“I get that. I do. There can be a lot to unpack with understanding your brain might have worked differently all along and not knowing that probably made life harder than it needed to be. And it’s absolutely your choice what you want to do about it, if anything at all. One thing I will say, though, is understanding yourself is only going to add to your ability to understand the kids, not take from it. So, don’t dismiss it because you think it’s not as important. It is. You are.”
Eliza reached out and tangled her fingers with Rowyn’s. Shepulled Rowyn closer and placed a soft, sweet kiss on her lips.
“Where in the world did I find you?” Eliza said.
The words landed like soft caresses against Rowyn’s lips and sent shivers down her spine.
“In a hotel bar with awful pink lighting? No, technically, you found me before that by hiring me through an agency.”
Eliza broke into a smile that quickly turned into a laugh.
“You realize how that sounds when you say it that way, right? That cannot be the story we tell in years to come of how we met. Everyone will think you were an escort.”
In years to come.
Rowyn’s heart started to pound with something akin to hope, but she tried to keep it under wraps. It was so early still, she couldn’t get ahead of herself.
“There’s nothing wrong with being an escort, so let them think what they want. I mean, technically, youarepaying me to be here.”
Eliza’s eyes widened comically as she pulled back.
“Is that how you feel, though? Like you have to be here because I told you to be and I’m paying you? You know your time is yours when the kids aren’t here, you don’t have to…”
Rowyn cut off the panicked words with a kiss.
“Oh hush, it was a joke. I am well aware that my time is mine. And right now, I want to spend that time reminding you of exactly who has to do as they are told.”
Chapter Seventeen
“Mom?”
Eliza looked up from where she was packing snacks for them to bring on their outing that day. Amelia hopped up on the table beside her and began to swing her legs back and forth. Eliza clamped her mouth shut to avoid telling her to move to the perfectly good chair rather than the table. She was working on picking her battles, as Rowyn put it, and not shutting down an opportunity for connection before it even began. Especially one that Amelia instigated without any prompting.
“Yes?”
Amelia eyed her carefully, as if sizing her up before she spoke.
“Did you get fired or something?”
Eliza was taken aback by the question. It came from nowhere, although she had also been working on understanding that the questions the children asked were rarely out of nowhere, and more often than not a request for information that they didn’t know how to ask for.
“No, I didn’t get fired. What makes you think that?”
Elliot’s giggles echoed through the hallway as his footsteps followed, along with the sound of Rowyn’s laughter. They came toward the kitchen doorway and stopped. Rowyn raised her eyebrows in question and Eliza tilted her head. Without the need to exchange words, Rowyn nodded and wrangled Elliot into the living room with her to give Eliza and Amelia a moment. The quick, nonverbal communication had developed so easily withRowyn that Eliza hardly noticed it anymore. Whenever she did, she was astounded once more at how easily Rowyn understood her.
“You’re just…here a lot lately. Like we’ve had dinner together every night this week, that’s weird.”
The sting of the words hit Eliza like a gut punch, and she immediately wanted to correct Amelia. She wanted to remind her of all the times she had been here, and all the reasons behind the times she hadn’t. She worked a lot and she was proud of the life that she had built for them, and the immediate impulse to defend it was a hard one to push down. Rowyn’s voice rang in her head, reminding her to put aside her ego. Despite her internal eye roll at the words, she took a minute to do that. Eliza needed to look beyond the feelings being produced and listen to Amelia’s words, even if it was far easier said than done.
“I have been trying to finish up work a little earlier so I can join you all for dinner. It’s not always possible, but I’m happy that I can do it right now. Are you happy about it?”
Amelia nodded emphatically.
“I like family dinners. Is it because you like Rowyn that you’re here more?”
Alarm bells rang in Eliza’s head.
“What do you mean I like Rowyn?”
