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“I think we better put the ingredients on it before our pizza crust ends up on the floor.”
“I want ronis on it!”
“Ronis?” Emma asked as she laid the dough on the pizza pan.
“Pepperonis,” I said as I walked in. Hadley let out a squeal and ran toward me. I gave her a kiss and hugged her. Emma looked on with a smile on her face. “They’re her favorite,” I added.
“Good thing I sliced up a lot then. I have everything here for y’all.”
Every now and then, the Texas accent would come out when Emma spoke. I could tell she tried hard to keep it buried.
“Veggies, sauce, and cheese. And plenty of ronis,” she said with a grin. “You just need to put it in the oven for about eight minutes.”
My eyes scanned the island. Emma had cut up onions, tomatoes, mushrooms, bell peppers, olives…and was that zucchini? On another board was the pepperoni and two different types of cheese. The bowl on the side held pizza sauce and next to that was fresh garlic.
“Did you make the sauce?” I asked, looking at everything.
Her cheeks flushed pink. “I did. I had free time this afternoon and used a recipe I found online. It tastes pretty good. As for the rest, I wasn’t sure what you guys liked on your pizza, so I tried to think of everything.”
I shook my head in amazement. “Emma, this is amazing. You even made the dough?”
She shrugged. “Yep. This smaller pie is for Hadley and yours is the big one. I’ll let y’all get to your pizza making.”
Each time she said y’all in that slight accent, it made my stomach drop like I was on a roller coaster. As I watched, Emma took off the apron she’d been wearing and started to head out of the kitchen.
“You’re not joining us?” I asked.
She glanced back at me. “I figured you’d want to eat alone with Hadley. I’ll be back to clean up.”
I wanted to tell her to stay. Instead, I nodded and replied, “Thank you for doing all of this. I’ll clean up though, you’ve done so much already. Hadley and I will have fun making our own pizzas.”
Emma smiled. “That was the plan.”
She winked at me. Again. She’d done it this morning and here she was, doing it again. One friendly wink that went through me like a bolt of lightning.
As Emma headed out of the kitchen, Hadley pulled me over to the island to make our pizzas. While we decided what toppings to use, I took in the sound of my daughter’s laughter. My heart felt like it would explode with happiness for the first time in months…and it was all due to one woman taking the time to cut up toppings so my daughter and I could bond over pizza.
Emma was indeed going to be a good thing. And that worried me more than I wanted to admit.
CHAPTER EIGHT
EMMA - HIS PARENTS
The doorbell rangas I made my way toward the stairs. “I’ll get it, Aiden!” I called out.
Opening the door, I saw an older couple and knew immediately this was Aiden’s parents. I’d stopped by their store earlier today, but they’d been out, so I didn’t get a chance to meet them.
“Emma?” Mrs. Bishop asked as she waltzed in and immediately hugged me.
“Yes. I’m guessing you’re Aiden’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Bishop.”
Mr. Bishop shook my hand and we all made our way into the living room.
“Please, call us Lance and Patty,” Aiden’s mom said with a huge smile on her face. “I can’t even begin to tell you how glad we are that Aiden listened to Rose’s advice about a nanny.”
With a smile, I nodded. “I’m glad as well.”
They were both looking at me with wide grins. My goodness, these people really must have been stressed out to look so relieved to have me working here.
