I glance at the side table where three glasses of what looks like sparkling wine are sitting. My brows lift. “And you’re drinking—”
“Fizzy apple juice,” Ivy cuts in before I can even finish the question. “We’re not that irresponsible.”
I chuckle, shoving my hands in my pockets. “So… you are introducing my daughter to the finer sides of life?”
“She loves it,” Christa defends, still giggling.
Lucy nods seriously, wiping her hands on her bathrobe. “It’s a real spa day.”
I shake my head, sighing. “And where exactly did all of this come from?”
Ivy tilts her head toward Christa. “She brought the spa here.”
Christa waggles her brows. “If the mountain will not come to Muhammad, then Muhammad will go to the mountain.”
I watch them for a beat—the way Christa is still chuckling to herself, the way Lucy is wriggling to get comfy in her pink robe, and the way Ivy is reclining with zero shame, looking like this is exactly where she’s meant to be.
And honestly? I don’t know if I should be impressed or completely charmed.
Definitely both.
Before I can dwell on that thought, Lucy tugs at her dressing gown with little fists as she turns to me with wide, serious eyes.
“Daddy, you have to come in the pool," she demands.
I raise a brow. “I really don’t.”
“Yes, you do!” She gestures dramatically at the hot tub. “It’s so warm, and it makes bubbles, and it’s like a bath but better!”
“I think I’ll survive without it, Ladybug.”
She huffs, then points at the fancy watch on Christa’s wrist. “When the beep happens, we wash off the quack—”
“Quark,” Ivy corrects with a giggle, not even bothering to open her eyes.
“That’s what I said,” Lucy insists. “The quack comes off and then we go back in the pool. That’s the spa rules.”
I shake my head. “Still gonna pass, Lu.”
Before she can argue, the sound of a closing door draws our attention to the house.
Jasper and Geoff are crossing through the kitchen and step outside; Jasper looking pale, with his arm in a cast but otherwise in relatively good spirit. Geoff, as always, looks effortlessly put together—sleeves rolled up neatly, hair barely out of place, exuding that calm, slightly smug older-brother energy that he’s way too good at.
I frown and cross my arms. “What are you doing here?”
Geoff raises a brow. “Nice to see you too, Theo.”
“I thought you had a photoshoot today.”
“I did,” he says easily, rolling his shoulders. “Finished as soon as I could. And since you made it very clear in thefamily chat that Lucy was looked after, I figured I’d head straight to the hospital to make sure Jasper had someone to bring him back.”
I bite my tongue. “Oh.”
Jasper sighs. “It’s very touching having two grown men fuss over me, really.”
Geoff smirks. “You did break your arm falling out of your own hot tub.”
“I slipped.”
