Lia hesitates, peeking over at me, like she doesn’t know which answer is the right one.
“You’re welcome anytime,” I say.
Her smile is small, but it hits me hard. It’s the kind that sneaks up on you, then settles deep into her chest before you realize what’s happening. I haven’t felt this particular ache in years.
“Sure, I’d like that,” Lia finally says.
“Yessss,” Amber hisses as she releases my hand and grabs Lia’s. “Come on, we can get your shoes turned in over here.”
I watch as the two of them walk away from me, hand in hand, and for a split second a different version of my life flashes through my mind.
One where Amber isn’t growing up in a house that’s too quiet. One where warmth fills the gaps I’ve learned to live around. One where my daughter has another Omega to share her thoughts and feelings with; who can help her navigate the terrain of her designation that I find myself failing at time and time again.
I don’t chase the thought as I pick up my own shoes and follow behind them.
But I don’t push it away either.
“You know,” I say, turning in my shoes and slipping into my regular ones, “I’m sure Walker wouldn’t mind you using one of his kitchens at the vineyard.”
“He mentioned that. He really owns a vineyard?” she asks.
I chuckle as the three of us slip out of the bowling alley. I hold the door open for my girls. Well, not mine, but?—
“Honeysuckle Vineyard is his,” I follow them out into the bright spring sun and have to squint my eyes for a moment. “It was one of the first businesses established when Honeysuckle Grove was founded. His family’s always owned it.”
“Wow.”
“I bet he wouldn’t mind you using one of his kitchens. He’s got, like, two or three different ones over there.”
“Why so many?”
Amber and I walk Lia to her car. “Well, he’s got a restaurant on the grounds, and he also does these wine tours and tastings that come with snacks when the seasons are nice enough. I can give him a call for you, if you’d like. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind giving up one of his kitchens for a few hours every day, if you need a larger space to bake.”
“I don’t know…”
She unlocks her car door and I reach down, opening the door for her. “Do you trust me?”
Those brilliant green eyes meet mine and she searches my face for a while. “I don’t trust anyone.”
That’s fair. “Will you give me a chance to build that trust, then?”
She nibbles on her lower lip while she thinks. “You sure he won’t be upset or anything?”
Not with you. “Never.”
She finally dips down into her car. “Lunch first. Let me think about it.”
“Can I ride with Lia?” my daughter asks. “Pleeeease?”
I open my mouth to tell her not today, but Lia beats me to the punch. “If it’s all right with your father, it’s all right with me.”
“Pleeeease, Daddy?” Amber asks as she holds her hands together beneath her chin. “Please, please, please, please, please?”
I chuckle as I ruffle my daughter’s hair. “Buckle up, princess, okay?”
“Yayyy!”
I open the passenger door for my daughter, and I make sure she gets buckled in. Then I make my way to my vehicle while Lia waits for me to get into position. As I slip behind the wheel of my van, I fish my cell phone out of my pocket. When we all gave our numbers to Lia a few days back, me and the guys also exchanged numbers ourselves, just in case.
