Aria peels off a pineapple piece and I grin as her hand reaches across and drops the piece into Noah’s waiting hand, even though he’s paying her absolutely no attention. It’s as though taking her pineapple pieces is second nature to him now and I absolutely love it.
Aria has so easily slotted into our lives and while it took a little adjusting, it’s been incredible. Though, if I have to be honest, I’m missing my weekend sleep ins a lot, but if it means getting to have a little sister in my life, I’d make the trade any day.
The bickering morons finally give in and before I know it, Aria is running around in front of us all, putting on a show and displaying her gymnastics skills despite never having done gymnastics a day in her life. Tully applauds her efforts while Noah sucks in a shocked gasp, letting her know that what he just witnessed was the best thing to have ever happened.
We pack up after dinner and get Aria’s teeth brushed and off to bed, but it’s never as easy as it sounds. Tully and I sit back on the couch, smirking to ourselves as we listen to Aria forcing Noah to sing ‘Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star’ over and over until he insists that she’s had more than her fair share. Is it fair to be jealous of a five year old right now? I mean, he’s never sung to me before.
When Noah comes back out and drops down beside me, I can’t help but feel something’s missing, and as always; it’s Rivers. It’s not a feeling that I’m getting used to and I really don’t like it.
Sitting here with my mind on him once again, I decide it’s time. I’ve been holding on to this for far too long and I need to let the cat out of the bag. Tully’s probably going to hate me for holding onto information like this. In fact, they’re both probably going to hate me because of this.
Besides, Noah can tell that I’m holding something back. He made that much clear the other day and my silence was part of the reason he needed to let loose and smack some douchebag around. If I wait any longer, he’s going to start having issues and it’ll get to the point where his patience runs out.
Noah grabs the remote for the TV and pauses mid-air when the first few words come tumbling from my mouth. “So,” I start, staring straight ahead and refusing to meet either of their sharp, green gazes. “I kind of need to tell you guys something.”
Noah’s head whips in my direction with curious eyes, probably wondering if he just heard me right while Tully glances at me with a scowl, realizing that I’ve been keeping something from her. “Is this about your mom?” Noah questions, his eyes roaming over my face.
I press my lips into a thin line and gently nod my head. “Yeah.”
“Holy shit,” Tully says. “Are you finally ready to talk about her?”
“Not really,” I tell her as she moves from the couch and onto the coffee table to sit in front of me so I don’t have to keep turning from left to right to talk to them both at the same time. “But there’s just one thing I think you guys need to know.”
“What do you mean?” Noah questions, his brows furrowing in concern.
Shit. Why does this feel harder than it needs to be?
“I kind of lied,” I tell him, hating the way his back stiffens as the words come out. “I know who she is. At least, I know her name.”
“Are you kidding?” Tully shrieks. “It’s been weeks and you’re only just telling us now. What the hell, Henley?”
“I know, it’s just…it’s complicated,” I explain. “I would have told you earlier but I’m still trying to wrap my head around it, and well, if I’m right about who I think it is, it’s going to bring more questions than answers.”
Noah takes my hand and squeezes it. “What do you mean who you ‘think it is’? You just said you know her name.”
“Yeah, I know her name, but not who she is. I haven’t googled her or know anything about the woman. I just know her name.”
“But your dad knows who she is?”
“Kind of. I’m sure if I asked him anything about what she’s like or what she does with herself now, he’d probably have no idea. But he seems to know that she’s not the kind of woman I want in my life, and he didn’t exactly want me to go looking for her.”
Tully grumbles. “Why are you pussyfooting around the topic?” she demands. “What’s her name?”
I cringe. “Promise you won’t freak out or jump to conclusions.”
Tully’s eyes go wide as she quickly glances across to her brother. “Do I know this woman?” she questions, alarmed, as though I’m about to drop a bomb on her, but then, I guess I am, just not the bomb she’d ever expect.