She turned to look at the little girl. “Thank you for inviting us for a play date. I’ll see you when you come for classes, cutie.”
“Kaiya, could you please read me a bedtime story?”
“Pumpkin, I don’t think this is a good idea. Kaiya has to get home.”
Chapter 6
Tyler tried in vain to stop the emotion coursing through him as he watched Kaiya read his daughter a bedtime story. He couldn’t believe that he had allowed things to get this far. She didn’t deserve to be there, but for the sake of his daughter, he had no choice but to accommodate it. He was a pushover when it came to his little princess. The lack of a mother in her life was already enough, he didn’t want her to lack anything else. He gave in to most of her wants except one – getting her a cat. As he looked down at his ex and his child he couldn’t help the feelings of contentment flowing through him as the woman who he used to love immensely tucked Lili into bed and placed a kiss on her forehead.
He nodded at her as she brushed past him into the hallway. Tyler walked to the bed and kissed his daughter on her forehead.
“Goodnight, Daddy.”
“Goodnight, Pumpkin. Sleep tight.”
He walked to the door, turned to tenderly smile at her before switching off the light and closing the door quietly.
Silently, he and Lili walked down the spiral staircase. For some reason he couldn’t understand, he didn’t want her to go just yet. He invited her to the living room for coffee. She reluctantly obliged.
Hurrying to the kitchen, he made the coffee, all the while asking himself what he was doing. It would be best for everyone concerned if he went to the living room and told her to go home. But since he had already invited her to stay, there was no going back.
He carried the mugs of coffee to the living room and saw that she had already settled down on the couch. He handed her the mug, careful their hands didn’t touch. He didn’t want any sensation running through him like when he had handed her Lili’s backpack some days ago at the dance school.
Tyler pulled himself down on the couch beside her. They both sipped from their coffee without talking.
“Lili is a special child,” Kaiya broke the silence. “She’s so cute and smart.”
He smiled the only way a parent would when his or her child was being talked about. “Indeed, she is,” he concurred.
“You must be very proud of her,” Kaiya continued shortly. “She’s also a very good dancer. In fact, she’s the best in her class.”
Tyler had mixed reactions hearing that Lili loved to dance. He, however, didn’t say anything but smiled.
“Once she sets her heart on doing something, she goes all the way, giving her best.”
“Just like her father,” she commented with a bright smile on her face.
He shrugged. He would have loved to tell her she got it from her mother, but he didn’t want the conversation to become awkward. Although he still felt that she was nothing but a vain woman, he had to admit that he had had a nice time with her and Milania that day. Keeping his eyes and hands off her had been a great problem for him. Despite her betrayal, he couldn’t keep his body from responding to her. She was gorgeous – still the most gorgeous woman he’d ever set eyes on.
“Why did you change your dream of becoming a professional ballerina into a dance teacher?”
He was surprised when he saw pain race across her face. Did she drop out due to failed exams, inability to cope, or something dark? Perhaps due to regret, remorse, self-recrimination, or what?
She shrugged and said, “Hopes and dreams change all the time. I didn’t become a professional ballerina, but now I can help other little girls accomplish that dream if they want. There’s this satisfaction I get when I see children who couldn’t even take one step without feeling awkward end up dancing as if their lives depend on it; as if they were born dancing. I’m always teary-eyed when it’s graduation day. I might not be doing what I desired to do when I was a teenager, but I’m happy with what I do now.”
Tyler was sorry he had asked the question. He hadn’t known that she would sound so defensive. What did she have to be defensive about anyway? She had made the choice. She had chosen…
Tyler mentally shook his head. This train of thought would only serve to get him infuriated. They had had a pleasant day, and he didn’t want to spoil it by digging up the past.
“What about you? How did you end up owning your own business? According to Finn, you went to the university and are quite self-made with your real estate development company.”
Was that jealousy he heard ringing in her voice, or was he mistaken? Why would she be jealous of him? It didn’t make any sense.
“You asked about me?”
“I didn’t, Kalilah asked while I was with them.”
“After I moved to Vancouver, I enrolled into the university. I…er…I got a scholarship. I studied architecture, got a break, and started my own development company.”
