“Seriously? These are your favorites?” I laughed and picked the coral one.
“Perfect beach colors,” he said.
He did the best that he could and only got a bit of nail polish on himself. He finished off with conditioning oil around the toes and some cream. It took him a long time to get the toe-separators between my toes, but I had a good laugh watching him.
After he was finished, he did my fingers as well, so they matched my toes.
“Feel better?” he asked.
I did. I truly did. I realized that Chris was good to have around and I thoroughly enjoyed his company. I mean, what guy paints your nails? Not to mention he was sexy as hell.
He sat beside me on the sofa and leaned over to take my lips with his in a warm, inviting kiss that literally sent shivers down to my newly manicured toes.
“I want you to know that I am falling for you, Marilyn Alexander. You have me hook, line, and sinker.”
“Oh my! That was a little corny, Chris,” I said as I shook my head. I looked into his eyes and said, “I dig you, too.”
“Hey! That’s not very romantic,” he said.
“I was just being funny. I’m falling for you too, but let’s take this slow, okay?” I said as apprehension reared its ugly head.
“How much slower do you want to take it? You’re pregnant,” he said, pointing at my growing belly.
“I guess if you put it that way,” I said. We curled up, and Chris spent his first night at my place, spooning me all night. It was the happiest I had been in a long time.
* * *
My Aunt Nancy’sbeach house was beautiful. It was late Friday night when we arrived, and Keith carried a sleeping Faith into her bedroom while Chris and I carried in all the luggage.
“Wow, this is a cottage?” Keith said when he joined us on the back porch that looked onto the beach. “This is what, like five thousand square feet? The fact that we can all have our own bedroom and bathroom tells me this is more of a home than a cottage.”
I nodded. “I know. My aunt and uncle are extremely well off. She’s a dentist, and he’s a doctor. You should see their home. You’d never be able to get your jaw to shut again.”
“I say we play some cards,” Chris said. “How about some three-handed euchre?”
“Sounds great,” I said. “I’m probably only good for one game. I’m pretty tired,” I said.
“No worries, you won’t want to play a second game when I beat you anyway,” Keith said.
“I filed all the necessary paperwork with Layla’s lawyer,” I told him. “We should hear something by the time we get back. Her lawyer must know she has no hope of winning. Let’s pray she’s smart enough to tell that to Layla. Hopefully, she can convince Layla to back off.”
“Thank you so much for taking on my case. I know you’ve got a lot on your plate already,” Keith said.
“I’m happy to help, and it’s so nice to finally meet you officially.” We all laughed.
We ended up playing three games. I won the first game, Chris won the second game, and Keith won the last one. I was sure Chris let Keith win the last one, but I wasn’t sure.
After Keith went to bed, Chris and I strolled along the beach, hand in hand. “Sleep with me instead of by yourself,” he suggested.
I didn’t have to think long about it but said, “Sure, as long as you don’t mind that I move around a lot.”
“Not at all. I’m just happy to be close to you,” he said, and my heart warmed at his words.
The next day was centered mostly around Faith and watching her explore things for the first time. Chris found a toad and showed her. She shrieked in delight and petted it. It croaked at her a few times, which sent her into a fit of giggles. She carried it to the beach and built a sand house for it. She spent so much time perfecting it, but when she placed the toad in the sand house, it jumped out as soon as she put it down and continued on down the beach. This sent Faith into a crying fit, and Chris took her in his arms and went into the water with her. She had so much fun in the water that she forgot all about the toad. I joined them in the water for a while, and Chris and I took turns throwing her into the water. When she resurfaced, she was all giggles.
I walked back over to Keith. “She’s already such a great swimmer and has no fear.”
“Yeah, Chris takes her to swimming lessons every weekend at a private pool. He said it’s important that she not fear the water since I have a pool. It’s a life skill, he says,” Keith explained.