“I guess playing with Livie or—”
“No. No. Something that’s just for you. Something special.”
“Mommy plays with me. You can play with me, too, Daddy.”
Oh, that soft smile on Cooper’s face at hearing Livie call him Daddy was about the sweetest thing she’d ever seen.
“We’re going to play together a lot, Princess.”
“Now, Daddy?”
“Why don’t you play with Ruby for a few minutes and let me talk to Mommy, okay?”
“Okay, but don’t talk long.”
“I won’t.”
After Livie was on the floor with a pile of dog toys next to her and Ruby excited to have her new friend playing with her, Cooper chuckled as he watched them for a minute. Then he turned that intent focus on her that he was so good at. “Think of what your perfect adult evening would be.”
“Ah, an adult evening.” She glanced at Livie to see that she and Ruby had moved farther away, and Livie wasn’t paying attention to them. “I have no idea what those are like, so I guess I’ll have to use my imagination. I love Livie to death, but one night of not being a mommy would be wonderful.” She closed her eyes and smiled. “I’d put on some soft music and start my evening with a glass of wine and maybe some cheese and fancy crackers.”
“Are you alone in this adult evening?”
She opened her eyes, her gaze locking on his. “No. There’s a man I’ve thought a lot about over the years with me. We have adult conversation, something lacking in my life as I spend my days with seven- and eight-year-olds and my evenings with a four-year-old.”
“I’m liking this adult evening of yours so far. Then what happens?”
“We have dinner by candlelight.”
“What are we eating?”
“We?” She grinned. “You think you’re the man in my special evening?”
“I’m hoping.”
“I guess we’ll have to see. As for what we’re eating, this man who might or might not be you, maybe Tuscan chicken pasta paired with a glass of pinot grigio. I had that once at a restaurant and it was delicious. Honestly, anything I don’t have to cook that isn’t chicken nuggets or mac and cheese.”
“What’s for dessert?”
“Oh, that’s an easy one. Pistachio ice cream and chocolate shortbread cookies.”
“I want a cookie,” Livie said, jumping up from the floor.
Cooper grinned. “Little ears.”
She laughed. “That’s something you’ll have to get used to.”
“I can see that.” He shifted his gaze to Livie. “Princess, if you’ll wait five minutes, I’ll give you two cookies.”
“Is five minutes a long time, Daddy? I don’t think I can wait a long time.”
“Not a long time at all. Look, Ruby has her tug toy in her mouth and wants you to play with her some more.” That did the trick, and he turned back to Kendall. “What comes after that romantic dinner?”
“I guess that depends on my dinner date.”
He grinned. “I think your dinner date might have some ideas you’d like.”
“Yeah? Like what?”