Wanting to make myself useful, I go to set the table for dinner while Marc’s at the stove.
I’m more humming to myself as I’m laying the forks down, when Aria asks, “Can I help you?”
Peeking up, I see she moves toward me. “Sure. We can’t burn anything in here.” I smile while handing over the spoons.
She giggles and takes them from me, helping to finish the place settings. It’s silent between us for a minute, and I don’t feel one bit of tension. It reminds me of the first time we met. She was sweet and kind, so it’s nice to see we can go back to there.
“Gracie, I’m really sorry for being rude to you. I didn’t mean anything I said.” She talks in a low, brittle voice, and it causes me to stop what I’m doing and look up at her. She’s paused and is already looking at me too.
Holding her gaze, I can see she’s being genuine. She is wringing her hands and her mouth is opening and closing, so I just give her a moment to see if she is finished.
“I just wasn’t expecting you. It felt rushed.”
I nod, trying to give her a gentle face so she knows I understand. “I’m sorry you felt that way, and I’m sure it would have been a shock. We should have been more honest. I’ve known your dad for a while now.”
Her nose scrunches up. “Since when?”
I pull out the chair and sit down, and she copies, sitting opposite me and leaning her head in her hand.
“I used to live in Chicago, and he had a project there. And then I ended up getting a job here, and we just started the relationship recently. It’s all very new, but we still could have handled it better.” I ease back into the chair.
She tilts her head and drops her hand away from her chin. “It’s okay. We all made mistakes.”
I really want to get to know her too, so I ask her something about herself. “Your dad said you want to be a doctor. What type?”
That has her wiggling in her chair and rubbing her hands together with a glow on her face. “I do. A pediatrician.”
I smile, loving how she knows exactly what she wants to do. “That’s awesome. I wish I knew what I wanted to do when I was younger. I’ve only just started my dream career.”
She frowns. “What did you do before?”
“I worked at my parents’ bar.”
I swallow the lump, since having a deep conversation about my upbringing with her seems inappropriate. It’s something I’ll mention at another time.
“And now?”
“I’m doing a traineeship in architecture.”
Her eyes widen. “So, you work for my dad?”
I shake my head and laugh, but I’m cut off.
“No, I wish. She works for my competition.” Marc enters the room, carrying a tray of food.
“Ohhh, I’m surprised he is letting you,” Aria says with a roll of her eyes.
I laugh again before explaining why I won’t. “It’s a conflict of interest to date the boss. So, this works out for both of us.”
It would also be way too distracting to have him at work. The number of times I’d be going into his office forworkwould get me hated real fast by the other employees. It’s definitely better if I stay where I am.
He grumbles and leaves the room.
“He likes to wrap us up in cotton wool.”
I giggle. “I secretly love it.”
“I know, same, but shh, don’t tell him that.”