Ripped - Cassia Leo Page 0,20

even though Grayson’s baby-soft face shows not a single sign of puberty.

“I find you oddly sexy right now,” I say, wiping a smudge of brown eyeliner off her upper lip.

She grabs her crotch and casts a sexy glare in my direction. “Want to bend over so Grayson can put his super-small pencil in your super-big pencil box?”

I cringe at her offer. “Yeah, I think I’ll wait until you’ve washed the Grayson off your face.”

She grabs my hand as I reach for the bathroom door handle. “Wait.” She looks up at me with a worried expression. “Are you sure you want to do this? I mean, look at what happened to Grayson—I mean, Jason. You know someone out there is going to get this on video and upload it to Facebook as soon as they leave the party.”

I cock an eyebrow. “Are you seriously asking me if I’m sure about this? You do remember who you’re married to, don’t you? Do you think I give a flying fuck if people see me dressed like a girl for the sake of my daughter’s birthday party?” I shake my head and hand her my backpack. “You know me better than that, Grayson. Now carry my books.”

Except for a couple of moments where Grayson forgets his lines, the skit goes off without a hitch. And the party ends with Mila falling asleep in her aunt Lena’s lap while most of Kaia’s friends congratulate her for having such cool parents. As Lindsay carries Mila upstairs to our bed, and I look around the living room at all the smiling faces as they gather their things, it’s hard not to notice the glum look on Lena’s face as she and Yuri head to the coat closet to grab her purse.

I plant a loud kiss on Kaia’s forehead. “Take all your new toys upstairs and start getting ready for bed. I’ll be up in a little while to say good night.”

She throws her arms around my waist and hugs me tightly. “Thank you, Daddy.”

“For what, baby?”

“For being the best daddy.”

I smile as my heart clenches. “It’s easy when I’ve got the best daughter.” I squeeze her tightly and kiss the top of her head. “I love you, birthday girl. Now go upstairs. I’ll be up soon.”

She grins as she gathers up a few of her toys and races up the wooden stairs.

I bid the last couple of stragglers good night as Lena and Yuri stand on the porch waiting for me. I sense the tension before anyone even says a word, but I’m too afraid to acknowledge it, so I opt for a safer topic instead.

“See you tomorrow morning?” I ask Lena. “Gotta get out there early. Can’t let Carlos shake up the seeds.”

“I’ll be there,” she replies, looking me straight in the eye. “And Yuri and I will both be there in Trestles.”

I nod. “Good. You have your room and everything worked out?”

She shoots Yuri a glance, but he’s too busy staring at something on his phone to notice. “The room is booked,” she says, finally looking up at me. “We’ll be there all twelve days.”

I turn to Yuri. “What are you doing, man? Playing Candy Crush?”

“Dude, are you for real?” Yuri replies. “Candy Crush is so over. It’s all about Doodle Bugs now. You have to draw something by smashing bugs and using their blood as paint. The person you’re playing against has to guess what you’re drawing.”

“That’s fucking disgusting,” I reply. “Can I play?”

Lena shakes her head as she sets off down the steps toward their jeep. “Come on, Yuri. It’s past your bedtime.”

Yuri shrugs. “Another time,” he says, descending the porch steps to follow Lena. “Sweet T-shirt, bro. It goes with your silky mane. That’s a good look for you.”

“This is me starting a trend. You saw it here first,” I reply, blowing him a kiss. “Good night, Doodle Bug.”

Yuri jumps in the air so he can catch my kiss, which he pretends to tuck safely in his back pocket. “Saving that one for later tonight when I’m feeling extra horny. Good night, Boo Boo!”

As Lena and Yuri drive off, I can’t shake the feeling that the reason Lena didn’t have a good time today was because she’s changed her mind about having kids and Yuri hasn’t. It happened once before. When Mila was born and Lena babysat her a few times when Lindsay had to take Kaia to appointments, Lena started getting baby fever. But Yuri and Lena had agreed early on