AllFreeNovel
Share Us
If the kid had a curious streak, she might as well let her get her fill.
Slumping against the wall, she checked her watch. It was nearly ten o’clock on what had become the longest day of her life.
The kid would have to conk out sooner or later, right?
She rubbed her temples. She might as well take a second to catch her breath.
The past couple of hours had flown by in a blur.
Before she and Landon had left Tomás and Bess’s garage, Aria had found her grandparents and spilled the beans regarding the temporary living arrangement in Baxter Park. Landon’s parents were all for it, congratulating them on coming up with such a smart compromise, and between the four of them, they had Aria’s things loaded in the bonbon-colored Lambo lickity-split.
And just like that, with Aria buckled into her booster seat in the back, they were a party of three.
When they pulled up to her house, the kid asked if she could pick her bedroom.
It seemed like a reasonable request, and she figured Aria would choose one of the two guest rooms.
She hadn’t.
When she and Landon made it upstairs, only one bedroom door was open—and it was the one to her bedroom.
Aria had kicked off her shoes and flopped in the center of the bed—her childhood bed. The kid had made herself at home in ten seconds flat. And, as if she were a member of the royal family, the girl requested her Scrabble board game box be brought tohernew room. Landon complied, and they looked on as the kid snacked on the stolen bonbons surrounded by pillows like a true lady of leisure.
That’s when Landon excused himself to grab a few things from his place to get him through the night. The minute the door slammed, Aria asked if she could have a video call with Bess and Tomás to show them her new room. This turned out to be a godsend. She’d hit maximum hobo smell status and desperately needed a shower. She’d set the kid up with her phone, grabbed a pair of jean shorts and a tank top, then booked it to the bathroom to decontaminate under the hot spray. She’d barely zipped her fly when Her Majesty, Aria Queen of the Bonbons, knocked on the bathroom door and requested a bath.
Squeaky clean and wrapped in a fluffy white towel, the child had sprinted out of the bathroom, crossed the hallway, and was holed up behind a locked door inhernew bedroom.
That kid could really move when she wanted to.
And now, she found herself locked out and listening to what sounded more like a family of raccoons ransacking the place rather than a little girl preparing for bed. She rolled her head from side to side to work out the kinks when Aria called to her.
“Are you still there, Harper?”
“I am. I’m waiting for you to open the door.”
“Why do you have so many pictures of Uncle Landy?”
Oh shit!
The kid had found the box.
Her Landon Paige Heartthrob Warfare memorabilia box.
She peeled her body from the wall and bumped her head against the solid door, silently berating herself.
Move in with me until my grandma gets back.
It’ll be great.
Let’s cohabitate ASAP.
Here’s the thing.
She didn’t regret inviting Aria and Landon to move in with her, but what she hadn’t considered was the state of the house. Not the cleanliness. The home itself was in great shape. Babs was a stickler for keeping the place spick-and-span. But she’d forgotten that her childhood bedroom contained some pretty embarrassing stuff, especially when it came to Landon.
“Are you dressed, Aria? Can I come in? I can help you clean up. It sounds like you’re really getting acquainted with your new room,” she said, hoping if she ignored the question about the Landon pics, the kid wouldn’t notice.
Her question was met with another crash.
