Chapter 6
Six
Liam
A Week and a Half Later
It had been a long time since I was getting home while it was still light outside.
The seasons were changing and it was getting darker earlier already, but I traditionally worked until late into the night.
The D.A.'s office was calming down and matters weren't as pressing, so it seemed I was going to have a little more time to spend with Mila and continuing to get to know Aria.
I needed to know how much Mila sang her praises. Move over Santa Claus, move over Tooth Fairy—a nanny was here, and according to my princess, she was the best thing since sliced bread.
I couldn't deny that Aria seemed like the complete package.
She was good-looking, smart, funny, and seemed to care a lot for the kids.
More than that, she had a warmth about her that made the house feel different when she was in it.
Less like a place I crashed between court appearances and more like an actual home.
I'd noticed it in small ways—the way she remembered which of Mila's stuffed animals needed to be tucked in just so, how she'd started keeping Mila's favourite hair ties in her bag, the patient way she answered the same question five times without a hint of irritation.
It was the kind of attentiveness that couldn't be faked, and it made something in my chest tighten every time I witnessed it.
After a quick shower, I changed into comfortable sweatpants and a tank top and made myself comfortable in the living room.
I got the most recent kids' movie queued up, made Mila's favourite spaghetti, and was just waiting for Aria to drop her off.
She had ballet that evening as opposed to the weekend because she had a recital coming up.
I was just finishing getting ready when I heard the front door open.
Typically, I was just walking in at the same time Mila was getting home, so when Aria rounded the corner and saw me totally dressed down, her eyes widened for a moment. It was nice getting that sort of reaction from her—a reminder that whatever this pull was between us, it wasn't one-sided.
"Hi," Aria greeted.
"Hello," I replied. I looked down at Mila and laughed. She was standing, but she was barely awake. "Hi, princess."
She still had her hand gripped tightly around Aria's. "Hi, Daddy," she murmured. She rubbed her eyes and let out a huge yawn.
I looked up at Aria. "Someone's probably not going to make it through the movie and spaghetti I made.”
Aria giggled. "No, probably not. Recital season is tough, little Mila is learning." She reached into her bag and pulled out an envelope and handed it over to me.
"They took pro pictures today, though, and I know I may be slanted in my opinion, but Mila's are definitely the cutest."
I took the envelope, loving her adoration for my little girl.
"I know that to be true and I haven't even seen them yet." I pulled them out and was smacked in the face with how adorable Mila looked standing on a pointed toe in her pink tutu.
"Oh my god.”
"I know!" Aria screeched, and Mila, who had legitimately drifted off standing up, popped awake. Aria pet her head gently.
"Oh, sorry, baby.”
I set the envelope down on one of the tables, and then picked Mila up. Her head dropped against my shoulder, and I could hear her snoozing in my ear a moment later. I looked at Aria with pleading eyes.
"I'm just gonna tuck her into bed. We'll have to have a big breakfast in the morning to make up for a missed dinner. Would you mind waiting a few minutes?" I asked. I saw Aria's eyes quickly dart to the clock on the wall, her mouth pursing to protest, but I cut in before she could.
"Please. I just want to hear more about what I've been missing the past week and a half."
Aria nodded with a smile, and I let out a sigh of relief.
"Thank you. I'll be right back. Please, make yourself at home in the kitchen. There's a pot of spaghetti. I'll be quick."
Aria shook her head. "Take your time. I'll be here."
I smiled at Aria. It was nice having a caring woman around the house again. The thought caught me off guard—I hadn't realised how much I'd missed that particular kind of companionship until Aria had walked into our lives. “Thanks."
I took Mila upstairs to her bedroom and tucked her into her princess bed.
She had an affinity for flash and fanciness, a girl after my own heart, and her room was drenched in all the magic of a Disney princess.
She was already passed out before we got to the top of the stairs, so tucking her in was quick and easy. I put on some music, because she hated sleeping in silence, and then made my way back downstairs.
When I got back downstairs, Aria's backpack was sitting in the hall, and I could hear the clatter of dishes in the kitchen.
I was impressed. Normally, when you tell someone to make themselves at home, they don't, but Aria clearly had. I walked into the kitchen, and right as I turned the corner, I saw her with a tub of Mila's dairy-free ice cream out, and she'd found the coffee liqueur and was pouring it over.
She looked up at me and her face started to turn tomato red. "Oh, um, I'm sorry, I just—"
I held a hand up. "Why are you apologising? I told you to make yourself at home, and I'm glad you did. It's nice to see you're not as buttoned-up and straight-laced as it seems."
"Oh, well then, excuse me," she replied and continued to dress her boozy ice cream.
I laughed and made my way into the kitchen and pulled down a bowl for myself. I set it on the counter, and Aria immediately set to making me an ice cream bowl as well.
I couldn't remember the last time a woman had made something for me. The gesture was small, but it landed with unexpected weight. I took my bowl, and we each sat on a stool, and set about our pre-dinner treat.
"So, how are things with my girl?" I asked.
"She's so great," Aria responded. "I know you know that, but I just adore her. She's taking ballet so seriously, and her ballet teacher says that she's showing a lot of promise. She told me to make sure that she keeps dancing as she gets older."
"I've heard that before too. I'm glad it's going well, she really seems to love it," I said. "And the recital is next week, right?"
Aria lit up. "Yeah, and did she tell you she got a solo?"
My jaw dropped. "What? No!"
"Yeah!" Aria yelped. "I mean, why wouldn't she? She's clearly the best.”
"Clearly," I responded, and we both laughed.
"School seems to be going well, and she's getting along well with all of her friends. You've got a good one on your hands there, Dad," Aria said.
The casual way she said it—Dad—made my chest warm. There was something about the way she fit into our life, the easy affection she had for Mila, the way she seemed genuinely invested in my daughter's happiness. It was dangerous territory, and I knew it.
"I knew that already, but thank you so much for the update. I appreciate it. Things are slowing down at work a little bit, so I'm hopeful I'll be able to see it more in person," I said.
"So… Tell me about you.”
"What about?" Aria asked.
"I don't know, siblings, hobbies, boyfriends?" I wasn't purposely trying to fish for information about her romantic availability, but I also wasn't not trying to find out.
"Uh, I have none of those things," Aria said with an adorable chuckle.
"None?" I responded.
"Well, I have no siblings. My parents could barely take care of the one they had.
I mean, my mum was amazing, but my dad abandoned us when I was a kid, and she had to do it all on her own.
She didn't really trust men after that, so she didn't really date or re-marry, and then I guess I hung onto that a little bit," she explained.
"I get that," I responded. "That's kind of what my ex, Kristin, did to Mila and me. I do eventually want there to be another woman around Mila though. She deserves that.”
I was internally hoping that woman could be Aria; Mila already loved her so much. But I kept that thought to myself, watching the way Aria's expression softened with understanding.
"I have dated here and there, but never found anything I was really interested in, so I just focused on school more than guys. I suppose none of them were really my type," Aria said.
I tilted my head to the side.
"So, what's your type?" The question came out more interested than I'd intended, but I didn't take it back.
Aria shrugged. "I don't know. Someone who has their life together. I hate trying to teach a man how to be a man. I just want someone mature. Someone like…"
Aria looked up and her eyes locked into mine. Her voice trailed off and in a split second I knew…
…I may end up breaking the rules.