“Sure.” Kia squeezes Elody’s shoulder. “Give me a moment.”
“Daddy, can we read this later?” Elody asks, already flipping through the book Kia brought with her.
“We’ll do it tonight.” My guess is that we’ll probably read it at least a dozen times.
As soon as Kia joins me in the kitchen, the space seems to shrink around us.
I open cabinets, pointing things out. “These are snacks she can grab on her own. Breakfast stuff is over here. Plates there. She’ll ask for cereal at night.” I glance at her and immediately regret it when I get pulled into her big blue eyes. “Don’t give in,” I add, my voice rougher than before.
Kia smiles. “Are you trying to insinuate she’s a little sugar gremlin?”
I snort. “Basically.”
She listens closely as I run through schedules. “And for dinner? You mentioned staying away from takeout.”
“Once in a while is fine, but it’s more of a treat. Not a weekly occurrence.”
“I can handle that,” she says easily. “If you tell me what you and Elody like, I’ll figure out some recipes.”
My mind blanks because my ex never asked what I wanted for dinner.
“Pasta is always a winner,” I say after a moment. “Veggies if you can hide them.”
“Perfect. I brought stuff for chicken and veggie pasta. If it doesn’t turn out, we’ll order pizza and pretend this never happened.”
The laugh slips free before I can rein it back in. “I’m sure it’ll be great.”
She doesn’t look convinced. “We’ll see.”
When I catch myself leaning closer, I retreat a step and force some distance between us. “Dinner’s usually around five-thirty. Bath at seven. Bedtime by eight. And she’ll try to negotiate extra books as if her life depends on it.”
“Don’t worry, I can handle negotiations.”
Oddly enough, I believe her. And that’s a problem. There’s no reason I should. I barely know this woman.
“Come on, Kia!” Elody calls from the hallway.
“Okay, coming!” she answers back before smiling at me. “Is there anything else?”
I shake my head before stuffing my hands into the front pockets of my jeans because I’m not sure what else to do with them. I can’t remember the last time I felt so damn awkward around a woman. “I think that’s it for now. Obviously, if you have any questions, just ask. I’ll be here.”
“I’m sure we’ll figure it out as we go.”
Even after she disappears from the kitchen, the faint citrusy scent of her shampoo continues to linger in the air.
After that, I spend time working in the study, paying bills, and going over the legal documents Mark sent over. By late afternoon, the penthouse smells like garlic, lemons, and chicken. I find myself wandering to the living room to check it out before hovering in the shadows and watching from a distance. It doesn’t take long for me to reluctantly gravitate closer.
Kia cooks with calm focus while Elody helps by narrating everything that’s taking place.
When she doesn’t use oven mitts near the stove to check the noodles, I blurt, “Watch your fingers.”
Her gaze darts to mine as the corners of her lips lift. “I’ve got it.”
I don’t realize I’m on the move until our arms brush as we both reach for a colander in the cabinet at the same time. The little zing of electricity that shoots through me at the slight contact is nothing.
And yet, somehow, it feels like everything.
I look at the table and realize there are only two place settings. “You’re not eating with us?”
