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“That was before. I think she’d be okay with you meeting your niece now.” Lucy and I haven’t exactly found our thing yet. It’s all been about Aurora.
Fidgeting as he stands behind his keyboard, he seems kind of out of his element. “It would be great to get to meet my niece.”
I go around to stand next to him and bump my shoulder to his. “And what about catching up with your old best friend?”
“Yeah, that would be good too. But if I just get to meet the little one, I’ll be happy. I know Lucy has a lot to deal with right now and I don’t want to impose.” Moving his fingers over the keys, he plays the number we’re about to rehearse without the sound on.
“I’m sure she’d love to see you. Maybe you can even build your friendship back up again. You two were so close. I think we can all become the family that we really are. The kind of family Aurora deserves.” That’s the plan anyway.
***
“Do you think she’ll like this black one?” Ares asks me.
We are in the Build-a-Bear workshop, waiting for Aurora and Lucy to show up.
“We should probably let her pick out which one she wants.” I look out at the busy mall, hoping to see Lucy coming our way.
“She can have them all.” Ares picks up several unstuffed bears. “It’s not like we can’t afford them.”
“Let’s start with one. I don’t want to spoil her. She’s a very nice kid. I don’t want to ruin all the hard work Lucy has put into raising her.” I see them coming and sprint to meet them. “There’s my precious girl!”
Picking Aurora up, I kiss her cheek. “I have someone who wants to meet you.”
Her eyes go directly to Ares and without missing a beat, she says, “You have my daddy’s eyes. Are you my daddy too?”
Ares laughs. “No, my eyes are like your daddy’s and yours because I am his brother. And that means I am your uncle. Uncle Ares.”
She looks at me and then at him before reaching out to him. “Can you carry me, Uncle Ares?”
“I most certainly can.” He takes her from me, and she promptly places a kiss on his cheek. “Well, thank you very much, Aurora.”
Lucy and I stay back so our daughter can get to know her uncle, and that finally gives us some time alone. “So, how about I buy you a bear, my queen?”
Her breath catches in her throat and her eyes turn to me.
“You know I want us to be a family, right? I want Aurora to know me, and I want to know my daughter, but I also want us to see if there is something between us still. Can you feel it the way I do?”
She nods.
“Good. Now what do you say we go buy you that bear?”
“I don’t know. What if they need us?”
“We won’t be far. Come on, my beautiful songbird.”
“Lucy,” she corrects me. “No calling me my songbird, muse, queen, or anything like that in front of Aurora. I don’t want to confuse her.”
“Yeah, because most mommies and daddies don’t say nice things like that to each other.” I steal a quick kiss, loving the way her cheeks turn beat red.
“Seriously, Apollo?”
“Yes, I am very serious about you.”
“Let’s just take this one step at a time, shall we?” Her lips form a wry smile.
I nod.
Running my arm around her shoulders, I pull her close, then take her to sit with me on a bench outside the shop. “We have lots to discuss. Let’s sit and talk.”
