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CARA HAD BEEN RIGHT. HER hot chocolate was by far superior to anything at the Christmas festival, and quite possibly anywhere else that Roman had ever tried it. She’d added something “extra” to it, although she wouldn’t tell him what it was.
Not that he really cared. Just being with her had made the evening more pleasant than he could have ever imagined while spending time outside in the bitter cold. And now, he could hear her voice and Mia’s coming from down the hallway.
He frowned. He’d put Mia to bed almost an hour ago. Closing his laptop, he stood.
The script for tomorrow was solid. Dave had sent it over since they were getting down to the final couple of days of filming for the week. He had told Roman he was welcome to make any tweaks. But Roman had quickly realized that tweaking here and there wouldn’t make much of a difference since the actors had some latitude to improvise if needed.
He headed out of the office space that he’d been holed up in and walked along the hallway. The voices were hushed, but undoubtedly Cara’s and Mia’s. And it appeared that they were in Cara’s bedroom.
Roman paused at the doorway. The door was open a couple of inches, and he shifted so he could see into the room. The opening gave him a view of the queen bed. Upon it, Cara and Mia sat next to each other, propped up by a bunch of pillows. Cara was reading one of those fairy books to Mia, who’d nestled against her.
Roman couldn’t explain how he felt in that moment, seeing his daughter, who’d been through such a rough time, nestled against another woman. A mother figure, possibly. It was both painful and beautiful to see.
Then, dread settled in his gut. Cara would be leaving soon, and what would Mia think? Had he let his daughter become too close to the chef? Would Cara leaving be another loss to Mia? He hoped not. Yet Roman would miss the woman himself. So it made sense that Mia would, too. He exhaled. He’d need to talk to Mia tonight and remind her about Cara’s temporary status.
For now, he pushed the door open, even though he hated to interrupt the sweet moment. Mia would be a bear the next day if she didn’t get enough sleep.
“Daddy,” Mia said in a tired voice. “I couldn’t sleep.”
“That’s kind of obvious,” he said with a smile and a glance at Cara.
“Sorry if I’m keeping her up too late,” Cara said quickly, straightening and bookmarking the book.
“It’s all right.” Roman should be annoyed, but he wasn’t. “At least finish the chapter. Then you . . .” He looked at Mia with a stern expression he didn’t really feel. “It’s time to go to bed, for real. You don’t want to be tired tomorrow. It will be Christmas Eve.”
Mia’s eyes seemed to glow. “That’s right.” She patted the bed next to her. “You can listen, too, Daddy. It’s a good part.”
Roman held back a laugh, and his gaze met Cara’s.
“It is a really good part,” she said, her own smile growing.
“In that case . . .” He settled on the bed, Mia between the two adults. It was cozy. Really cozy. Roman needed to stay focused and not get comfortable in this type of situation. Cara Prosper was only here for a few more days, and they both had completely different futures.
Cara began to read again, and Mia slipped her small hand into his.
While Cara read, Roman found he wasn’t paying much attention to the words. It was more that he was listening to Cara’s voice. He closed his eyes, letting her tone wash over him. It was soothing, sweet, and . . .
“Daddy, you fell asleep!”
Roman opened his eyes. He was still in Cara’s room, still on the bed next to his daughter. He turned his head to find Mia staring down at him, and Cara’s eyes gleaming with amusement.
“No, I didn’t,” Roman rasped, his voice a dead giveaway. “I was only closing my eyes for a minute, trying to imagine what fairyland looks like.”
Mia giggled, and Cara rolled her eyes.
“But that reminds me,” he said. “It’s super late, sweetie.”
By whatever miracle was afoot, Mia climbed willingly off Cara’s bed, and they left her room after saying good night.
“She’s so nice,” Mia said, her hand clutched in Roman’s as they headed to her bedroom. “I wish she would stay here forever.”
Well, that statement brought Roman fully alert.
They walked into her room, and Mia climbed into the rumpled bed, where Roman had tucked her in just over an hour ago. He adjusted the covers about her. Then he knelt on the floor next to the bed, so he was eye-to-eye with his daughter. He rested a hand on her shoulder. “You know that she’s leaving on Christmas, right?”
Mia bit her lip, but she nodded.
“I don’t know if we’ll see her again,” he said. “Unless maybe we have another week where we have to hire a chef. She has a very busy and important job.”
