“Can you tuck me in?” she asked.
I looked over at Ryan and he shrugged his shoulders. I bent over and pulled out my phone from my purse and sighed when I saw CPS hadn’t called yet. I nodded my head and Zoey scurried down from the couch as I placed my phone in my pocket.
“Come on,” Ryan said to me. “I’ll show you where the kids sleep.”
Five
Ryan
Everyone seemed to be in good spirits during dinner and the movie, and it was sweet that my niece wanted Emma to tuck her in. I released the hounds so they could rush to the bathroom to clean themselves up and started to give the grand tour of my penthouse apartment. It was my pride and joy, and for some reason I wanted Emma to see it.
“I take it you’re not just taking me to where the kids will sleep,” she said.
“I figured since it’ll take them some time to clean up, you could use a tour of the place,” I said.
“I could use it,” she said.
“Aren’t you the least bit curious about it?”
“Believe it or not, Mr. Aaron, not all women are entranced by money.”
“But all of them are entranced by nice things. And please, call me Ryan.”
“No thanks.”
She was a sassy, and I enjoyed that. Her personality matched the storm that always seemed to be brewing behind her eyes. I could hear the water running in the sinks across the apartment, but I escorted Emma down the hallway that led into the kitchen.
“This is the main hallway. Both of the guest bedrooms sit down here. They each have their own bathroom, and they’re as decked out as mine. Jetted tubs with temperature controls. A walk-in stone shower that doubles as a wet sauna. Vanity sinks.”
“Ah, vanity. An apt description,” she said.
I looked back and grinned at her as her eyes scaled the walls to the ceiling.
“The kitchen is state-of-the-art,” I said.
“You have a hibachi grill.”
“That I do. I love that kind of food. Plus, I never use a stove to cook, so it was a nice trade off.”
“Let me guess. Do you also have a chef that comes in to cook you this hibachi food?”
“When I don’t feel like cooking, yes,” he said.
I heard her snicker, but she didn’t stop following me.
She was intrigued, even if she didn’t want to admit it.
“Through this archway is a small library. It’s filled with books I’ve read and a few I have yet to read.”
“You read?” Emma asked.
“I do know how to interpret the English language with my eyes, yes.”
“Not what I meant.”
“I figured this would be your favorite part,” I said. “You know, with that little tidbit of information you fed Zoey earlier.”
I watched a faint blush creep into her cheeks as she walked into the middle of the room. She was concealing it well, but I could see the light in her eyes. Her hands were clasped behind her back, but she was white-knuckling them.