“Okay, Mommy.”
Kenna stands and goes to the cabinet for plates. I love how she knows her way around my kitchen.
“I’ll just be a few minutes.”
After the quickest of all showers, I’m walking back down the hallway in five minutes. I stop and watch Amelia coloring at the coffee table for a few seconds before striding closer. “What are you drawing?”
She points. “This is you. That’s Christian. And here’s me and Mommy. And this is our house.”
Fuck me.
She’s drawn a picture of a family.
I look over at Kenna pouring milk into a glass, and know that after last night, the picture Amelia has drawn is exactly how I want it to be.
Kenna catches me looking at her. Does she regret last night? Or did she spend the day like I had, recalling every single detail of our encounter?
When her cheeks redden, her real desires show. She wants this. She wantsme.
Amelia tugs on my sleeve, then holds out the drawing. “I made it for you.”
I take it, looking at it with the same pride I looked at Christian’s homework. “Thanks, pumpkin. I’ll treasure it always.”
Glancing back at Kenna, I know truer words have never been spoken.
Amelia’s little hand slips into mine. “Can we have pizza now?”
“We sure can. I’m starving.”
“Me too. Mommy made me eat grapes and cheese and crackers and…” She turns to Kenna. “What was the yucky meat stuff?”
“Prosciutto.”
“Yeah, that.” Amelia’s nose crinkles in disgust.
“Interesting lunch,” I say.
Kenna sits down at the table, and Amelia plonks down next to her. Christian sits next to Amelia, leaving the only empty seat next to Kenna. Which is exactly how I like it.
“Allie took us on a tour of the winery today,” she tells me.
My eyebrows hit my hairline. “Really? I didn’t know you two were talking.”
“We weren’t. I mean besides the other night. She came over this morning and asked. It was a lot of fun. I’ve never been to a winery before. And her family… they’re all so down to earth even though they’re gazillionaires.”
“You were expecting them to be arrogant and hold their intellectual and moral superiority over you?”
She chuckles. “Something like that.”
“Sorry they disappointed you.” I tap her shoulder with mine, making sure the sarcasm lands right. “Now, if you want to see entitled rich kids, you don’t have to go far. I’ll just introduce you to my McQuaid cousins.” I draw my brows and ponder that thought. “Although, now that I think about it, most of them don’t act like that anymore.”
“Really? Why not?”
I get up and pull two beers from the fridge, passing her one. When she takes it, our fingers touch and I don’t let go just yet. “I guess meeting the right person can change a guy.”
She blushes, and I know she’s feeling everything I am. She can try to put distance between us. She can deny it all she wants. But she feels it. She feels it too.
I release the beer and resume my seat, letting her chew on my words as I devour a slice of supreme pizza.
