Aelin tried to draw a full breath as she found Bailey in the second row. The kids were dressed in white shirts and black pants or skirts, each sporting a colourful sash or tie. Bailey had been insistent that she needed red, and she’d gone to Walmart late the night before to pick up a scarf.
The kids fidgeted, whispering to each other and adjusting their outfits. One boy with a cowlick was trying to smooth down his hair, while a girl next to him giggled and pointed at her little sister in the crowd.
There were two people between Bailey and Amaya, but they leaned forward, talking to each other anyway. Aelin couldn’t help but grin at that. All she wanted in the world was for people to love Bailey as much as she did.
A few minutes later, the music started, a blend of classic choir pieces and a few contemporary songs. The children's voices filled the room. Not entirely on key or rhythm, but all she could see was the joy on their faces as their mouths rounded into tall O’s.
Between songs, she glanced over at Ryan. His attention was fixed on Amaya, a contented smile still hanging on his lips. He lookednicesitting like that. Like a nice man. A nice dad. Someone who wouldn’t take his daughter to a hotel so he could hook up with some woman he met on Hinge.
Aelin sighed and settled in for the final number. She perked up when she saw Amaya step down from her riser and walk across the stage to the microphone. She waited for her choir teacher to adjust it, then stood straight, her hands at her sides.
The music swelled, and she sang the opening stanzas, her voice clear and strong. When she finished her part, she retreated back to stand with the rest of the choir, grinning from ear to ear at her dad in the crowd.
Aelin didn’t know whether she wanted to rage text Clark orstart crying. Would Bailey ever have an experience like that? If Clark had deigned to show up for this, he sure as hell wouldn’t have been looking at his daughter like that. Unless he knew someone was watching.
When the applause died down, and the lights went up, Aelin wound her way through the crowd and into the hall. She spotted Bailey and Amaya lined up a few feet ahead, hugging their friends and glowing with post-performance adrenaline.
She stepped up to them, flowers in hand, realizing she hadn’t paid attention to whether Ryan had flowers already.
Bailey’s eyes lit up. She took one of the bouquets and handed it to Amaya, somehow understanding exactly why she’d brought them.
“You girls sounded amazing up there,” she said. Bailey beamed at her. “And Amaya, your solo? Perfect.”
Amaya's cheeks turned pink, and she clutched the bouquet to her chest. "Thanks." The girls turned to chat and take pictures with other friends. Aelin glanced around at the other parents. It was always moments like this where she felt the most alone.
When Bailey was little, she’d met other moms at park groups and found a couple friends in the neighbourhood. Once she and Clark split, all those poker night and wine-tasting invitations dried up. She spent more time with her married sister-in-law than she did her friends of the past six years. Ironic.
“Thanks for the flowers.” Ryan’s voice sounded next to her, and she turned, her pulse kicking into second gear.
“Oh. No problem. I was stopping anyway, and I knew Bailey would love that I got Amaya some too.” Aelin straightened and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Ryan’s friends were still back in the auditorium. She spotted the baseball cap.
“Uncles?” Aelin nodded to them.
Ryan shook his head. “Friends from my hockey team.”
Aelin’s eyes widened. “They came to your daughter’s grade four concert?”
He shrugged. “We’re a family.”
A large group passed through the middle of the hallway, and Ryan moved in closer to avoid getting caught in the tide. His hand pressed against the wall next to her, and suddenly all she could feel was the heat of his body, the scent of that sea breeze body wash.
He moved back when the coast was clear, and Aelin prayed her face wasn’t beet red. Because her thighs were. Her body didn’t care, apparently, that this man had a very nice, very practical wedding band on his left hand.
She straightened her shirt. “Hey, so I wondered if we could talk about that thing.”That thing?The sentence she’d just blurted was nowhere close to the verbiage she’d rehearsed in the shower earlier.
His brow pinched.
“About summer childcare. What Amaya said at the trampoline place.”
Ryan exhaled. “Right. Sorry about that. She has no filter between her head and her mouth.”
Aelin stilled, her mind scrambling. So, he hadn’t considered it. Or wasn’t considering it. Or thought it was a mistake Amaya had said it in the first place? He’d seemed a little embarrassed, but she’d thought that was only because his daughter had practically made the suggestion over a loud speaker in a public space.
“Oh, right. No, I understand.” She turned her head, searching for Bailey, but before she could make her escape, Ryan stopped her with a hand on her elbow.
Her arm lit up like she’d been sitting with her cord dangling and he’d suddenly plugged her into an outlet.
“Were you interested?”
