“That’s really nice of you to say. How old is your sister?”
As soon as she brought up his sister, his whole face lit up. It was clear to her—as it would’ve been clear to anyone watching from a five mile radius—that he adored the girl. “She’s thirteen… going on forty, of course. Her name is Mila. And she is the best. The absolute best. I’d do anything for her.”
Oh, God. Was there anything hotter than a man who adored his kids? And Mila was for all intents and purposes his kid. She felt that fluttering low in her belly again. It didn’t even surprise her anymore at this point. It was getting to be a regular occurrence around Troy. She was just gonna Sheryl Sandberg that shit and lean into it.
“I’d love to meet her.”
“I’m sure she’d love to meet you. In fact, I know she would. She’s kind of obsessed with your house. She always has been. She was just hinting around the other day that she’d do anything to see inside of it.”
Alison pressed her hands together. “Well, then it’s a date. We have to make that happen.”
“You have no idea how you just made a teenager’s life. She’s going to flip out when I tell her.”
Alison laughed. “Well, I don’t know a whole lot about thirteen-year-olds, but if this one is obsessed with architecture as opposed to smoky eyes, I can already see that she is something special.”
Troy leaned closer. “It’s perfect, then. It only makes sense that two people who are both so incredibly special should meet.”
Yep, there it was. The family of butterflies that had taken up permanent residence in her belly were back, and their wings were fluttering to beat the band.