Ellis looks at her. “Really?”
“Yup. And I used to name them all.”
Ellis glances down at her rocks. “I think I have too many rocks to name them all.”
Chuckling, I cross my arms over my chest where I’m standing in the kitchen. “I think I have to agree with that, sweetie.”
“What did you name them?” Ellis asks Vienna, ignoring me, which is fine. Honestly, watching the two of them chat is plenty entertaining. Besides, it gives me more time to admire Vienna’s smile and laugh.
Fuck. I’m in over my head here, aren’t I?
Yup. And if Laney were here, she’d point it out right in front of your neighbor you can’t stop thinking about.
Needing a distraction, I turn back to the sink full of dishes and lather up the sponge with soap. Before I can pick up a dish, though, Vienna shrieks from the table. “Oh God!”
My instincts kick in and I drop the items from my hands, crossing the room in a flash only to find Vienna standing up, her entire stomach and lap covered in water and Ellis looking terrified.
“What happened?” I ask.
“I—I spilled,” Ellis says through her tears as she throws down her paintbrush and takes off for her room, crying louder until I hear her door slam shut.
“Shit,” Vienna says, standing there as colored water dribbles from her clothes onto the floor. “Give me a towel, Rhonan. Please?”
I dart into the laundry room, grab a clean towel from the basket on the washer, and then rush it back over to Vienna. She dabs at her clothes, not saying a word, then wraps the towel around her and takes off down the hall.
“What the… Where are you going?” I call after her, but she ignores me.
“Ellis?” I follow her as she knocks softly on my daughter’s door, opening it and stepping into her room just a few seconds later. “Ellis?”
“I—I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make a mess,” Ellis says through her tears.
Vienna drops to her knees on the side of Ellis’s bed, reaching for her hands. “Honey, I know. I’m so sorry I yelled, but I was not yelling at you. Not one bit.”
“Really?”
Vienna brushes Ellis’s hair from her face. “Yes, sweetie. I was just surprised. The water was cold and it made me jump, but it was an accident. Accidents happen.”
“I ruined your shirt and pants.”
Vienna shrugs, but there’s a smile on her lips. “They’re just clothes, and I can wash them. If that doesn’t work, I just buy new ones. No biggie.” Ellis nods, but her eyes remain locked on her lap. “Now, can you come back out so we can finish painting rocks, please?”
Ellis lifts her eyes, meeting Vienna’s before meeting my own. “Can—can Daddy paint with us?”
Vienna twists to face me, and when our gazes lock, this sudden urge to rush over to her, pull her from the floor, and smash my lips to hers overwhelms me.
This woman was more concerned over my daughter’s feelings than her clothes. She wanted to make sure that Ellis knew that what happened was an accident, andthatwas her first reaction to what happened—not to scream and yell, not to rush home to change.
No. She was entirely focused on making sure my kid was all right.
Yeah. I am well and truly fucked.
Clearing my throat, I nod. “I can paint some rocks.”
Ellis’s smile reappears, and fuck if it doesn’t make everything else going wrong in the world feel small. She leaps from her bed, and grabsVienna by the hand, pulling her past me as the two of them laugh and head right back to the kitchen. Once I return to the room, I find Vienna pulling her towel off and dropping it to the floor, sopping up the remaining water.
“Daddy, can you get us more water, please?” Ellis asks.
I reach for the plastic container. “Yeah, sweetie. But let’s not fill it up as much this time, okay?”
