“He loves me, Kai, and I really, really love him.”
“Then, I do too,” I tell her, kissing her cheek.
Lea smiles, the smile I love to see. The smile that tells me she is truly happy, and that’s all I’ve wanted for her. “Shoes. We need shoes so we can go.”
“Shoes,” I repeat.
She trots from my bedroom on her toes, wearing a dress like the one I have one, except it’s off-white, more bride-like. My conscience is screaming jealousy, but I’m supposed to be the watcher and protector. I just don’t know what my life will be like when someone else is responsible for taking care of Lea. I’ll just have me to take care of, and it sounds kind of lonely. I hadn’t considered the point in our lives when that would happen, and I’ve purposely kept myself from dating to make sure I didn’t get caught up with some guy and lose sight of what’s important in my life.
A pair of nude shoes are tossed into my bedroom. “Come on, let’s go!”
I slip the shoes on and grab my clutch from the bed, catching my reflection in the mirror one last time before leaving the room. A small smile threatens my lips, admiring a person I hardly recognize.There’s still time for me.
Chapter Five
Denver
“Are you sure you don’t mind watching Aya tonight, Mrs. Hale?” I ask Noa’s mom, who graciously offered to babysit for me.
“Oh goodness, no, of course I don’t mind. It’s been quite a while since I’ve had such a cute face in this house,” she says, with a menacing smile targeted at Noa.
“Thanks, Ma,” Noa replies.
Aya seems a little shy, and I feel guilty for leaving her after just arriving today, but Noa wants to go over more specs for the job he’s giving me, and I can’t exactly say no. I kneel in front of her and pull her into my chest. “You sure you’re okay?”
“Dad, I’m fine,” she assures me.
“We’re just going to have a little dinner, and then I’ll take her to the hotel, so she doesn’t have to stay up late tonight. If I’m not mistaken, there’s a putt-putt course over there, and I think we can keep ourselves busy for a while.” Aya’s eyes light up a bit when Mrs. Hale mentions putt-putt, so I’m hoping that will ease her discomfort. I’ve known Mrs. Hale for years, but I haven’t seen her since Noa left Oahu. She visited him there a lot, and he would bring me here to visit her when we had paid time off. The woman can cook, and I’d pay any amount of money to hop on a plane for a good home-cooked meal. I’m betting Mrs. Hale will win over Aya’s heart with dinner alone tonight.
“Aya, do you know I was at the hospital the very day you were born? Your dad even allowed me to snuggle with you for a minute,” Mrs. Hale coos. “You were the cutest baby in that hospital, and the tiniest.” Mrs. Hale says with an innocent laugh. Aya was born a month premature, so she was in the hospital for quite a while until we could get her weight up. She sure was beautiful—still is.
“You were?” Aya asks.
“Of course! It’s not every day you get to see someone live their first day on earth. When Noa told me you’d arrived, I couldn’t help myself.” It was nice having Mrs. Hale there that day since my parents couldn’t make the trek. The flights were impossible without notice, so they didn’t arrive until four days after she was born. “In any case, it’s wonderful to see how grown up you look and that you are still just as beautiful today as you were then.”
“Thank you,” Aya says with a coy smile.
“Okay, why don’t you boys go on. Aya and I will be just fine, right, honey?”
“We’ll be just fine,” Aya repeats. She’s being truthful. I can see it in her eyes.
I lean forward and give her a kiss on the forehead. “Have a fun time, sweet pea,” I tell her.
“You too,” she says. “Don’t forget what we talked about earlier.”
I can’t help the look of confusion on my face because I don’t recall what we were talking about earlier. Aya doesn’t exactly stop talking so pinpointing one subject matter throughout the course of a day is nearly impossible with her. “Could you remind me of what that was?”
She leans forward, cups her hand around my ear and whispers, “Find me a babysitter than can turn into a mom at some point.”
Her words land in my ear like sparks from a fire. I completely forgot about that conversation. “Right, I’m on it,” I tell her with a raised eyebrow. I know she doesn’t understand how difficult her request is, but I don’t want to take away her hope.
Noa and Mrs. Hale are looking at us with question, likely wondering what Aya had to remind me about. It’s not something either of them needs to know about, though. “It’s a secret,” I mouth to them over Aya’s shoulder.
I press myself up from my knees and stretch my arms over my head. “Ready when you are,” I tell Noa.
“Alrighty then, we’ll see you back at the hotel later, Ma. Thanks again,” Noa says.
By time we’re settled in Noa’s truck, I have more questions about this job brewing in my head. “I’ve heard running a restaurant is like two full-time jobs. How are you managing that and planning a wedding? It’s gotta be a lot.”
