Chapter Fourteen - Girls

I'm relieved it's Saturday when Theo slips out of bed the next morning at eight. After asking me for a spare toothbrush he uses the bathroom, gets dressed before coming back to me. Taking a seat on the bed he takes my hand in his and brushes his lips against my knuckles tenderly.

"I need to get to work but call me if you need me okay?" He whispers as his eyes flicker with worry.

"But it's Saturday?"

"I'm the boss remember?" He winks with a soft chuckle.

"Oh right! Thank you for staying last night...I didn't realize how much I needed someone." I smile as I run my fingers through his tousled hair to tame his bedhead.

"Anytime sunshine." He grins boyishly before pecking my lips softly.

I chuckle lightly when I notice his longing look to stay with me in bed before he shakes his head. With a cheeky smile he grabs his coat before leaving. I hear the front door shut and the house become quiet again. Stretching I turn and try to drift off to sleep once more.

But of course, that doesn't happen.

I almost groan when Aria enters my room ten minutes later. I peek to watch her rub her eye as she yawns. She blinks sleepily before looking around the room for, I'm assuming, Theo. When she doesn't find him, she glances at me for a moment before running towards me.

"Got you!" I yell as I grab her and drag her under the covers.

"Mum!" She screams before bursting into a fit of giggles when I start tickling her. "L-Let...go!"

"Not until you cuddle with me for a bit." I hug her to me and pepper kisses over her face.

She squirms and voices her displeasure but eventually becomes tired. I grin in satisfaction when she flops onto my torso with a huff and holds onto my sides. Her eyes crinkle at the corners as she peeks up at me before smiling. I start running a hand through her brown-blonde strands trying to get some knots out.

"How about a girl's day?"

"Really?" She perks up in excitement because we haven't had one in so long.

"Sure! And a haircut?"

"No!" She frowns as she rocks her head side to side on my chest.

"Just a little bit?" I plead and watch as she narrows her eyes at me. For some reason Aria can't stand having her hair being cut and it's the weirdest thing. "We can go out for lunch after?"

"Okay." She mumbles with a pout before rolling off me.

I tug her back to me for one last cuddle and surprisingly this time she shuffles closer instead of protesting. It feels like my heart is about to burst with love and giddiness. I remind her how much I love her before sitting up.

"Pancakes?"

"Yeah!" She grins widely before running out of the bedroom.

"You need to have a bath first!" I reply and my lips quirk in amusement when I hear her cry out dramatically.

She stomps back into the room and I smirk before grabbing the scissors and comb. After cutting her hair I fill the tub and get her out of her clothes. I help her bathe and by the time I've turned off the water she's already hopped out. I chuckle and shake my head at her before drying her off and leaving her to get dressed.

I walk into the kitchen to get started on the pancake batter. Aria joins me minutes later and we spend our morning giggling over our misshapen pancakes. We watch a movie after cleaning up before I decide to get some of my skincare routine in.

I open a sheet mask and place it on my skin before looking over to Aria as she places the two cucumbers I've given her on her eyes. The sight makes me chuckle softly but I laugh harder when she looks up and the cucumbers roll off the couch.

We laze around until late afternoon before deciding to head out for lunch. After getting dressed I take her to an Italian restaurant. She hurries off to the table by the window as soon as we enter and I follow her with an amused smile as she thanks the waitress for the menu.

We're served our food within ten minutes and dig in. We talk about her tests coming up before winter break and she assures me she'll be fine. I still make a mental note to help her study on the weekends.

"Charlie?"

I look up to the source of the voice and my eyes widen when it's Liam. "Oh uh...hi Liam. What are you doing here?"

"Just looking for a good place to eat. Mind if I join you guys?" He asks but takes a seat at our table anyways without waiting for an answer. "Hi Aria, how are you?"

"Good." She mumbles before not so subtly moving her chair right next to mine. It's obvious to me that she's not happy with him intruding on our girl's day.

"You look very pretty today." He attempts to have a conversation with her but she's having none of it.

"I know."

I don't know whether to laugh or cry. "Aria!"

"I'm sorry." She replies but her tone is anything but apologetic.

I open my mouth to protest but Liam beats me to it with a wave of his hand. "That's alright! Always good to be confident."

I nod with a small smile and we sit in awkward silence for a few minutes before I remember something. "So, Carmen said you guys have dinner with her family today?"

"Yeah that's at six this evening but I got hungry." He chuckles just as the waitress hands him his food and drink. "So, have you thought about –"

"No." I interrupt with a tight smile. "I'll need a few more days to think it through and look into our options."

He stares at me with an unknown emotion before nodding. "Of course, how's work going?"

"Uh good yeah, I've settled in nicely." I smile uncomfortably, wondering why we had to run into each other. "How have you been?"

Aria finishes the rest of her food rather quickly before I notice her taking larger sips of her drink. I discreetly shake my head at her to stop but she only winks at me in response. Oh boy, what's this child up to now? I wonder to myself in dread.

"Great! I'm a shareholder in one of the tech companies back home." He starts rambling on about how amazing his job is, the high pay, benefits and so much more. "Anyways, enough about me. Tell me more about you."

I stare at him wondering if he's serious. He's fully turned towards me and doesn't have any interest in Aria who he was begging to see yesterday. I understand her behavior earlier may have put him off but shouldn't he be trying a little harder to bond with her if he wants to be in her life so bad?

"There's nothing much to tell. My days usually revolve around teaching, making art and Aria." I shrug as I take a sip of my drink.

He blinks before glancing at Aria as if he just remembered that she's still here. "Oh, that's great. She must be what...four now right?"

"I'm six." Aria cuts in with a sweet smile but rolls her eyes when Liam looks away.

His shakes his head as a disbelieved laugh escapes him. "Wow, six years. Makes me remember our good times. I've really missed you."

"Mum! Bathroom please!" Aria interrupts him with a look of urgency.

"Excuse us." I smile before taking her to the bathroom at the back.

We walk in and I watch her suspiciously as she runs into one of the stalls. I follow inside and make sure it's clean before she sits down. Waiting right outside I hold the door shut before she finishes and walks out.

"Let's ditch him."

"Excuse me?!" I gape at her as we wash our hands. "How do you know about ditching people?!"

She gives me a deadpan look as if she can't believe what she's hearing. "Mum, I'm six. I know a lot of stuff."

"I need some wine...or tequila." I pinch the bridge of my nose before handing her the paper towels. "We're not going to ditch. We'll just say you're feeling unwell and leave."

"Same thing." She shrugs before walking towards the door. "But my idea is more fun."

"Manners Aria." I pinch her cheek as we exit but hear her mimicking me in a high-pitched voice. "You want to be grounded?"

"No mother." She smiles toothily before falling into step with me.

"I don't know where you got all this sass from!" I whisper under my breath in disbelief.

As planned we make our getaway with our prepared excuse. Liam doesn't suspect a thing and wishes Aria well before we leave. She grins up at me and I chuckle as we get into our car before driving away. But halfway through our drive I get a text from Elena asking if she can come over with the girls, Isaiah and Mila too if Aria wants them to. I respond with a yes just as we pull up to our home.

"Remember Isaiah and Mila from last night's party? They'll be coming over today." I tell Aria as she runs inside.

"Really?! When?!"

"In an hour. You can play in the garden and they might also bring some of their toys." I explain before we change back into comfortable clothing.

***

"Sorry we're not better dressed." Ella giggles as she walks in before I shut the door. Isaiah and Mila instantly run off to find Aria and I hear their short squeals of delight seconds later.

"That's alright. I've been in my sweats for most of today anyways." I chuckle as I tell them to make themselves comfortable on the couches. "Michelle couldn't make it?"

"They have parent-teacher meetings this evening about Noah so they're attending those. She did send these though!" Elena grins wickedly as she pulls out a bottle of red wine and a non-alcoholic drink for me.

I smile before grabbing glasses from the kitchen and handing them to her. The snacks are already on the coffee table so I settle down beside Zoe. We flick through Netflix before finally deciding on a movie to watch but it ends up serving as more of a background noise to our conversation.

"I love the paintings in here!" Zoe gasps as her gaze flits from one picture to another. "You're very talented Charlie."

"Thank you!" I grin as I savor the taste of the fruity drink. "I hear you're a photographer?"

"Best in the game." Ella teases and Zoe shakes her head bashfully.

"I'll show you some of my work sometime."

"I'd love that." I reply and she smiles at me excitedly.

I glance at Aria to see her sneaking Isaiah and Mila some extra chocolate and shake my head. The three of them laugh and whisper to each other quietly before running back out into the garden. Ella watches them with a tender smile before meeting my gaze.

"She's adorable."

"Only when she's not wreaking havoc."

"We'd get along very well then." Elena winks cheekily which makes me laugh.

"Anyways I'd love to know how you and Theo met?" Ella asks curiously and Zoe turns to me too.

"Aria recognized him when we were out in the city. Her class had gone to the ranch for horse-riding lessons earlier during that week. She wanted to go back so Theo took us and we just got to talking." I smile fondly as I think back to that day. "He gave us a lift back to my place and then asked me out...after I said something stupidly daring of me."

"Which was?"

"Well, I was telling him how I was trying to be strict with Aria and he told me not to be, that he was worse in school. I asked him how and he told me it'll take too long to tell me about it. And I...ugh...I said that I've got time." I roll my eyes as the girls erupt into cheers and giggles.

"Yeah you do!" Elena hollers with a cheeky wink.

They proceed to tease the hell out of me until my cheeks are a fire truck red. We're a breathless mess from the laughter when we finally settle down.

"Now your turn! How did you guys meet Ryder, Hunter and Roman?"

"I'll go first." Ella raises her wine glass in the air with a small smile. "This guy, Seth, loaned my dad some money. Dad died without returning the money and Seth kidnapped me knowing I had a trust fund that I could access at twenty-one."

"What the hell?!" I gasp as my eyes widen in disbelief.

She goes on to explain how she escaped and found the Jacksons before falling in love with Ryder. But Seth did find her again and after Ryder got her back he was finally charged and put in prison for good.

"My turn. Parents were rich assholes and resented the fact that I didn't follow in their footsteps to become a surgeon or a lawyer. My sister did but I chose photography. Cut me off financially and gave me a headache multiple times a year trying to get me to drop my course." Zoe rolls her eyes and takes a longer sip of her wine. "I met Hunter who was an absolute sweetheart and supported me more than anyone ever did. But turns out my dad was a psycho who forced Hunter to leave me with the threat of destroying my budding career."

I sit back in shock as she tells me what happened and how he was arrested. There's a hint of defeat in her eyes by the end of it and I pull her into a comforting hug. She thanks me with a soft smile before we all look at Elena who sighs heavily before straightening up in her seat.

"Right then. I worked as a journalist in California, left because the boss was a dickface –"

"Elena!" Ella swats the back of her head and gestures to the kids who were passing through to go to Aria's room.

"Oops!" She snickers in response and waits for them to leave. "Anyways I was following the case of a serial killer, Dan Schmidt, and my boss didn't believe me. So, I went to the police department in Houston and found out that Roman was leading the investigation. I begged him to let me in on it, he said no, me being the impatient and reckless woman I am I set out to follow Dan's trail."

"I'm not even surprised at this point." I chuckle with a shake of my head to which she grins in response.

She tells me about their wild chase, her getting hurt and Roman locking her up in his house for safety measures. But on Black Friday a year and a half ago she got caught by the multiple men he had working for him. I can't deny that her story has me on the edge of my seat.

"So Roman got you out?"

"Hell no! I got out myself with just a bullet graze!" She proudly reveals the scar on her shoulder causing Ella and Zoe to smile at her. "My brothers taught me how to get out of certain situations because we used to live on the rougher side of Italy when I was younger."

"Wow...I'm sorry you guys went through so much." I breathe in slight shock over the information. They smile and wave off my concern by reassuring me that they're happy and safe now.

"So...what's the deal with Liam?"

"If you're comfortable with telling us she means." Ella asks after shooting Elena a knowing look.

"Well, we used to date a few years ago and he's Aria's father. Left me when he found out I was pregnant because he didn't want the commitment." I explain and watch as they scoff and roll their eyes. "Last night was the first time we bumped into each other after years."

"Hmm he wasn't acting like he was in a relationship once he saw you." Elena snorts and we all look at her in confusion. "I mean his eyes were practically glued to you ever since you walked into the party. But you guys should've seen his face when Theo kissed you...red as a damn tomato!"

She whistles sharply and I wince as I remember Liam's disrespectful words. He says he's changed but brief moments come to mind from last night where I caught the familiar flickers of his old behavior.

"Do you think he really wants to build a relationship with Aria?" Ella asks curiously as she passes the sharing pack of crisps to Elena.

"He sat with us at lunch today but didn't seem the slightest bit interested in getting to know her. Which is fair I guess because he has no parental rights. But with how desperate he seemed last night over wanting to get to know her it's like he flipped a switch today." I shrug nonchalantly but notice them stare at me with wide eyes.

"Repeat that for me? You had lunch with him?" Zoe asks and I shake my head vehemently.

"He just showed up at the restaurant and joined in without waiting for an answer. Aria isn't a fan of him so she uh...downed her drink and then convinced me to ditch him when we were in the bathroom." I bite my lip to stifle my amused smile as they all laugh.

"I love her!" Elena grins with a shake of her head. "If he starts annoying you though let us know okay? I'd be more than happy to set him straight."

"I will, thanks Elena." I smile brightly and she winks at me in response.

"Alright how about we switch to something lighter...and more fun?" She smirks with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

We play some video games and board games for the next hour. Turns out Elena and Zoe are extremely competitive...and sore losers. I honestly don't know why I didn't realize sooner. They were swearing like sailors after losing to Ella and I! Aria, Isaiah, and Mila eventually join in, our laughter and hollering echoing in the house.

When the children's eyes start to droop Ella decides it's time to head back. I collect their toys with her and walk them all to the door. We hug each other tightly before Ella goes to put Isaiah and Mila in the car.

"We should definitely meet up next time we're in town. I had so much fun!" Zoe grins as Ella returns.

"Lucky me, I'm only three hours away!" Elena hugs me and sticks her tongue out at the other girls.

"I'd love to meet up again. Will you guys be back anytime soon?"

"We always come back for Christmas so not long to go now." Ella smiles and the others nod in response. "But take our numbers so we'll stay in touch that way."

"Sure!" I nod and we exchange them before hugging each other goodbye one last time.

"Hey Charlie! Tell Theo...never deck her with an unwrapped pecker!" Elena yells from the car and I blush fiercely.

"I hate you!"

"I love you too! Call me you sexy mama!" She blows me a kiss before they drive off into the night and leave me laughing.

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