Chapter 17
17
Daniel
I t wasn’t hard to see that Aria was still hiding things from him. Why was she so insistent on holding back? What could be worse than dealing with her abusive father?
Those questions threatened to consume Daniel for hours until he had no other choice but to focus on the good that was taking place between them. This relationship was still new. He needed to fight the urge to force himself into her life like that. It didn’t matter if he was trying to find out the information so he could protect her. If Aria thought it was best to keep things from him, he needed to trust her.
No matter how hard it felt to do so.
Shoving those thoughts aside, Daniel turned his attention to the drafting pad he had in his lap. He glanced over at Aria where she was playing with the newest litter of Aussie pups. She laughed when one jumped into her lap and licked at her fingers. Their eyes connected, locking for a moment.
Peace. He’d never felt like this before. His heart had this strange habit of stilling before it set off racing, just like his thoughts. When he looked at her, he could see a future with her—with this woman who could bring him such happiness.
She’d become his every reason for breathing.
That wasn’t normal, was it? To be so obsessed with this woman that all he could think about was making her happy? To keep her safe?
Aria ducked her head, breaking off their shared eye contact so she could give the pups her full attention once more.
The hard lines and stiff posture he’d noted when they first met had fallen away. This was the real Aria—beautiful despite the hardships she’d been through—and everything he knew he wanted.
A sigh of contentment slipped between his lips, and he turned his attention back to the drawing he was working on. It was a house—big enough for a huge family—and every bit the future he wanted.
A future he wanted with her.
Pencil in hand, he continued making adjustments to the home. Three stories including the basement. There was an oversized porch that wrapped around the whole house—one where children could wreak havoc as they played tag while their parents visited with each other. There was enough room for a porch swing and a picnic table. Perhaps several.
Granted, it was a bit much for an outdoor addition to a house like this one. Large windows, wood siding, brick accents, and shutters that served as more of an aesthetic rather than a functional purpose.
This house would be large enough to raise a family similar to the size of his own. It was at least three times the size of the one where he’d grown up. Perhaps that was the reason he’d imagined it. As a kid, he’d longed to have a space to call his own. Sharing with his brothers had been the bane of his existence. They’d been crammed into that house, and he’d lost count of the number of times he’d packed a bag so he could run away.
He never did.
Daniel didn’t know exactly when his interest in drafting began. His childhood hadn’t exactly been the sort most children got. He risked another look in Aria’s direction. She hadn’t gotten the childhood she’d deserved either. Perhaps that was one of the reasons he connected with her so well. While his parents had been absent, hers had done their own damage.
It made him want to plan a future that the both of them could be proud of having. He didn’t know if she wanted children, but that subject didn’t matter as much as he thought it might. He could design a house for either option.
A smile tugged at his lips as he continued adding details to the drawing. He put his heart and soul into this design. With each passing minute, he fell more in love with it. Even if they ended up together and never had children, he’d love this house. He’d host family dinners and holiday parties. He’d insist on having her family move in with them.
Daniel released a huff of a laugh. If his brothers could hear the words that raced through his mind right now, they’d think he was crazy.
Maybe he was.
When he glanced up again at Aria, she wasn’t where she’d been. Only one moment later, he turned to find her sneaking up behind him before she pounced, the trail of puppies coming with her. She wrapped her arms around his neck, a pout on her lips that she hadn’t startled him.
The puppies clambered onto her lap, seeking her attention. Aria pressed a kiss to his cheek, and then her eyes dipped to the image he’d been working on. They grew large and she let out a breathless sigh. “Wow, Daniel. That looks amazing.” She reached forth a hand and traced a finger along the door.
Her reaction would have been ridiculous if he hadn’t gotten to know her better. If there was anyone who supported him, it was Aria. Her beautiful eyes found his and her smile stretched wider. “What inspired this one?”
His heart tightened and he fought the urge to get embarrassed by his very private thoughts. He couldn’t tell her that he had worked on this one because of how close they’d been getting. He couldn’t afford to scare her off when everything was falling into place.
Aria noticed his hesitation and she scooted even closer to him. “Fine. Don’t tell me.” She gazed at the image once more and then sighed. “Do you think… would it be okay…” Her cheeks flushed and he couldn’t help himself. Daniel reached out and caressed her warm skin. She let out a nervous laugh. “Would it be weird if I asked to have this one?”
Daniel didn’t know what he expected, but it wasn’t that. What would she do with this drawing? It would have looked better colored or painted. As it stood, this was merely a bare rendering. Normally he’d work on his drafts for weeks to fine-tune the aspects that he couldn’t get right on the first try. There was a method to his madness.
And yet he couldn’t tell her no.
“Of course.” The words slipped out before he knew what he was saying. He didn’t know what she would do with it. He couldn’t imagine that she’d frame it. Regardless, the thought of her having something he put his heart and soul into brought him joy. “Let me clean up some of the edges. I don’t want to give you an unfinished project.”
“It’s not even finished? Sheesh, Daniel, your talents are…” She sighed again.
She didn’t have to say anything for him to know where her thoughts were. Aria still thought he should do something with his skillset.
Thankfully she didn’t bring it up again. He wasn’t going to abandon his brothers and sisters here for school. They were a family, and they needed him even if sometimes it felt like they were too involved in their own lives to understand him the way he needed it.
Aria rested her cheek against his arm and grinned as she watched him get back to work. It was moments like this one that helped him understand his brothers better. They’d all found someone who connected with them in one way or another.
Daniel had found someone who could sit with him in a comfortable silence and watch him sketch. He’d found someone who could understand his heart better than he understood it himself.
“Have you ever considered drawing something other than buildings?” Her voice was quiet—reverent even.
He shifted and glanced down at her, finding that she was still watching the way he dragged the pencil across the large pad of paper. “Like what?”
She shrugged. “People. Animals.”
A smile tugged at his lips. “I think I might butcher a picture like that.”
Aria hummed softly. “So you haven’t tried.”
He chuckled. “No. I haven’t tried. I like the lines in architecture. I like the definition and the way different parts of the design highlight others. There’s a beauty in structures that have been created by someone who has an eye for balance and the way the light will hit certain aspects.” He puffed out a heavy breath. “That’s not to say that people, animals, or even landscapes aren’t beautiful.” If he had the talent for drawing people, he wouldn’t have wasted a minute before filling his sketchpad with pictures of Aria. She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever met, and it wasn’t because he’d started to develop feelings for her.
She was beautiful in a way that others could only dream to be. It was the strength she attempted to keep buried deep. It was the way she pushed forward even when the world wanted to drag her down. It was the way she knew the perfect thing to say to him when he needed to borrow some of her strength.
The woman beside him smiled. “I wouldn’t dream of accusing you of not having an appreciation for art. But I would also be lying if I said I wasn’t falling in love with your view of things. Tell me more about why you love architecture.”
He snorted. “You can’t possibly be serious.”
She pulled back from him, and he immediately snapped his mouth shut when he saw how serious she was. The hint of offense in the way she stared him down was plain to see.
Daniel ducked down and chuckled again, feeling very much like he’d been put in his place. “Okay, okay.” He blew out a breath through pursed lips. “What do you want to know?”
Her hand moved, her fingers wrapping around his upper arm with a gentle touch. “Anything.”
He stared down at the picture in his lap and the thoughts from earlier returned to his mind. His heart hammered as the instinct to tell her exactly why he’d decided to draw this house specifically flooded his mind. Daniel rested his cheek against the top of her head. “You’ve been to our house.”
She nodded.
“It’s not exactly the biggest house. We all doubled up and some of us shared with two other siblings. It was cramped during the best of times. You never saw it when it was worn down and falling apart.” He shook his head with a sigh, hating the condition of his home when they’d scrambled to keep ownership of it. “We fixed it up, and it’s been better now that a lot of my brothers have moved out with their wives. But it wasn’t always like that and this…” He gestured toward the drawing. “I guess this is a dream of mine.”
“A dream?” she prodded.
He nodded. “One day I’d like something like this—for my family.” He allowed the implication to hang in the air, letting her take his words for what they were. A hope for a future. Perhaps one with her.
If she grasped what he was alluding to, she didn’t say anything. Rather, she burrowed deeper into his side and made a contended sound. “I think it’s a lovely dream.”