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Iris shrugs. “I had time, and I was in the neighborhood. It’s no big deal.”
“Right,” I say with a smile. “Well, I’m sure Sophie is going to love going through these.”
Iris’s eyes soften, her lips turning up ever so slightly. “I hope so.”
“You know, you could—”
I’m interrupted by the trilling of a cell phone, and it takes Aiden several seconds to recognize that it’s his. “Oh. Sorry.” He pushes up from the chair, moving into the kitchen to grab it from the counter, where he must have tossed it earlier. He frowns at the screen before casting us an apologetic look. “It’s work. I’ll take this in the other room.”
I nod back at him before he disappears down the hall, presumably toward the laundry room, almost forgetting my train of thought before my eyes fall on the envelope of photos Aiden left in his chair. I move across the living room to settle into it, picking up the envelope and looking back inside to thumb through the pictures.
“Anyway,” I try again. “I was going to say that you could come back after school. When Sophie is home.” I peek up to gauge her expression. “If you wanted.”
I wonder if there will ever be a time that Iris isn’t taken by surprise by me trying to include her. “Really?”
“Aiden will be at work, so we usually eat something simple for dinner, but you’re welcome to join us. We could go through the pictures? I’m sure Sophie would love having you there to tell her about the ones she was too young to remember.”
“That would be...” She trails off, her eyes searching my face in a daze before she swallows. “That would be great, actually.”
“Good.” I flash her a smile. “Sophie and I usually get back around four... and dinner is usually between five and six... so, just whenever you want to stop by.”
“That sounds great,” she says again, still looking like she’s processing.
I nod. “Terrific.”
There’s a moment where we both just sit in silence—me holding the envelope and Iris looking at me like she’s trying to figure something out, but after a minute, maybe, she shakes her head as if clearing it, making a move to stand. “I’d better get to work,” she says hastily. Her voice is thicker than it was a moment ago. “I can probably be here around six, though, if that’s okay.”
“That’s perfect,” I tell her. “Sophie will be so excited.”
Iris looks up at me after gathering up her bag, a small, cautious smile at her mouth. “I am too.”
“Perfect.” I realize I’m just grinning like an idiot, and I shoot up from the chair. “Oh, let me walk you out.”
“No, it’s fine.” Iris waves me off. “I know where the door is.” She shuffles her weight from one foot to the other. “But I’ll... see you guys later.”
My tiny victories feel like they’re piling one on top of the other to make for onelargeone, but I tell myself it’s too soon to be getting excited. Iris is like a doe. You have to be careful with her.
She gives me a hasty goodbye before rushing down the stairs, and I don’t settle back into the armchair to start flipping through the pictures until I hear the door shut behind her. I don’t even realize for a bit that I’m still grinning.
“Did Iris leave?”
I turn to see Aiden coming back into the room, and I nod. “Just now.” I jut my chin out smugly. “Butshe’s coming back for dinner to hang out.”
“Seriously?” Aiden scoffs as he shakes his head. “How in the hell did you make best friends with Iris in like a month when we’ve been butting heads for a year?”
“I’m told I’m very charming.”
His lips twitch. “Are you?”
“How else would I ensnare a professional cook?”
He breaks into a full grin, rolling his eyes. “Hopefully this isn’t some sort of long con. I might wake up without a kidney and find out Cassie isn’t even your real name.”
It’s a joke, and I know that, but apparently that’s all it takes for everything to come crashing back. In all the excitement, I’d completely let myself push aside all my worries from this morning, let myself get wrapped up in Aiden’s touch yetagainwithout coming clean.
And now we’re alone again, and I’m out of excuses.
If he notices the shift in my mood, he doesn’t immediately say, pulling his phone from his pocket and checking the time as my smile falters.
