Giggling, I added, “And so did I.”
“What did you do to have a bestest day?” Hadley asked.
I felt my cheeks heat as Aiden winked. “Well, like I told you earlier, Emma and I are now dating.”
Hadley let out a squeal. “So you’re boyfriend and girlfriend?”
“We are.”
Hadley made a few other little shouts of delight, then went silent. I turned to see a serious expression on her face.
“Will you still be my nanny?”
Before I had a chance to answer, Aiden did. “Emma is still going to take care of you, pumpkin, but she’s not going to be called the nanny anymore.”
I raised my brows. “What am I going to be called?”
Aiden got a wicked smile on his face. “Daddy’s girlfriend.”
Laughing, I shook my head and looked back at Hadley. “I’m still going to be doing everything I did before, sweetheart.”
“I think we should make French toast to celebrate the bestest day.”
Aiden and I both laughed.
“How about we do pizza night?”
Gasping, Hadley asked, “Will you stay and make them with us?”
“I sure will.”
Pumping her fist, she shouted, “Yes! Pizza night!”
* * *
Pizza night was a total success, and by the time I’d popped some popcorn and made some hot chocolate to bring to the family room, Hadley was fast asleep.
“She’s out like a light. You should have seen how hard she was fighting to keep her eyes open.”
I set the tray down on the coffee table. “Poor little thing. It was a busy day.”
Aiden nodded. He lifted Hadley’s head off his lap and moved her so she’d be more comfortable on the sofa. I sat down next to him and handed him a cup of hot chocolate before grabbing mine.
“Let’s toast,” he said.
Smiling, I asked, “To?”
“Us. You, me, Hadley, and the future.”
“I’ll toast to that.”
We clinked the mugs together, and I took a sip. “Gosh, that tastes so good. Hadley doesn’t know what she’s missing.”
Aiden set his mug down after taking a drink. “You look like you’re suddenly deep in thought.”
Drawing my legs to my chest, I rested my chin on my knees. “Since we’re together now, I don’t feel right taking money fromyou any longer. I might have to find a part-time job though. I can’t live in the apartment rent free. I mean, I want to take care of Hadley, but I can’tnotmake money.”
“I’ve already been thinking about that. The other day, Hadley sat down at the piano in her youth class at church and started to play. I still can’t believe how fast she’s catching on. Becca Larson—she’s the Sunday school teacher—asked me who was giving Hadley lessons. I told her it was you, that you were classically trained. Doug, who’s Becca’s husband, is the conductor of the Rocky Mountain Symphony. And he mentioned he needs a pianist…”
