Aelin pulled their copy of Little House on the Prairie from Bailey’s bag. “We’re reading this one. Do you want to hear a chapter?”
Amaya nodded, then settled herself on the edge of the bed. Ryan dropped to the floor in front of her, and she pulled out his elastic. It looked like a choreographed routine, so smooth and practiced. Amaya separated his hair into halves, then started a French braid on one side.
“Mom?” Bailey tapped her shoulder.
She cleared her throat. “Right, sorry.” Aelin opened the book to chapter four and started reading. She instantly regretted her decision when she remembered she’d started the book usingdifferent voices for each character and now had to maintain that level of performance for triple the audience.
Her cheeks flushed when she dropped her voice for Pa. When she finished the chapter, she set the book down and turned to Bailey’s bed fast enough, she didn’t have to meet Ryan’s gaze.
Aelin kneeled, tucking the blanket under Bailey’s chin. "Sweet dreams, babe." She smoothed the hair off her forehead, then turned to Amaya. “Goodnight.”
The loft was warm and cozy, the soft glow from the kitchen light filtering through the rails on the far wall. Ryan stood and planted a kiss on Amaya’s forehead, his hair elastic on his wrist.
Aelin turned and descended the stairs. She walked into the kitchen, hunting for something to do so she could look busy when Ryan came downstairs. What happened next? All day, they’d had things to keep them busy. Distracted. Now it was just the two of them in a very quiet, very dreamy cabin.
Ryan padded across the living room and leaned against the counter. He pulled the wash rag from the sink and wet it under the faucet, then wiped down the kitchen table. As he replaced it, he asked, "You okay?"
Aelin nodded. "Of course. Why?"
Ryan tapped his finger on the counter. “Uh, you haven’t looked at me in approximately three hours?” He exhaled. “Just . . . wanted to make sure I didn’t do something?—”
“You didn’t do anything.” She placed a soap tab in the dishwasher, and her hand shook as she pressed start and closed the door. “It’s been a busy day.” She forced her chin up and met his eyes head-on.
Her stomach felt like it had just been thrown in the blender. She let out a soft “hmm” then turned and opened the cupboards. “Looks like you got everything on the list. Thank you for doing that, by the way.”
“Of course.”
She felt like she’d just slammed an espresso. “Mmkay, I’m going to?—”
“I thought I’d make some tea. You want some?”
Aelin paused, forcing her lungs to expand.No.She should say no and disappear into the bedroom until the girls were awake and she could have anything else to look at besides him. “Sure.”
He rounded the counter, and his hand grazed her hip as she sucked in her stomach and moved past him to take his spot at the counter. He filled the kettle and pulled out the new box of tea bags.Peppermint.
Aelin swallowed hard.
After turning on the gas burner, Ryan turned to face her and leaned against the counter. “What if this is about us?”
Aelin’s heart stalled in her chest. “Hmm?”
He folded his arms. “What if we didn’t want to be two sad people anymore?”
She stared at him like a deer in headlights. What was he talking about? She remembered her depressing monologue at the park, but she was not following this train of thought. Probably because Ryan’s hair was still hitting his shoulders, and his arms looked like they could crush walnuts.
“What would you tell your best friend if she were in your position?” he asked.
Aelin drew a breath and held it. “That she should shave her head, smuggle her daughter out of the country, and never talk to anyone that could get word back to her asshole ex. Especially after seeing how easy it was to get across the border. I could forge a notary stamp.”
Ryan raised an eyebrow, and she exhaled. “Okay, fine. I’d tell her that she’d already wasted twelve years of her life being sad because of said asshole ex. She couldn’t do anything about that now, but she could enjoy the next twelve. What about you?”
Ryan wet his lips. “I’d tell him that . . .” His jaw worked.When he spoke again, his voice was raw. “That I don’t think marriage was meant to be a death sentence.”
Aelin gripped the edge of the counter. “It’s so much easier to give advice than to take it.”
Ryan huffed a laugh as the tea kettle started to whistle. He turned and pulled two mugs from the cupboard and poured boiling water into them.
“You know when I went on that date?” she asked.
