“Okay. Emma and I are going to make you a surprise dinner!”
He smiled at her warmly, his gaze flicking my way. “Is that so?”
I nodded. “Hadley got to pick the dinner for tonight.”
Aiden quickly looked away from me and back down to his daughter. “I can’t wait to find out what it is.”
Hadley giggled as he placed her back on the stool. “Eat up, pumpkin. Have a good day at school.”
“Bye, Daddy!”
Aiden grabbed his keys and turned to me, offering an awkward smile. “Have a good day, Emma.” Then he quickly made his way out the door.
I looked at the counter—and immediately spotted his lunch.
“Oh! He forgot his lunch. Be right back, Hadley.”
The little girl was shoving pancakes in her mouth and completely ignored me.
“Aiden! Wait! You forgot your lunch.”
Walking at a pace that bordered on running, Aiden jumped into his truck. He shut the door and started the vehicle. Before he could drive off, I knocked on the window and held up the lunch bag.
For a moment, I wasn’t sure if he was going to roll down the window, but he finally did.
“You forgot your lunch,” I said with a slight chuckle.
“My lunch?” he asked, his face contorted in confusion. My, oh, my, even looking bewildered, the man was cute as all get out.
Nodding, I replied, “Yeah. I packed you and Hadley both a lunch.”
He looked from the lunch to me, then back to the lunch. “A lunch? You packed me a lunch.”
Laughing, I pushed it into the truck. “Youdoeat lunch, right?”
Aiden’s eyes met mine, and he nodded. “You don’t have to make me a lunch, Emma.”
I shrugged. “Iwantedto make you one. I was already making Hadley’s, so it was no problem. I also wondered if you had any errands you needed me to do today. You didn’t mention anything.”
Shaking his head, he replied, “No. Just…take care of anything that has to do with Hadley.”
My teeth dug into my lip as I nodded absently, wondering how I’d fill my days while Hadley was in school. “Okay. Um…a mom I met at the grocery store yesterday invited me to coffee after morning drop-off. Is that okay? I thought it might be important to get to know some of the other parents.”
He raked a hand through his hair in clear frustration. “Who?”
“Tammy Miller?”
A look of relief washed over his face. “Tammy is a great person. Her husband’s a biologist who works for the park.”
“Good. So it’s okay if I go? I won’t be there long.”
Aiden looked away from me and answered, “Sure. You should do whatever you want while Hadley’s in school.”
He put the truck in gear, and I reached in. When I touched his shoulder, he jerked away.
I quickly pulled my hand back. “Aiden, did I do something wrong? Something you’re not happy with? I only got Hadley ready for bed last night because you weren’t home, and if you wanted to wake her up this morning, I’m so sorry. It’s just, your mother said sometimes you leave early, before she’s even up, and I wasn’t sure if you were even still home. It’s…I…” I sighed. “I get the feeling I’ve done something that’s made you unhappy.”
He looked at me, his jaw clenched tight before he finally spoke. “I’m sorry I stayed out so late last night and wasn’t hereto let you know how things go in the morning. It was a crap thing for me to do, and I’m just mad at myself for it.”
