I wanted to do whatever I could to get Aiden’s business off the ground. He looked so happy, and I wanted him to keep smiling.
He gave me a playful grin. “Just the fact that you think I can do it helps. And I wouldn’t turn down some assistance. I’m not exactly organized.”
“Perfect,” I said as I smiled back. “I’m kind of anal about laying out plans. So I’ll help you get things together. I honestly think starting two new businesses will be fun.”
“It will likely be hell,” he warned.
“It won’t. It will be a challenge.”
There was something about Aiden and me doing this together that brought me a sense of excitement I hadn’t experienced in a long time.
“I’ll help you, too,” he promised. “But can we start work after Maya goes to school, and wrap it up at dinnertime? I was serious about you taking a break.”
My heart skittered. Aiden had actually asked me like I was a partner instead of bossing me around. Not that I thought the concession would last forever, but he’d heard me when I’d said I’d rather be asked than told.
“I’ll break a little before that to get dinner together,” I offered. “Deal?”
He folded his beefy arms. “Did you really think I was going to argue about not cooking?”
I laughed. “I like to cook.” I suddenly remembered something. “Speaking of cooking, I have to make cookies for Maya’s class this afternoon. It’s her turn to bring treats. Chocolate chip is her favorite.”
“I used to just buy stuff for my younger siblings,” he considered.
“Times are changing,” I explained. “I do healthier cookies with oat flour, coconut sugar, and less chocolate chips.”
“I think I’d prefer the old-fashioned ones,” he grumbled.
I snorted. “Me too. But the healthier ones aren’t bad. And I still make the real thing for Maya sometimes. I just try to be careful with the real sugar, and make sure to mix the healthy stuff with the treats.”
“She’s a good kid, Skye. You did a great job with her,” he said as he looked at me.
My heart warmed as I saw the genuine look in his gorgeous eyes. Nobody had ever really told me that I was doing things right with Maya. I’d always been terrified I’d do something to ruin my child, since I’d had absolutely no child-raising experience.
“Thanks,” I shot back at him with a smile.
“Can I help with the cookies?”
“Do you really want to?” I asked, my heart beating just a little bit faster.
I kept telling myself not to make too much of having a partner to help raise Maya. But it felt good just the same.
“I really do,” he confirmed.
We finished our coffee and proceeded to make some healthier chocolate-chip cookies together.
I had a hard time keeping most of the chocolate chips out of Aiden’s mouth, and there was oat flour everywhere by the time we were done.
But I hadn’t laughed so much in years, and I was still chuckling once the entire kitchen was clean again.
CHAPTER 12
SKYE
The week leading up to Jade and Eli’s wedding was one of the most amazing periods of time I’d ever experienced.
Aiden took to being a father almost naturally.
I couldn’t say that he exactly spoiled his daughter rotten. Thankfully, he never made me the bad guy when I had to enforce bedtimes and rules. In fact, he backed me up completely, and even reminded Maya when there was something I’d asked her to do.
But he was a sucker about giving her anything and everything she wanted, for the most part.
Luckily, my daughter wasn’t the type to ask for anything extravagant.
“My piano teacher says I’m learning so fast that I could probably do a recital this summer,” my daughter said excitedly from the passenger seat in the new vehicle Aiden had mysteriously bought. I had a hunch he’d felt the sudden need for an Audi A3 more for my benefit than his. But since my old jalopy was prone to breakdowns, I’d happily taken the loaner he’d offered.
I shot my daughter a quick sideways smile. Since she was almost nine, I let her sit in the front now.
“She thinks you’ll be able to play a whole song?” I asked.
“That’s what she said. I hope I can. I’d love to play for you and Dad.”
My heart squeezed painfully. If it wasn’t for Aiden, my daughter wouldn’t be doing piano lessons. She’d only recently started, but she’d always wanted to learn. I just hadn’t been able to afford to send her to private piano study. It was extra money I’d simply never had.
But the moment she’d mentioned her wish to Aiden, it had been granted. He’d asked me first, but I had no reason to deny my daughter what she wanted.
As promised, we’d spent last Saturday at Disneyland, and the adults had experienced just as much fun as Maya had. The weather had been perfect, and Aiden had arranged the VIP experience, so we’d gotten onto every ride we’d wanted.
Maya had been so exhausted that she’d slept the whole way back home.
“You’ll do great, Sugar Bug,” I told her. “You always accomplish whatever you want to do.”
“I love playing piano, Mom. And I really like having so much family. Even Uncle Noah offered to take me to SeaWorld this summer. And Uncle Seth said we could go to the zoo.”
Because she has her uncles and aunts wrapped around her finger. Even Seth.
I had no doubt that Maya was eating up the family attention. She seemed to adore all of her new relatives.
“Be careful that you don’t ask for too much, Maya. Your aunts and uncles have very busy lives.”
She was thoughtfully quiet for a few moments before she asked, “How much is too much? They offered and I said yes.”
I nodded. “Then it’s okay. That means they want to take you. But don’t ask them for things, okay?”
“I wouldn’t,” she said. “You always told me not to ask for things from other people. Maybe my real family is different, but it wouldn’t be polite.”
Sadly, I had always requested that she not ask her stepfamily for anything. And she’d understood the situation way too well to ever talk to any of them.
Sometimes, Maya seemed so much older than her years. “You’re such a good girl,” I complimented her.
“That’s what Dad told me, too,” she said with a sigh. “But it’s not really all that hard. I think it’s easier to be good than bad.”
I bit back a laugh. I was pretty sure all parents wished their children thought that way.
I pulled into the winding driveway of Aiden’s home with a sigh. If I had to pick a dream home, his mansion would be it.
It was imposing with its beautiful brick exterior and large windows, but not so grandiose that it was unwelcoming.
And he had an enormous pool, plenty of land, and a hot tub.
I hit the garage-door opener and pulled into one of about seven stalls. My old vehicle took up one, and Aiden’s truck another. The third was now occupied by his new black Audi, but the rest were unoccupied.
Knowing Aiden, he’d probably been too busy to fill the garage with boy toys or fancy cars.
I picked up some groceries from the back seat before I followed Maya into the kitchen entrance.