“Yes, baby?”
“I want this picture in the frame I made?” Her daughter handed her a drawing.
Aria gasped. Kelly peeped over her shoulder. The neat drawing resembled a family portrait of her and Prisha. The third person in it, however, had her stumped. “Sweetpea, who’s this?” She pointed to the male figure in the picture.
Prisha neared her, face a solemn mask, and gazed at the figure for a moment before looking up. “It’s Reece, Mommy.”
Her brow creased in surprise. “Reece?”
The little girl nodded. “All my friends have a daddy, and I thought...” she trailed off. Aria read the panic in her daughter’s stare.
“It’s okay, sweetpea.” She ran gentle fingers through her daughter’s hair, then picked her up and set her on the countertop. “Tell me.”
“I thought Reece could be my daddy. He’s so nice, Mommy.”
Her jaw dropped while next to her Kelly sprayed out the sip of coffee she’d taken. Aria turned and scowled at her friend’s ‘I told you so’ gloat. With a deep breath, Aria looked at her daughter, unsure how to explain something that wasn’t likely to happen in a million years. “Sweetheart, Reece is just a friend—”
“Could we please ask him? Please, Mommy?”
Her friend downed her coffee and set the mug on the sink counter. “And there’s my cue to leave. I’ll see you tomorrow.” With a quick kiss to Aria’s cheek, Kelly headed for the door, more like a mad dash.
“Relationships don’t work like that, sweetpea. One day I’ll explain it to you. At the moment, you’re too young to understand. Okay?” she finished with kisses to Prisha’s cheeks, brow, and a tight hug.
Prisha giggled. “Yes.”
Aria picked up her daughter, locked the front door, and then padded down to Prisha’s room. Thoughts of Jay and Reece momentarily forgotten.
Chapter Thirteen
Reece stood at thebottom of the steps leading up to the office. He raked a hand through his hair with a grunt. Like most buildings in Shadow Valley, the large wooden structure sat tight on wooden stilts amid a backdrop of lush green trees covered in snow.
He eyed the box in his hand. Yesterday hadn’t gone as planned. His move to entice Aria was a disaster. Why the fuck was he trying so hard? His cock was doing one helluva job of reminding him just how much he wanted her. Since coming to town, he’d never had so many cold showers. Even though he was a grown-ass man, the woman made him feel like a crazy teenager. He’d never wanted a serious relationship before. Why then was he chasing after Aria? What made her so different? As the answer escaped him, the door opened, and the object of his troubled mind stepped out. Her foot hovered above the first step when she caught sight of him at the bottom.
“Here goes nothing,” Reece muttered under his breath then took the stairs two at a time. He stopped on the wooden deck, a couple of feet away from Aria.
“Hi. I bought you chocolates.” He offered her the chocolates, glad she hadn’t hightailed it back inside.
