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“Dad, what are you doing? It looks like a bomb went off,” Maya observed with a giggle.
My eyes widened as I looked around the room.
Something smelled good, but the kitchen looked like a massacre had taken place.
There was red stuff all over the countertops and the large stove.
I bit my tongue as I saw the sheepish, harried look on Aiden’s gorgeous face.
“Spaghetti night,” he told us. “I always did spaghetti night when my sisters were young. I guess I kind of lost my touch.”
“I’ll help you, Dad. Mom and I do spaghetti sometimes,” Maya offered as she went to the sink and rinsed out a dishrag to wipe off the counters.
“Damn jar exploded on me,” he said as he looked at me with eyes that were pleading for guidance.
“Happens to the best of us,” I said in a soothing voice. “It smells good.”
I took the big spoon out of his hand and watched the noodles, while Aiden and his daughter wiped up the kitchen.
Really, in all the years I’d been cooking, I’d never had a jar explode its contents all over the kitchen, but poor Aiden looked so frustrated that I wasn’t about to tell him that.
I was way too flabbergasted that he’d even tried to make dinner. I was also more than a little emotionally moved that he cared about screwing up dinner.
I tasted the sauce. “It needs . . . something.”
Maya grabbed the Italian spices and brought them to me without me even asking. We’d been a team for so long that she knew what I wanted.
“Does it taste like shit?” Aiden asked as he tossed his dishrag in the sink.
“Not at all. But I think it needs more oregano. It’s good, Aiden. No worries.”
I was tempted to remind him that if dinner got screwed up, we could always order out. But he seemed too freaked out about not being able to feed us. And the sauce was good. It just needed a few more spices.
I added a few things, stirred it, and pronounced, “All done. Thank you, Aiden.”
I dished up a plate for Maya, and she carried it carefully to the table and then went to get silverware for everybody and a glass of milk.
“She does all that stuff herself?” he asked in a voice that wouldn’t carry to his daughter.
I turned my head and smiled. “Of course. She’ll be nine before too long. She’s pretty helpful, actually.”
“I noticed,” he said with a grimace.
“You don’t have to impress her, Aiden. And you don’t have to be perfect. We all screw up sometimes, especially me. Kids don’t come with instructions. But no matter what you do, she’s going to adore you anyway.” I kept my voice low so my daughter didn’t hear our adult conversation.
“I want her to know she can count on me,” he rasped.
“She already knows that.”
“I can’t even make her dinner without screwing it up.”
“She loves McDonald’s,” I informed him. “Happy Meals work.”
He lifted a brow. “Are you trying to make me feel better?”
I shook my head. “I’m just giving you my secrets to raising a daughter. Be flexible. It helps.”
“You’re right,” he said, sounding relieved. “I didn’t need to lose my shit over spaghetti.”
“It wasn’t the dinner,” I told him. “You’re doubting your skills as a parent. And it won’t be the last time. I still have my moments. But she’s turning out just fine.”
He shook his head as he grinned. “I guess we’re lucky she’s so easy to please.”
I dished up a plate and gave it to him. “Go eat. I’m looking forward to the spaghetti myself. I’m starving.”
I quickly put away the few things I’d picked up at the store and joined Aiden and Maya at the table.
My daughter was telling her dad about her day at school and her piano lessons.
And her father was watching her like he was riveted to every single thing she did that day.
Didn’t he know that he was giving Maya everything she wanted or needed?
He was giving her attention.
He was showing her that he loved her.
I knew my daughter, and she needed those two things a whole lot more than she needed a perfect dinner.
Aiden was being a father, and Maya’s delight was evident.
“I have a pretty pink-and-white dress to wear to Aunt Jade’s wedding,” Maya informed her father. “I’m probably a little too old to be a flower girl, but she’s letting me throw rose petals anyway.”
“I didn’t know you were in the wedding,” Aiden answered as he demolished the food on his plate.
“Jade asked her when she asked me to be her bridesmaid,” I told him. “I got her a premade dress, a hat, and some gloves that Jade and I picked out. She would have hated sitting still long enough for a custom dress.”
“You’ll look like a princess,” Aiden said with a wink at Maya.
“I’m not wearing a crown, Dad,” she said.
“Then you’ll look like my princess,” he corrected.
“Do you want to see my dress?” she asked hopefully.
“I can’t wait,” he answered patiently. “But finish your dinner first, and let your mom eat. We’ll see it afterward.”
Maya beamed at her father, and my heart tripped.
My daughter had finally found her father, and he was her hero.
Problem was, I was pretty sure I found him to be just as much of a conquering warrior as she did.
CHAPTER 13
SKYE
I had to bite back a moan as I slipped into the outdoor hot tub completely naked.
Aiden had gotten on a call with Seth after we tucked Maya into bed, and I’d grabbed a towel and made my way outside.
I’d made my escape to the tub a couple of times now, when Aiden had been occupied later in the evenings.
But my threadbare one-piece swimsuit had given way to a huge rip down the front a few days ago, and I’d had to toss it.
I should have made time to get another one. But I hadn’t gotten to a department store or Walmart to get something yet.
Still, the warm jets of the hot tub had been beckoning me.
So I’d just grabbed a towel, certain I could get in and out of my jeans and T-shirt fast enough if I had to.
There were several entrances into the pool area, but I’d crept out through the dining room, and I’d left the outdoor lights off. So all I had for light was that coming from inside the house.
Not that I cared.
I liked the quiet and peace of the outdoors after a busy day.
I sank into the warm water up to my chin, allowing the jets to soothe away the tension in my back and neck before I took the lounge seat.
I closed my eyes and absorbed the relaxation, but it didn’t last for long.
I jumped just a little as I heard a door sliding open, and my eyes flew to the same door I’d exited.
I quickly realized Aiden didn’t even know I was in the dark hot tub, watching every move he made, even though he was only a few feet away from me.
He set down the beer he was holding on a small table next to a lounger, and proceeded to strip himself down.
I couldn’t have said a word aloud if I’d wanted to. I was speechless.
