For the Win - Raine Thomas Page 0,37

smiled again and took the brush. He watched as she ran it through Katie’s hair, starting at the ends to get out the knots. It didn’t take long before she was gathering Katie’s hair and twisting it into the signature ballerina hairstyle.

“What’s with ballerinas and buns, anyway?” he asked to fill the silence.

Jasmine met his gaze in the mirror as she worked. “It’s a tradition. Part of our uniform, you could say. And it’s practical. We wear it up to keep it out of our faces during turns, for example. It also gives us a center point to help us with our pirouettes and such, which is why it’s important to make sure it’s centered on our head.”

She stepped back from Katie and tilted her head from side to side, checking her work. “What do you think?” she asked.

Katie beamed and nodded. She jumped up and ran to her closet, reaching for her new ballet shoes on their shelf. She sat on the floor and pulled them on, adjusting the elastic straps so they crisscrossed perfectly across the tops of her feet. Then she hopped up and struck a pose, her right arm arced above her head, the left held out to the side, and her chin tipped up.

Will had thought his daughter couldn’t possibly get any cuter.

He’d been wrong.

“Hold that pose,” he said, turning and looking around for his phone. Jasmine lifted it from the dresser and handed it to him. “Thanks.”

He took a couple of photos and then tucked his phone into the pocket of his shorts. He imagined he would have another hundred photos and several videos before this lesson was done. Jasmine’s humored look told him she was well aware of that.

“Let’s go show your getup to Grandpa before we get to the lesson,” he said, opening Katie’s bedroom door.

She smiled and ran from the room. He half-expected her to wipe out on the hardwood floors in her slipper-like shoes and was relieved when he didn’t hear any loud thuds as she rounded the corner.

“So Katie’s a fan of The Void, huh?” Jasmine said as they left the bedroom and headed in the direction of the family room.

The framed band posters on Katie’s lilac-colored walls must have been hard to miss. “Yeah. She thinks she’s going to marry Archer when she gets older.”

“Isn’t he already married?”

“Apparently that won’t be an obstacle to their irrefutable love when the time comes…which won’t be until she’s at least thirty because I’m not letting her date until then.”

Jasmine snorted in humor. “That’s adorable.”

Gump hurried over to them as soon as he heard their voices. He tromped along beside Jasmine, sniffing her leg and likely leaving plenty of drool behind. She didn’t seem to mind, so Will just let him have his moment. One of them should get to enjoy her scent without it being weird, he reasoned.

As they reached the family room, he found Katie posing for his dad as he took some photos with his phone’s camera. His dad’s goofy grin likely matched his when he first saw Katie in her outfit.

“What a pretty little ballerina you are,” Frank said, chuckling as she twirled.

When she wobbled and nearly fell, Jasmine said, “Maybe we’ll work on pirouettes today.”

“Good call,” Will and his dad said at the same time.

“All right. Let’s head on up to the gym,” Will said, waving Katie in the direction of the stairs.

She took off, this time skipping. Jasmine turned to follow her. Before Will could join them, his dad stepped closer and nudged him in the side.

“You didn’t mention Katie’s new teacher is such a looker,” he said under his breath.

She turned and smiled at them from over her shoulder. “Why, thank you, Frank.”

Will rolled his eyes. “I told you you’re a loud whisperer,” he grumbled.

His dad shrugged. Jasmine laughed.

“Keep Gump downstairs, would you?” Will said as he started after her.

“Yeah, yeah.” Frank grabbed the jar of treats from the kitchen counter, making Gump whip around and trot over to him. “Have fun.”

The home gym was in a loft on the second story. While Will was on his recent road trip, his dad had installed the mirrored wall and a stationary barre on the loft’s one solid wall. They had moved the remaining gym equipment to the side of the loft earlier that day to leave the center area free for the dance lessons. When Jasmine looked around the space, she nodded in approval.

“This is perfect.” She walked over to the weight bench with her gym

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