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He also checks his phone often.
This is not just any party. It was my idea to invite Sara and Emma, and I promised him that it would be a family-friendly event.
Adele, Mark, Nick, Abel, and Harper are expected to show up. The other guests are people I know through Adele, her husband, or people I work with.
Also, this is a daytime event. Some guests will bring their children, hence the playground and the toys waiting for them.
Early afternoon, the guests arrive.
It doesn’t take long before the air fills with voices, children’s laughter, and adult’s dialogue.
Sara and Emma show up soon after.
Emma is shy with me and completely glued to Jaden. From the moment she walks into the backyard, she’s either in his arms or asking for him.
Sara looks good.
Her hair is longer, and her features are more mature and beautiful. She wears a halter-style dress and a flower in her hair, making her look like a Hawaiian pin-up girl.
“Emma’s okay,” I say, trying to convince her to mingle with the guests so she can meet new people.
Before strolling back to Emma and Jaden, I introduce her to Adele’s group.
I find them sitting on a lounge chair, Emma sprawled on Jaden’s lap.
And as I watch them from afar, my insides melt.
She cuddles up to him and rests her head against his shoulder, glancing up from time to time to catch his gaze.
Softly, she kneads his arms, reminding me of a kitten.
He reads her a story, and she is mesmerized.
He raises his eyes and locks my gaze.
“I can read to her if you want to grab a bite,” I say.
He talks her into letting go of him, and I replace him on the chair. The corners of her eyes point down as soon as he walks away.
“Don’t cry, Em. I’m coming back,” he says to her.
She barely pushes her tears back.
“I’ll be back,” he mouths to me while I wrap my arms around her, holding the book in front of us.
She casts a long gaze across the lawn where Jaden nears a table, still waving at her.
“You like him?” I ask, trying to distract her.
“Yes,” she says.
To prove it she grins and claps her hands.
“I like him too.”
She looks up and over her shoulder, giving me a curious stare. Smoothly her gaze shifts to my hair.
“You wanna touch it?”
