Chapter Twenty-Five
Lily
Ican’thelpthistwisting I have in my stomach as I drive to Ethan’s house. Last time I was here, well, it was completely different. The thought of that night tamps down the fear a little. Ethan wants me to be here.
As I pull into the driveway, I see the front door open and Ethan walks out, shutting the door behind him. When I open the door to get out, he is there, his hand reached out to me. I place my hand in his and let him help me stand out of the car.
“Hello, beautiful,” he says.
I smile but keep my gaze from his as I shut the car door behind me. He keeps a hold of my hand as we take a few steps towards the house. Me with my head down, counting all the cracks in the concrete as we go.
“What’s wrong?” Ethan asks.
I shake my head then take a deep breath.
“I’m nervous,” I tell him.
“Why’s that?”
“It’s different. This isn’t the park or my store. This is your home, his home.”
He stops before we reach the steps to his house, and grabs my shoulders, dipping his head down to look me in the eyes.
“You’re fine. You have a natural way with kids, even if you don’t want to believe it, but I see it.”
I shake my head. “You must be seeing things.”
He laughs then we turn to walk into the house. His hand travels down my back and gives my butt a little smack before he opens the door. My cheeks heat but I try to ignore it because once I am inside...
“Miss. Lily!” Arthur says as he runs over and gives me a hug.
I put my hand on his back, lean down and place my cheek on top of his head.
“Hi Arthur. Did you have a good day?”
He takes a step back and looks up at me. “Yeah. My dad and I started digging a big hole for ducks today.”
“Ducks? I love ducks.”
He grabs my hand and starts leading me towards the back of the house.
“You can see the hole from the back deck, come look,” he says.
I look at Ethan, who has the cutest smile on his face. He nods at me. “You better go.”
I follow Arthur to the deck and see a big excavator. He points to it while still holding my hand.
“That’s what we are using, see. Then right there is going to be the pond.”
“That’s really cool,” I say to him, “you are going to create your own ecosystem.”
“Yup. Dad said we have to get rocks, specific plants and fish!”
“That’s right. Your dad is a pretty smart dude.”
“I agree,” he says, looking up at me. “Are you hungry?”
“Starved.”