On the Shore (Cottonwood Cove, #3)(57)
I’d never even known that tiny humans could be this adorable.
She hurried to the mirror and gasped.
“I look extra cool, don’t I, Links?”
“You sure do.”
Matilda came walking over and clapped her hands together. “Well, aren’t you the cutest girl in the world. And you’ll look perfect at the fair this summer.”
“I insist on getting them,” I said.
“I can’t believe it. Can I wear them out of the store, Miss Matilda?”
“You sure can.”
I held her little navy shoes in my hand and glanced around. “Is there anything else that you like?”
Those dark eyes grew wide again, and she covered her mouth with both hands, as if she couldn’t believe I’d asked the question, and I swear I’d get this little girl one of everything in this store if she asked for it.
Matilda pointed to the back of the store and said that they’d gotten some new dresses in, so I followed Gracie over there. But she’d passed by the sundresses that were hanging on a rack and gasped when she saw a rack full of white, puffy dresses that looked more like wedding gowns.
“Links,” she whispered, and her little voice shook. “Look at that one. It’s a real princess dress. Not a pretend one.”
Matilda chuckled and pulled down the one Gracie was pointing to.
“This is a flower girl dress. I think you’re going to be a flower girl in your uncle Hugh’s wedding and your aunt Georgia’s weddings. But didn’t you already get dresses for those?”
“Yes.” Gracie nodded. “They are real pretty but not fancy like this one.”
“I think you should try it on. You can wear it to Sunday dinner at your grandparents’ house,” I said.
Matilda chuckled, and Gracie jumped up and down as the older woman said she’d help her try it on. I waited and walked over to the front of the store to see Brinkley on the phone, pacing in circles out in front of the store as she spoke.
“Links!” Gracie shouted, and I made my way back. She twirled around and did some sort of curtsy, managing to keep her pink cowboy hat on her head. “Look at me. I’m a real, live princess.”
Matilda walked out, carrying her school uniform and raising a brow at me as if this was going to be a tough one to turn down.
But that wasn’t going to happen.
This girl had gotten her heart hurt today, and if a fancy dress and some boots and a hat made her smile, I’d do it ten times over.
Hell, I’d give her my goddamn kidney if she needed it right now.
This was nothing.
“I don’t see how we can walk out of here without it,” I teased. “Let’s get it.”
“Do you want to wear it out of the store with the boots and the hat?” the older woman asked.
“Yes, ma’am!” Gracie jumped up and attempted to give me a high-five, but she missed, which made me laugh. Matilda cut off the tags and made her way around the counter.
I handed over my credit card, and we tossed her school clothes and shoes into a bag.
“Thank you, Links. This is the best day ever.” Gracie smiled up at me as I reached for her hand to lead her toward the exit, just as the door opened and Brinkley walked in.
One brow raised, she put her hands on her hips. “What’s going on here?”
“Me and Links is extra cool, Auntie.”
Damn straight.
Enough said.
twenty-one
Brinkley
We made our way over to Cottonwood Café because the place was a rite of passage in town. And Lincoln had been avoiding it because he’d heard the rumors about the dirty old bird that worked there.
“So, tell me how we ended up with this beautiful dress and the cute boots and hat?” I asked as Gracie walked between us, with one hand in mine and the other in Lincoln’s. When I’d stepped out of the adorable boutique, they’d been friendly, but now they appeared to be besties. And my niece, who had been completely off when we’d picked her up, seemed to be back to her old self.
“Don’t you love these boots, Auntie?” Gracie said, kicking her foot up from beneath the frilly white flower girl dress to show the pink cowboy boots. “Links says I look very cool.”
She was literally surrounded by an abnormal amount of tulle, and she wore the cutest pink cowboy hat and boots, and my heart was threatening to explode.
I loved this little girl so much.
And the fact that this man had just pampered her the way that he had and turned her spirits around—my heart couldn’t take much more.
I was dying to know what had happened. Gracie had been upset when I’d stepped outside to take that call and now these two seemed to be fast friends, so I assumed she’d shared something with him.
“Links is right,” I said, over my laughter. “But Daddy is going to be a little annoyed, seeing as he has that whole spending rule.”
Lincoln’s head snapped in my direction. “What kind of rule?”
“I’m only allowed to get her presents under ten dollars on our outings unless it’s her birthday or Christmas.”
“When’s your birthday?” Lincoln asked her as he scrubbed a hand over the scruff on his jaw.