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The frustration she’d felt toward Nora faded away. “I can’t wait.”
He gave her hand a light squeeze before letting go to open the passenger door of Janessa’s car for her. Aria slid into the seat, then watched as Gareth shut the door, then stepped back. He didn’t go to his car right away, and Aria could see him in the mirror on her side, standing with his arms crossed as Janessa drove out of the parking lot.
“You two are so sweet,” Janessa said. “I’m worried I’m going to end up with cavities.”
Aria blushed, then gave a laugh. “Sorry. Hope you have good dental insurance.”
“Luckily, I do.” Janessa chuckled as she turned the car in the direction of the house. “Are you worried about Nora showing up tonight?”
“Not worried.” Aria sighed. “Just frustrated because she seems determined to keep me from having any opportunity to spend time with Gareth. I understand why we have to be careful at work, and I have absolutely no problem with that, but it seems like she’s going to show up whenever there’s a chance the two of us will be in the same place.”
“If she goes that far, we’ll have to fire her for sure. We can’t have a doctor on staff who is stalking people.”
“I don’t want to cause any problems,” Aria said.
“You’re not. Nora is the one causing problems. She’s had an issue any time she’s seen Gareth talking to a woman for longer than just a couple of minutes. Nora is going to stalk anyone she sees as competition, not just you.”
“I’m just trying to keep my interactions with her calm.”
“You’re a better woman than I am. You’ve seen how she frustrates me. That was going on even before you showed up.”
“Well, maybe when I’ve been dealing with her as long as you have, I’ll also be more easily frustrated.”
Once they got home, Aria hurried up to her room to change into a pair of jeans and the T-shirt with the team’s logo on it. Though they always wore them at away games, Aria liked to wear the T-shirt at home games too. She had to wear a long-sleeve T-shirt underneath it, though, because she was still barely tolerating the cold.
When she walked out of her bedroom, Janessa was coming out of hers as well, dressed in almost identical clothes to Aria. They went back down to the kitchen and found Charli and Layla preparing sandwiches while having an argument about Layla eating any vegetables with hers.
Aria would never have thought she’d enjoy the sometimes-hectic environment of a family home. When it had been just her and her mom, their apartment was usually quiet. Sometimes the television was on, but more often than not, soft music was the background to their conversations and the games they’d liked to play together.
Given how stressful her job at the hospital could be, Aria had always appreciated the calm atmosphere her mom had created in their home, especially in later years. It was an atmosphere that she’d tried to continue to create even as her mom’s health had deteriorated. She’d needed the peaceful environment as much as her mom had. Maybe more, considering that her anxiety and worry over her mom had been almost debilitating.
Now, though, Aria found that she enjoyed Layla’s chatter and Charli's and Janessa’s responses. Even though she didn’t always participate in their conversations, they still made her feel welcome.
When the doorbell chimed, Layla abandoned her sandwich and veggies to go answer it. Aria had worried, at first, about the little girl answering the door by herself, but she’d seen that they only let her do it when they knew who was coming. Security cameras were discreetly positioned around the house, so Charli could quickly check them and remotely unlock the front door if it was someone that Layla knew.
“Hello, lovely Layla.”
Hearing Gareth’s greeting, Aria turned her attention from the sandwich she was preparing to the doorway of the kitchen. When he appeared with Layla in his arms, his gaze found her. A smile grew on his face, and it made her want to run and fling her arms around him.
“Hello, brother,” Charli said. “Do you want a sandwich, or are you just going to stare at Aria all evening?”
Heat rushed into Aria’s cheeks as Gareth chuckled. “Much as I’d love to do that, I guess I’d better get a sandwich.”
He approached the counter, taking a second to settle Layla back on the stool she indicated was hers before coming to stand beside Aria. She glanced at him, giving him another quick smile.
“Nice to see you in the school colors,” Gareth said as he took a couple pieces of bread from the bag that Charli had set on the counter.
“I like people to know who I’m cheering for, especially since I’m not one of the loud fans.”
“Unlike me,” Gareth said with a laugh. “Not sure why Janessa is wearing the school colors. She’s even louder than I am.”
That set off another session of banter between the siblings. Aria continued to make her sandwich, her arm brushing Gareth’s as he did the same. Once she was done making her sandwich, she didn’t move away, and neither did he. Side by side, they stood at the counter eating their sandwiches.
Aria didn’t have much of an appetite. Her nerves, along with flutters of excitement, had robbed her of much of her desire to eat. She’d had similar feelings when she and Tim had started dating, but never to this extent. And weirdly, a lot of her emotional response had to do with Gareth’s choice to cross the room to stand beside her.
Tim had always seemed to expect her to come to him. If he entered a room after she did, he wouldn’t come to where she was. He’d wait for her to join him. She hadn’t figured it out at first, but then he’d told her that she needed to come to him, regardless of who arrived in the room last.
But here was Gareth, seeming more than willing to come to where she was. And that warmed her, making her feel like he saw her as important.
