Her lower lip protruded. "Mom made me."
I chuckled as I stepped inside. "Yeah, moms do that sometimes."
"What do moms do?" Angela asked as she approached with a smile, taking the pizza box from my hands.
"Make you get dressed and take showers. Brush teeth. Stuff like that."
Angela rolled her eyes. "Imagine that. What tyrants."
Ayla skipped into the kitchen. "It's holiday break. I should wear my pj's the entire time."
Angela sighed. "Ugh. No."
I got the plates while she opened the box.
She plated the slices, and we sat at the counter to eat.
"How was work?" Angela asked me.
"Got a lot of the pipe removed." Should I mention that Bill stopped by? I didn't want to upset her, especially when she was supposed to be taking a break.
"I'm excited that work is finally started."
"It won't be long now until you're back in your place."
"I hope you're right."
"Anytime you open up walls, you could run into something but I'm hoping for an easy fix," I said, taking a large bite of pizza. "How's the online shop coming?"
"I had a few more sales, and I'm still adding more products to the site. It's slow going but gives me something to focus on while the shop is closed."
It was important to her that she stay busy, and I could understand that. "The store will be open soon."
Ayla set the crust down on her plate. "Can we watch a movie?"
"If our guest wants to," Angela prodded.
Ayla turned her brown eyes on me. "You want to watch a movie with me?"
My lips twitched. "Of course."
She hopped off the stool. "I'll go look for one."
"Before you run off, clear your dish, please," Angela said.
Ayla's nose pinched, but she grabbed the plate and rinsed it in the sink before placing it in the dishwasher.
"Thank you," Angela said before Ayla ran into the living room. "Do you know what you're getting yourself into?"
I raised a brow. "A princess movie?"
A smile spread over her face. "It's very possible."
"I've been looking forward to this all day." Was it weak to admit that? There was something about being in my old house where Angela and Ayla lived that was satisfying.
An emotion flicked over Angela's face too quickly for me to place it. "You might regret your decision."
"I highly doubt that." I pushed the lever for the garbage with my foot, dumping my leftover crusts into the can.
