I look up at Mason and see him hiding his laughter. He knows I don’t tell her no. Not something silly like this.
“Of course I will share, but do you think you could eat all my pineapple?” I ask her.
She smiles. “It’s my favorite part.”
“Good. We have a deal then?”
She nods. “Deal.” Then she turns to Olivia. “Mommy, Uncle Max said he would share with me so can I get my pizza.”
Olivia shakes her head at me with a smile. “Sure, baby.”
I look over to Iris. “What did I miss?”
“Liv told her she couldn’t have a whole pizza to herself.”
“Oh. I’m glad I said yes then.” I smile down at the beaming six-year-old.
“You don’t know how to say no, do you?” Iris teases.
I look her right in her eyes. “Not when it’s for one of my two favorite girls.”
“Oh? And who is your other favorite girl?”
I think she is flirting with me. It’s exhilarating. I feel excitement in my blood as I wink at her.
“Only the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met.”
She blushes as Ari cuts into our conversation.
“Daddy says Mommy is the most beautiful woman.”
We laugh at her comment. The innocence of a little girl is something special.
I open the door for both of my girls as I hear Iris talk to Ari.
“To your daddy, your mommy is the most beautiful woman in the world, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Do you know what that means?” she asks.
“No,” Ari replies.
“It means that each person has different ideas of what beautiful is. Your mom is beautiful, but to Uncle Max, she isn’t the most beautiful woman in the world because the woman he loves will be that for him.”
Ari turns to me. “Do you think Aunt Iris is the most beautiful woman in the world?”
I smile at the blush on Iris’s face.
“She is. Just like you are the most beautiful little girl in the world.”
I tickle her, making her giggle. It breaks the tension between Iris and me as she sorts out getting us a table.
“Do you love Aunt Iris?” Ari whispers to me.
“I do, but shh. I haven’t told her yet.”
Ari nods seriously. “It’s our secret.”
I hope not for long.
Chapter
