Page 3 of Sherry and Sunflowers
"But we're going to have lemonade."
"You could join us," Charles suggested.
"I …" Before she could make a graceful exit and give Charles back what was left of his afternoon, Zia's eyes lit up.
She stared straight past Alara at the doorway behind her. "Prince Daddee!"
Alara froze. She'd thought that Reaves wasn't coming today. He came by most days, but she'd thought he was flying today. She was sure that was what he'd said—he and Ollie had to fly the sales team to Denver.
His voice—that easy "hey, little buddy"—did something to her she'd decided weeks ago it wasn't going to do. She turned around slower than she needed to, mostly so her face would be arranged by the time anyone saw it. It wasn't. Charles was already watching her, smiling like he'd read the whole thing.
And if the sound of Reaves’s voice threatened her resolve, the way he bent down to scoop Zia up and sit her on hiship threatened to cross every careful line she’d drawn around herself and her daughter. Zia, fortunately oblivious to everything other than Reaves, wrapped her little arms around his neck and pressed a kiss to his cheek.
"I thought you weren't coming today. Grandpa Grape made a flower arrangement, look! And Mom took a nap."
Reaves looked at the flowers before grinning at Charles. "They look good, Dad. Did you have fun?"
"We did," Charles told him. "Will you stay for dinner?"
Alara brushed her thumbs under her eyes again—hoping the smudginess was a tiny detail her loving daughter had picked up and not a full-blown raccoon mask.
She dropped her hands when Reaves turned to her. "I'd like to, if that's okay with everyone."
"Of course it's okay," Zia informed him. "We all love it when you're here. Don't we—"
Alara was grateful that Charles spoke before Zia could direct the question to her.
"We do," he said. "In fact, Zia and I were just about to venture out in search of lemonade. I think we should sit out on the terrace. Why don't the two of you go ahead? We can bring a tray, can't we, sunflower?"
Zia wriggled, and when Reaves set her down, she ran to Charles, taking his hand. "We can." She grinned at Reaves. "I'll ask Mrs. Faye if she has cookies for you."
"Z." Alara gave her a stern look, but Zia just shrugged. "Mrs. Faye likes to give out cookies to people who enjoy them. She says I'm just like Prince Daddy and Grandpa."
Alara didn't know where to look and was grateful to Charles when he chuckled. "And she's right. We all enjoy our cookies. Let's go and see if we can persuade her to give us a plateful."
~ ~ ~
Reaves watched Zia take his dad's hand and lead him out into the hallway with a big smile on his face. No matter how this all turned out, he'd be forever grateful to Alara for bringing so much joy back into this house—into his dad's life—in the shape of her daughter.
His smile faded a little as he turned back to her. He was glad that she'd accepted his help; there had been a while there when he'd feared that she wouldn't. As he met her gaze, he could only hope that the time would come when he could be grateful for so much more.
For now, all he could do was take things slowly. He had to give her space, had to wait for her to figure out not just what she could do, but what she actually wanted to do when she was finally in a position where it could be a choice and not a need.
She gave him a tentative smile and brushed her thumbs under her eyes, looking a little uncomfortable.
"I didn't think we'd see you today."
He wanted to believe that she was glad to be wrong. "Yeah. I didn't think we'd be back until late, but Willow came with us andshe likes to keep the meetings short and to the point. I … you don't mind, do you?"
"Mind? No, not at all. It's… good to see you."
"You too."
She dropped her gaze, and he let it go, gesturing to the French doors. "Want to go and sit out in the sun while we wait?"
She followed him outside and sat, perching on the edge of one of the chairs at the large table. She did that a lot—sat without looking like she meant to stay for long. Or maybe that was just him, reading too much into it because, more than anything, he wanted her to stay.
She rubbed at her eyes again, and he noticed that they looked a little puffy. "Are you okay? Do you have allergies?"
