want an image of Katie’s gaping mouth on her phone, he said, “Why don’t you surprise her with it when she comes over for your lesson tomorrow?”
She considered that and gave him a thumbs up.
After he took a photo and texted it to his dad, she returned to the mirror and her positions. He watched her for a moment, considering whether the time was right to have a heart-to-heart conversation with her about Jasmine. If things were going to get more serious between them—please, God, let things be getting more serious between them—Katie had to be aware and comfortable with it.
Deciding to bite the bullet, he said, “You’ve been enjoying your time with Jasmine, right?”
She nodded and transitioned to her next position.
“You have fun when she’s around.”
Another nod.
“So it’s safe to say you like her, right?”
“I love her,” Katie said simply as she moved into her next position.
He stared at her, unable to speak.
His daughter, someone who had barely been able to tolerate being around females five months ago, loved Jasmine.
Just like that, all the pieces of his complicated life clicked into place. He knew with full certainty how he and Katie felt. Gareth had implied how Jasmine felt.
Now all Will had to do was confirm it.
Chapter Thirty
Jasmine smiled at Ryan as he opened the sliding doors at Will’s the following afternoon. “Hi,” she greeted him. “Thanks for letting me in.”
“No problem. Let me take those for you.”
He reached for the grocery bags. She gladly handed them over and followed him into the kitchen, closing and locking the door behind her. When Gump lumbered up to her, she bent down to give him some head scratches and murmured words of greeting.
“Will’s on his way home,” Ryan explained as he set the bags on the counter. “He asked that you help Katie get ready if you arrived before he did.”
She had anticipated that. He wasn’t usually home before five o’clock on days he played an afternoon game.
“Okay. Thanks for letting me know.”
When she finished loading the groceries in the fridge, she closed the door and asked, “Will you be around for dinner?”
He looked over at her. “You going to make that chicken you just put in the fridge?”
“Yes. With veggie mac ‘n cheese and strawberry shortcake for dessert.”
“Then I’ll be around for dinner.”
She smiled. “Great.”
She’d texted Frank earlier to ask if he’d be coming over for dinner. He had said he’d stop by after the project he was working on and join them. Anticipating the need to feed a group, she’d taken the time that afternoon to do as much prep work as she could ahead of time, chopping veggies, shredding cheese, mixing the ingredients for the herbed butter she’d be stuffing under the chicken’s skin, and macerating the strawberries. The meal would still take about ninety minutes to finish prepping and cooking, so she wanted to start her lesson with Katie sooner rather than later.
She brought her bag to Katie’s room with her, figuring she’d need to make use of the bobby pins in it to secure Katie’s bun. Somehow, Katie kept losing them. Jasmine had given her twenty or thirty of the things already. Will would likely find a secret stash of them somewhere under her bed one day.
Gump followed her to Katie’s room, marching through the door and perching in his usual place at the foot of her bed. Katie stood in front of the mirror, already wearing her tights and leotard. She had gone with white today. Will had added several outfits to her options over the past few months, something that never failed to charm Jasmine.
Seeing Katie attempting to secure her lopsided bun with a large blue barrette—which would make an interesting addition to the silver, red, and amber barrettes already clipped in her hair—she bit back a laugh.
This kid was too freaking adorable.
“Hi, Katie,” she said.
Katie smiled and turned to hug her. Then she abruptly pulled back enough to look up at Jasmine.
Katie signed her thanks, a habit she hadn’t yet broken.
Jasmine tilted her head and pretended to assess Katie’s hair. “I see you’ve gotten yourself ready. Good job. I accidentally shifted your bun while I was hugging you though. How about I fix it for you?”
Nodding, Katie sat down on the bed and patiently waited for Jasmine to remove the barrettes and hair tie, brush her hair, and re-secure it with the hair tie and some of the bobby pins from her bag.