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He glanced down at the bag and chuckled. “Jolie used to pack the same things for Caleb and Riddick when they were young.”
“Children’s snack preferences don’t change over the generations very much,” Adelaide, Emrys’ wife, said with a shrug.
She rarely interacted with me, so I gave her a warm smile at her comment.
Lily looked around me at her and asked, “You queen, too?”
She smiled and nodded. “I’m Queen of the Dragons.”
Lily looked back at Caleb. “She’s your Nana?”
Caleb nodded. “Nana Addie.”
Lily looked back at Adelaide. “So, Great Nana Addie?”
Adelaide’s eyes widened a moment, but she quickly recovered and smiled. “Yes, darling. But you can just call me Nana Addie, too.”
“She already knows she’s great, so she doesn’t need the reminder,” Emrys said.
Adelaide growled and smacked his shoulder, but there was clearly no anger in the light smack.
“So many nanas and papas now,” Lily whispered. For a moment she went still and I thought she might cry, but she looked up at me and asked, “Em can be … Mama?”
Caleb, Emrys, Adelaide, and I all froze, none of us breathing.
“Lily needs a mama,” she whispered and dropped her head, fidgeting with her dress. “Kids teased me for no mama.”
How was this young child so observant and smart? Was she really as young as we thought or was the birth certificate wrong?
“Would you like me to be Mama and Caleb to be Papa?” I asked, feeling like I could barely breathe. I hadn’t wanted to discuss this with her until much, much later. To give her time to grieve her father and accept that we were a good family for her to be raised with. I had not anticipated her being so smart.
She looked at Caleb and back at me, after a brief moment, she nodded vigorously while smiling wide. “Yes!”
And just like that, I was mush again.
Turning back towards the crowd, she gave me a reprieve to tilt my head back and hide the happy tears in my eyes.
Triston leaned over the top of my chair and wiped beneath my eyes with a soft napkin. “Best not to smudge that beautiful makeup.”
“Thanks,” I whispered.
He winked and disappeared from my view again.
Exhaling, I lowered my head and took a bite of my sandwich.
Lily swung her legs as she ate her food, humming a song I didn’t recognize, and watching as those entering the tournament lined up to record their names.
Cameras from the stands flashed, taking pictures of us, the participants, and everything. I hoped they hadn’t caught my tears, but honestly, that was the least of my worries.
Nico suddenly leapt up at the same time as Caleb, both of their hands up to create a barrier as a flaming metal ball stopped just inches from the men.
Spinning around, I covered Lily’s body with my own, curling around her on the chair’s seat.
The ball exploded and the stands erupted in screams of fear.
Chapter
Twenty
