Perfect Persuasion (Love's Second Chance Book 2)
Page 28
He flicked a glance at his watch. It was half past two and the wedding was set to start in fifteen minutes. He had to get the flowers back to Claire.
“Thanks for your help,” he offered.
The smile she gave him was insincere. “Have a nice day.”
She might as well have said, Go to hell, buddy.
With shaking hands, Wynne flipped over the sign on her storefront to read, Sorry, we’re closed and locked the door. She hadn’t expected to see Derek Shaw anywhere other than on a gossip magazine at the grocery store checkout. But she couldn’t let his presence in town rattle her. She wouldn’t let it interfere in her life.
“Paige,” she called, as she headed upstairs to the apartment they shared above the flower shop. “Where are you?”
“In here, Mama.” Her daughter’s voice came from the bathroom.
Paige was in the midst of applying sheer pink lip gloss to her cheeks. Purple eye shadow shimmered above and below her eyes. Trying not to laugh, Wynne bent down and rubbed some stray gloss from Paige’s chin.
“Do I look like a princess now?” Paige watched her with an expectant expression.
“You always look like a princess. But you’re going to be a sticky mess.” She grabbed a tissue and dabbed at her daughter’s shiny cheeks.
“Is my daddy a prince?” She scrunched up her nose in deep thought.
Wynne sucked in a breath. Recently, Paige had begun asking more and more questions about her father. She disliked lying to her daughter—or evading the truth, as she preferred to think of it. But try telling a four-year-old that her daddy is an immoral drunk who can’t even remember her mama’s face.
“No, your daddy isn’t a prince.” She rearranged Paige’s blonde curls, stalling for time. “Your daddy is very busy.”
“Yep.” Paige nodded. “And he lives in Californium.”
“It’s California,” Wynne corrected, giving her cheek a tender pat. “And yes, he does. I don’t think there are any princes in California.” Lots of toads, though, and her daddy certainly fit into that category.
“But don’t he ever wanna come and visit me, Mama?”
“Doesn’t.” Wynne paused, feeling like a worm. She hated the untenable position of keeping secrets. She didn’t know whether or not Paige’s father would want to visit, but she wasn’t going to give him the opportunity to decide. “Your daddy…he’s not…he would come to visit you if he could.”
“Why can’t he?”
Oh God. Why did four-year-olds have to be so inquisitive?
“Because his job makes him very busy,” she responded, biting her lip.
“What job does he got?” Paige’s interest had been piqued.
Wynne recognized the gleam in her daughter’s blue eyes all too well. Rather than relying on more prevarication, she opted for the truth. “Have, sweet pea. What job does he have.” She hesitated. “He’s an actor.”
“What’s that?”
She suppressed the urge to groan at the endless barrage of questions. “It means he’s in the movies.”
The revelation brightened Paige’s face. “Like Cinderella?”
“Yes, like Cinderella.” Her eyes went to the assorted makeup pieces strewn across the bathroom counter. “Paige, what did I tell you about wearing my makeup?”
“Hmm.” Paige pursed her lips and tapped her chin.
“I think I told you that you need to ask me first, didn’t I?” She tickled Paige’s sides.
A precious, bubbly giggle spilled from her daughter’s lips. Wynne lived for that sound.
“Maybe.” Paige’s voice dissolved into a string of giggles. “Mama!”
“I’m going to tickle you into behaving.” She lifted her up, hugging her wispy frame. “What should we do together tonight?”
“Can we go to the hotel for dinner?”
Every Saturday night was Girls’ Night Out for Paige and Wynne. Though she had only recently begun dating again, she always put her daughter’s needs first. She had all she needed in her aspiring princess. Paige’s favorite place in town was the Grand Hotel’s Seaside Café, a semiformal restaurant that was pricier than Wynne’s wallet liked. But Paige loved getting decked out in a princess dress and fancy shoes to eat dinner, and Wynne couldn’t deny her. Even if beach tourists who popped into town for antiquing and gourmet dining gave them strange looks.
“There’s a wedding there today, so we may not be able to get in,” Wynne told her, not wanting to chance another encounter with Derek Shaw.
Paige’s face fell. “Oh.”
Guilt seeped through her. She hated to disappoint her daughter, and since receptions were ordinarily held in the hotel’s ballroom, she supposed the chances of her crossing Derek’s path again were minimal. Almost impossible. What could it hurt?
“We’ll try it first and see if they have openings.” She pressed noisy kisses to Paige’s neck until she squealed.
“Ick, Mama! No more kisses,” she pleaded, giggling.
“Okay.” Wynne relented, smiling as she set Paige back down on her glittery purple princess shoes. “How about if we clean up your bedroom now?”
“Mama.” There was no mistaking the disgust in Paige’s tone. “I don’t got a messy room.”
“We must be looking at different rooms, then.” Wynne feigned thought. “Is there a room in this house I don’t know about? Or is there another girl with princess dolls all over her bedroom?”
Paige giggled. “Do I get a dollar if I help?”
“You might even get two dollars,” Wynne told her, grabbing her hand. “Now let’s get going. If we don’t start on that room of yours, we’ll never make it to dinner on time.”
Win My Love, available now.
HISTORICAL ROMANCE
Heart’s Temptation
A Mad Passion (Book 1)
Rebel Love (Book 2)
Reckless Need (Book 3)
Sweet Scandal (Book 4) (Coming Soon)
CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
Love’s Second Chance
Reprieve (Book 1)
Perfect Persuasion (Book 2)
Win My Love (Book 3)
Coastal Heat
Loved Up (Book 1)
Award-winning author Scarlett Scott writes contemporary and historical romance with heat, heart, and happily ever afters. Since publishing her first book in 2010, she has become a wife, mother to adorable identical twins and one TV-loving dog, and a killer karaoke singer. Well, maybe not the last part, but that’s what she’d like to think.
A self-professed literary junkie and nerd, she loves reading anything but especially romance novels, poetry, and Middle English verse. When she’s not reading, writing, wrangling toddlers, or camping, you can catch up with her on her website www.scarsco.com. Hearing from readers never fails to make her day.
Scarlett’s complete book list and information about upcoming releases can be found on her website, www.scarsco.com.
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