Piper came up shortly after. “Hey, Mom, why are you out of your car?”
“Hi, guys. Um, actually, I met Aston—you know, from the other day? We had coffee and we ran late, so he brought me over here.”
“Aston?” Piper waggled her eyebrows at me.
It was a little startling. I didn’t think she’d be doing that until she was much older.
“What kind of car does he have?” Typical Tyler.
“You know what? I don’t even know. It’s an SUV, but I don’t know what kind.”
Tyler gave me an annoyed look. “Mom, you need to pay attention to these things.”
“You’re right. Totally right,” I said as I slung my arm around him. When we stopped next to the black beast, I said, “Here it is.”
“Mom, it’s a Range Rover,” Piper whispered. “That’s a fancy car.”
I nodded, letting her know I heard her.
Was I shocked it was fancy? Of course not.
“Hi,” Tyler said, jumping in the back seat.
“Mr. Prescott,” I said quickly, correcting my son, and Aston gave me a quick glare.
“It’s Aston, just Aston.”
“Hi,” Piper said with less excitement, sliding in next to her brother.
As soon as I was seated, Aston pulled away from the curb and drove toward my house.
“What about your car, Mom?” Piper asked, never one to miss out on details.
“I’m going to send someone to get it,” Aston said, answering for me.
I watched Piper’s brow furrow in the rearview.
“Who?” she asked. “Who would do that? Get our car?”
“One of my guys, someone who works for me,” Aston said matter-of-factly. He was going to have to adjust to the way my kids had been raised. I hoped he didn’t expect to turn “Pipe” into a spoiled brat.
“Well, I can make them cookies,” Piper said. “I’m going to bake when I get home.”
That’s my girl. She’ll never be a brat.
Aston glanced at the kids in the rearview mirror. “I’m sure they’d like that. Baking sounds like fun. Since you’re busy, Tyler, do you want to come with me to the arcade? I need to take Little A there, but he’s a handful, and I need some help chasing him around.”
“Mom! Can I, Mom?”
I could feel Tyler’s excitement vibrating all the way from the back seat. “As long as you do your homework as soon as you’re back.”
“Yes! Yes, I will.”
With that, we pulled up in front of my house, and both kids bolted inside to grab a snack. By the time I got out of the car, Aston was in front of me. His warm palm came to my hip, steadying me.
“It’s going to be fine.” His lips tickled my ear as he whispered his words just for me. With his index finger, he pushed a stray hair behind my ear, then kissed my cheek as he said again, “Bex, it’s going to be fine.”
“I don’t know,” I said, shaking my head. “This is like some weird dream I’m living in, and now it feels like it’s turning into a nightmare.”
