“Cutting it all off, Min. I swear.” Jake tried to pry his hair from his daughter’s chubby fingers to no avail.
“You’ll be sexy either way.” Minji hoped he wouldn’t carry through with his threat. She liked his hair long. It did give him a sexy Viking vibe.
“So where are the parental units?” Jake’s voice only had a hint of his Swedish accent. It mingled with a Texan one, which many found charming.
“Your parents found their gate, so they’ll be heading to New York within the hour. My parents are alive according to my mom.”
“It’s a long drive back to Texas.” Jake shook his head. “She’s only going to get more dramatic.”
“They have scheduled stops at hotels. It’ll be fine. She’ll have time to swig beers and chill out.”
“We’ll be home before they are. Your mom does realize how silly that is, right?”
“Do you really think us arriving first would be enough to persuade her to get onto a flying deathtrap?” Minji grinned at the thought of her mother being dragged onto a plane. “Not gonna happen.”
“What’s a deathtrap?” Ava asked.
“What your grandmother thinks planes are,” Jake replied.
That answer satisfied the little girl. Ava held out her sheet of tattoos, obviously bored with the subject of her grandparents. “I want another one, Daddy, but it won’t fit. Can I put the tattoo on my other arm?”
“Ava, I told you one arm only.” Jake ruffled her red curls affectionately.
“But that’s dumb.”
Minji agreed, but Jake was firm about laying down rules for Ava. She was their first child and they tended to be overindulgent with her. After several public temper tantrums, they’d agreed to be stricter and not give her everything she wanted. Jake had even implemented a new gold star and points system at home so she could earn privileges. It was working, but sometimes it was hard. Ava was an incredibly charming child who knew exactly how to manipulate her parents.
“Are you saying I’m dumb?” Jake tilted his head and gazed down at his little girl with a stern look.
“No, Daddy. I just want more tattoos.” Ava’s small fingers scrunched the paper.
“Well, after your bath tonight, we’ll put on new ones for tomorrow. So put those away.” Jake tugged on the strap of Ava’s Disney Mulan backpack when the little girl scowled. “Put them away, Ava.”
Reluctantly, she obeyed.
Leaning toward Minji, Jake winked at her. “See. A firm hand works.”
Her husband’s kiss tasted minty and the light scruff on his jawline rubbed against her palms when she cupped his face. The grandparents had taken the kids off their hands for one night during their vacation and they had taken full advantage of a kid-free suite. They were both still glowing and exhausted from their epic sex marathon the night before. Minji would have loved another evening alone with her husband, but the grandparents had been scheduled to depart two days before Minji and her fam
ily would return to Austin.
“We’ll do this again,” Jake said, appearing to read her mind. “Next time, we’ll leave the girls with your brother.”
“I want to come back!” Ava protested. “I like it here.”
Minji played with one of Bailey’s chubby feet while Jake slung the diaper bag strap over on shoulder. The baby gurgled, her eyes bright with glee. Out of the corner of Minji’s eye, she saw Ava’s frown that was so reminiscent of her father’s when he was not happy.
Jake made sure the bag was secure, then said, “We’ll do another family vacation next year, Ava, but sometimes Mommy and Daddy need time away.”
Ava rolled her eyes. Bailey slurped on her chubby fingers.
Though Jake and Minji had urged their parents to get out and explore the city with them, the grandparents had spent most of their visit in the faux Venice on The Venetian side wandering in and out of shops, taking gondola rides, and eating under a fake sky with painted clouds. Now that the grandparents had departed, Jake and Minji were anxious to visit the other casinos and see what else the city in the desert had to offer. Jake tugged his smart phone from one of the many pockets decorating his cargo shorts and pulled up the list he had compiled over breakfast.
“Okay, what are we doing first?” Minji asked.
“Tigers!” Ava clapped her hands, the tattoos forgotten.
“Let me see where that is,” Jake muttered.