Melanie shook her head a little.
‘I mean it, kiddo. You know where the key is. Go get it, chuck it in the oven at a low temp for a couple of hours, to make sure it defrosts properly and heats all the way through. You know how much you love my lasagnes.’
‘I do, but I can’t take your food.’
‘Oh Mel, I’ll let you in on a little secret.’
Melanie waited.
‘I actually hate lasagne. I literally only make it because you love it. So you’d be doing me a favour, I swear.’
Melanie laughed. ‘Okay, okay. You’re the best, Sissi.’
‘Nope, you are.’
‘I miss you.’
‘I miss you, too. So much. I’ll be home in a couple of days.’
Something in Aiden’s chest seemed to flap around. Or hollow out. He couldn’t say for sure, only it was a new experience and he didn’t like it. At all.
‘Okay.’ Melanie waved. ‘Byeee. Love you.’
‘I love you, too, honey. See you soon.’
She disconnected the call and sat with her elbows braced on her knees, staring out at the ocean for a few beats. Aiden took a step, to go over to her, but then heard the ringing of her phone. Not like it was receiving a call, but rather, as though she were making a FaceTime call.
‘Yeah?’ A man’s face filled the screen. Aiden sought cover behind the ficus again – a somewhat ridiculous proposition given his size and frame, and the narrowness of the tree. He might as well try hiding behind a toothpick.
‘Cory, you need to go shopping.’
‘What?’ The dude sounded like he’d just woken up. Aiden peered from between two thick, luscious green leaves, trying to get a clearer view of the man Sienna had dated seriously enough to consider his daughter her step-daughter.
‘You have no food in the house.’
‘Did Melanie call and tell you that?’ he muttered.
‘Not in so many words. She covered your ass, like she always does. But it was pretty obvious that she’s starving. God, Cory. It’s not brain surgery to go to the goddamned store and get your kid some fresh food. Hell, write a list, stick it on the fridge with a twenty and get Melanie to go shopping.’
‘Can you give it a fucking break? I’ve just woken up, I’ve got a killer headache?—’
She snorted. ‘Are you hungover?’
‘What the hell do you care?’
He saw her shoulder blades shift as if she were rolling her head a little, trying to relax. ‘I care about Melanie, and you know that.’
‘She’s not your kid.’
He wished for a thousand things in that moment. To see Sienna’s face, to know how she was feeling. To be there with her, a protective arm around her shoulders. To reach through the screen and knock some sense into the other guy. The last one was why he stayed stock still, where he was, camouflaged by a tree.
‘No, but she’s yours. Start acting like you give a damn, or you’re going to lose her.’
‘Is that a threat?’
‘She’s old enough to start realising what a loser you are. Don’t give her a reason to run away.’
‘She’d never.’
