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Camilia leaps into my arms next, hugging me and telling me she missed me, too.
Chapter 18
Tori
His eyes are so bright here, lit up with happiness. Why do they look different back home? I stuff my thoughts aside, deciding to enjoy the happiness this place brings both of us.
Camilia looks up at me, her thick black lashes brushing against her eyebrows. “I brought some toys, Camilia. Would you like to see them?”
She nods, looking beyond excited. “Sí, por favor.”
Camilia and I sit down on the floor next to the boxes and start going through them. She digs right in, pulling out various toys and trying them out. She skips over the box of board games, telling me the older kids will like them.
Brady and Rodrigo talk quietly in a side room. Their voices are low, and Brady keeps glancing at me. He waves when he sees me watching him, and I smile back. I’m curious if they’re speaking quietly so I won’t hear them. I assume it’s probably so Camilia doesn’t. Camilia has pulled nearly every toy from the boxes, so I start putting them back in, other than the few she seems attached to.
As I look back over to Brady, he hands Rodrigo an envelope. The open side of the envelope faces me, and though it’s hard to tell from this distance, it looks like a large stack of money. Rodrigo smiles appreciatively and shakes Brady’s hand. Why would Brady be giving Rodrigo so much cash, and how does he have so much to give? I shake my head and assume I’m mistaken about what I saw.
“I love this,” I hear Camilia squeal. When I turn to her, she’s hugging a teddy bear she pulled out of one of the boxes.
I smile at her. “I thought you might. I brought that just for you. It was mine when I was a little girl, and I want you to have it now.”
A single tear falls down her cheek, and she jumps into my lap and rests her head on my chest. She pets the teddy bear lovingly. I hug her tight and softly stroke her hair, trying not to cry for this sweet little angel before me who has already been through more than any child should ever have to.
Brady joins me and Camilla on the floor.
“Brady, look what Tori gave me.”
He runs his fingers through her hair once, smiling at me. “That was very nice of Tori, wasn’t it?”
Camilia nods and I embrace her closely.
Paco charges in from the back door, shouting something about Brady and me joining him for a soccer game.
Brady nods teasingly at me. “What do you say? Are you up for it?”
“You do know I have two left feet, right?” I say.
“Come on, it will be fun. You can be on my team.” He stands and helps me up. I guess I’ve just agreed.
Joining in with the kids for soccer is a gentle reminder that I’m not remotely athletic and that Brady is truly blessed in this department. Each time I land unceremoniously on my butt, Brady’s there with a quirky grin to help me up.
When the score is tied, I somehow end up with a penalty kick, and if I make it, we’ll win the game.
I look pleadingly to Brady for help. “Why don’t you kick it?”
He chuckles and shakes his head. “Nope. It’s all you, Sunshine.”
Camilia nudges me towards the ball. Her little-girl voice encourages me. “You can do it, Tori. Just kick it at Paco. He misses everything.”
When I look at the kids blocking the goal, I realize Paco is my only option. I kick the ball toward him as hard as I can, and nearly fall on my ass again. Paco starts to dive and then turns as the ball sails by him. That little twerp missed on purpose, and he winks at me to confirm it.
Bra
dy laughs and then folds me in congratulatory hug. I whisper in his ear that Paco cheated, so it doesn’t count. He laughs. As he pulls away, his eyes stay on mine and we stare at each other with something abundantly more than friendship brewing between us. My heartbeat kicks up a notch, anticipating the taste of his lips.
“Are you two gonna kiss?”
I hear Paco giggling next to me. I look down to wide brown eyes and a smile full of teeth.
