He’s still waiting on meto sit, so I do. I keep space between us,but I sit and listen while he continues to read to her from a huge book of fairytales. I watch as she nestles in tighter to her dad, listening intently.Contentment and innocence fill her tiny face.
I don’t miss the way he keeps looking at me from the corner of his eye. I don’t miss thesizzle in the air either. Like if I got any closer, that zap would strike me again. It makes me scoot away a little more because the last thing I need is any kind of spark between Jake and me.
He finishes the story,his eyes firmly attached to me as Lyra takes the book, crawling to the floor.I fight the urge to squirm under his intense stare. “Cara, I….”he starts.
“I’ve got her,” I interrupt, not knowing what he was about to say but also not sure I want to know. “You cango take a shower now.”
His lips press into a firm line before he nods.He walks out of the room with a shake of his head, mumbling something about never having a chance.
When he is in his room, I move to where Lyra is sprawled across the carpets floor with her book. I watch as sheturns the pages with such gentle regard. More than I thought would be possible from a child her age.
“What do you have there, pretty girl?” I crawl to the floor, stretching myself beside her.
“My faiwytales,” she grins. “My daddy weads to me.” She shoves the book closer to me and flips the pages. “I wuv Sweeping Booty,” she tells me with wide eyes. I can help but grin at her enunciation.
“I like Sleeping Beauty, too. Can you say Sleeping Beauty?” I ask, emphasizing each syllable.
Shetaps her chin thoughtfully. “Sweeping Booty,” she says, only this time emphasizing the ‘oo’ sounds even more. I giggle, and she pouts.
“Don’t worry, pretty girl,” I tug her hair. “You’vegot plenty of time to learn.”
“But I wants to does it now.” Her arms fold across her chest as that bottom lip juts out.
“We’ll practice later, okay?” I offer, hoping it will get that lip back in place.
“O-k-ay,” she says with determination and purpose.
I giggle again. She is almost too smart and definitely too cute.
Iget to my feet to go to the kitchen.Igrab a bottle of water from the fridge and then grab my pills from my hoodie pocket. I take two, quickly chasing them with water.
“What’s that?” I hear behind me making me squeal a little too loudly.
I look over to Lyra, making sure I didn’t scare her,then turn my attention to Jake. “You scared the hell out of me,” I spit.
“I’m sorry.” His eyes show concern and worry.He hands me a sheet of paper. “I just wanted to give this to you. It’s a list of her favorite movies and such.”
I take the list, shoving it into my pocket. “I’ll use this later. We won’t need it today. I’m taking her to a puppet show.”
“You can’t take her out,” he tells me with an absolutely stunned look.
“What? Why?” I demand.
“Because you don’t know anything about this place. You can’t speak the language.It’s not safe.”
“Everywhere we go on this tour will be unfamiliar,” I tell him sharply. “You don’t expect to keep her locked away in hotel rooms the entire time, do you?”
His shoulders slump. “I didn’t think about that.”
“Liam has hired security detail so we can venture out safely. We’ll be fine.”
“Are you going to answer my question?”I look at him, confused. When I don’t answer,he elaborates. "The pills.”
“They’re from my doctor. For my anxiety,” I grit out, a little pissed at whatever he’s insinuating.
His eyes move between mine.“Are you okay?” I open my mouth foranother snarky remark. My natural reaction is to be defensive but swallow it down when I see the genuine concern in his eyes.
“I’m fine, Jake. I swear I won’t let anything happen to Lyra,” I tell him, assuming that’s what his real concern is.
