Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 79197 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79197 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
“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 rang as 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.
“Aiden said that Hadley’s really taken to you, and he also mentioned that you’re going to jump right in full time instead of the three-days arrangement you’d previously discussed.”
I nodded. “Yes, Hadley seems to be okay with me here, so I figured why not. We’ve had a lot of fun together the last couple days.”
Patty looked at her husband, then back to me. “I think the one you really have to win over is Aiden.”
Tilting my head with a questioning look, I asked, “What do you mean?” I totally knew what they meant. Aiden was obviously struggling with my presence in the house. But I couldn’t help fishing for information.
Lance brushed his wife off. “He’s going to be fine. It’s a bit weird for him to have you here, that’s all. He’ll get used to it.”
“From the sound of the laughing in the kitchen, I’d say they were both adjusting just fine. What’s going on?” Patty asked.
“Oh, Aiden and Hadley are making pizzas. I’ll let y’all head on in and join them. If you’ll excuse me, I was heading up to my place. Enjoy the evening.”
The moment I said pizza, Lance made a beeline for the kitchen. As I turned to leave, Patty reached for my arm and stopped me.
“May I speak with you for a moment?”
My stomach knotted at the serious look on her face. “Yes, of course.”
“In private. May I go up to your apartment with you?”
Swallowing hard, I felt like I was about to be put through another interview, one I wasn’t prepared for. “Sure.”
Patty followed me as I made my way upstairs, out to the balcony and into my personal space. She shut the door and looked around. “Do you need anything? I tried to make sure you had everything to get you started, but Rose gave me short notice on Saturday that you’d be joining us.”
“Everything is amazing, thank you so much.”
We sat down on the sofa, and I instantly wrung my hands together nervously.
“So, Aiden tells me you’ll be joining us for service on Sundays.”