.
“Maybe someday. Are you a dog or cat person?” Terry asked.
“I love everything. I haven’t ever had a pet. My mom thought they were too messy. She didn’t want to deal with all the fur.”
“Sounds like that was just an excuse,” Terry guessed.
“Probably. Mom likes the least amount of maintenance possible. No carpet. No dry cleaning. Dark furniture. Her worst nightmare would be a house with white furniture, walls, and carpet with two kids and a dog.”
“That sounds like an ordeal for anyone. I’m a firm believer that houses are meant to be lived in. Anyone with white furniture and carpet doesn’t really live in that house, they just try not to mess it up,” Terry joked as he led her to the master bedroom to drop off her bag on his big bed.
Kiki glanced down at her shirt and plucked at the dozens of hairs clinging to her. “Speaking of cat and dog hair, I shed hair as I walk after work. It’s impossible not to gather snippets of other people’s tresses just walking through the salon.”
“I promise not to meet you at the door with a handheld vacuum cleaner,” he said with a laugh as he pulled her close. “I missed you today.”
“I missed you, too.”
He reached a hand down to cup her bottom and squeezed slightly. “How’s your bottom?”
“It’s okay. Not too bad,” she admitted.
“That’s good for me to know.”
“Why?”
“I’ll know how hard I can spank you if I need to get your attention,” Terry informed her.
“You could just call my name.”
“I could, but a stinging bottom helps Little girls remember lessons much better.”
When she caught herself nodding in agreement, Kiki forced herself to stop. “I can remember things without that,” she promised him.
“We’ll see. Would you like to go snuggle with Daddy in your nursery before our guests come?”
“Is there anything you need help with before they get here?”
“Not a thing. Daddy has everything under control,” he assured her as he guided her into the attached room.
“What are we going to do here?” she asked nervously.
“How about we rock and talk about our days? I’d love to hear what happened while we were apart.”