At that point, tears poured down Kaiya’s face. She felt bad that her daughter had been tormented by such thoughts.
Tyler cuddled his weeping daughter in his arms. “Pumpkin, nobody will take you away from me. All Kaiya wants is to get to know you. She doesn’t want to take you away from me.”
“Sweetie, I promise that I have no intention of taking you away from your daddy. Why, he has done such a good job raising you. The thought never crossed my mind. All I want is to get to know you if that’s okay with you?”
Raising her head from her father’s arms, she nodded and sniffed. “I’m sorry I was rude to you all day. I thought that if I was that way to you, you wouldn’t want to take me away.”
Kaiya, understanding why her daughter had been bratty all day, nodded. “I understand, Lili. I promise I’ll never take you away from your dad or your grandma.”
Lili left her father’s arms to give her mother a tight hug. Tears continued to pour down Kaiya’s face as she ensconced her daughter in a bear hug. Tyler looked on with a smile on his face.
When they both put their emotions in control and wiped away their tears, Kaiya explained to her daughter as gently as possible the reason she hadn’t been in her life. Lili had many questions, and Kaiya answered them as honestly as she could.
Tyler cut in softly, “Pumpkin, if it’s okay with you, Kaiya would love to spend some time with you.”
Kaiya lifted her head with surprise. She loved the idea even though they hadn’t discussed it prior. Just then, Tyler lifted his head and gave her a questioning gaze as if asking if his suggestion was okay.
Kaiya nodded and gave him a bright smile of gratitude.
Lili shrugged. “Okay.” Then she focused her gaze on her mother and said, “I’m allergic to nuts.”
“Got that.” Kaiya made gestures with her hand as if opening her brain and throwing the piece of information in it.
Lili giggled.
Tyler continued talking to his daughter into getting used to Kaiya being around in their lives from now on. Kaiya watched them with love in her eyes. She loved how gentle he was with their little girl and suddenly longed to be a part of their lives permanently and forever.
After having a tea party with Lili, it was time for Kaiya to go home. She was sorry that such a beautiful day was coming to an end, but there wasn’t much she could do about it. It made her yearn for them to be a family.
***
When they dropped her off at home, Kaiya invited them in. Lili was more than eager to see her home, which she thought was super cool. Kaiya was just thankful that her daughter didn’t hate her anymore.
“You’ve got cats,” the little girl crooned when she set her eyes on Sir and Lady. Then she bestowed her dad with a knowing look. “See? There’s no harm in having cats, Daddy.”
Tyler chuckled. “Only if you can take care of them.”
Lili gave him a face, which made both parents laugh. Lili joyfully played with the cats that enjoyed being stroked, and then Kaiya put on some music and moved her body to the rhythm. Tyler and Lili later joined her, and they all had a fun time dancing.
The beautiful day concluded with aCinderellaDisney movie that they all watched cuddled together on Kaiya’s super soft new couch.
“Oh, she’s asleep,” Kaiya noticed when the movie credits rolled in.
“She had a super fun day,” Tyler commented, cradling his daughter in his arms.
Kaiya bit her bottom lip. “I know this is super sudden, but why don’t you both spend the night? I have a spare bed and this couch. I don’t think it would be fair rousing her and taking her home. It’s quite late.”
After a moment’s hesitation, Tyler agreed with a small shrug. Happily, Kaiya left to prepare her old room for her daughter. Tyler carried the little girl into the room, and Kaiya tucked her in.
They came back into the living room and settled on the couch. Kaiya fiddled with the remote control.
“Do you want to watch a movie?” Kaiya asked when the tensed silence had gone on long enough between them.
“No, I have something better in mind,” Tyler said hoarsely and dragged her into his arms. He made her straddle him and captured her lips with his.
“Gosh, I’ve been longing to do that all day,” he confessed, smiling and reaching for her zip. “When that lady painted a frog on my face, all I could think of was getting you to kiss me so that I could become your prince charming.”
Kaiya laughed. She wanted nothing more than to cap the day off with great sex, but she was worried. She stopped Tyler’s hands. His brows hit his forehead.
