Aaron's POV

Her lips are as sweet as ever against mine as I kiss her back, closing any distance between us as my hands find her waist and hers roam to my neck. She bites on my lower lip, and I have to stop myself from grunting out a moan. Fuck, I missed her so much!

I didn't realise it until now, not until I held her in my arms like my life fucking depended on it. I let out a relieved sigh in the kiss as I keep my hands at her back, wanting to be closer to her if that's even possible.

Our breaths hitch at the same time as we hear the movement on the door and we both part away from the kiss together, our eyes directing to the front door, but I don't let go of her, and neither does she. Ella steps inside with Emily right in front of her, but her hands are covering the little girl's eyes. With a grin still stretched across her face, Ella's eyes land on us and she looks taken aback, almost shocked as her face falls.

Diana lightly pushes me away and I let go of her this time. Fuck! What the hell just happened? The overwhelming emotions take over my heart as I study Diana's face while she doesn't even bother to give me glance.

"Later." She tells Ella, motioning to Emily and she nods.

Ella kneels down behind the birthday girl and speaks in her ear, "Alright, I'm going to let you go now." She says before removing her hand from her eyes.

The little girl steps forward in the living room with her eyes wide in surprise and her jaw hanging low in the air. Her eyes roam around the whole room before they come to settle on Diana and she lets out a yelp of happiness.

"Mommy!" She almost cries as she comes running to her.

Diana laughs as she holds her daughter up in her arms, "Like it?" She asks.

Emily nods her head as she kisses Diana's cheeks and she stares back at her like she represents the whole meaning of world to her. I've never seen Diana smile so much, but right in this moment, as I witness her as a mother, I understand her a bit more than I ever did before.

Her best friend locks the door behind as she comes to stand behind the kitchen counter, giving me the curious looks which I successfully dodge. She wanted to talk to me when I called her up to ask what are Diana's favourite flowers, but I told her I was busy, hence ignoring her yet again.

"Mom, who's that?" Emily asks with a cute little frown on her head as she stares at me.

Besides the fact that she's a kid, the way her eyes gaze at me, I almost fidget as I wait for Diana to respond to her daughter, and make the situation less uncomfortable for me. I've never dealt with kids before, hell, I don't even remember talking to a kid ever in my life.

"That's your mommy's friend," Diana tells her as she smiles at her daughter and glances at me.

Friend? Is that what we are now? I have no idea why Diana invited me today, I know for a fact that she wasn't ready for me to meet her daughter, ever. Especially since I walked out on her. And no one can imagine how much I regretted that decision in the last week when I realised that we could actually make this work. Her being a mother doesn't change how I feel about her, in fact, it just shows me another side to her life that I wasn't aware existed before. I need to talk to her, tell her how deeply I feel for her, and no matter what stupid actions I take, these feelings won't go anywhere.

Emily extends her hand forward, cutting my trail of thoughts as she beams at me through Diana's arms, "Hi, I'm Emily." She says, her speech still unclear but clear enough for me to understand.

Are kids usually this forward? I glance at Diana and almost laugh at the realisation that this is her daughter, of course she'll be as forward as her mother. I shake off my thoughts as Diana gives me an encouraging nod and I step forward to shake Emily's tiny hands.

"Hi Emily, I'm Aaron." I say and her smile grows wider. "Happy Birthday." I wish her.

"Thank you, A." She grins and I laugh. "Can I call you A?"

I shrug, "Sure."

Ella gives me a 'she-likes-you' look and my smile grows. Diana glances between the two of us before rolling her eyes and turning to her daughter.

"Your friends will be here soon, let's get you changed?" She asks, already moving out of the kitchen.

"The other dress?" Emily's eyes lighten up and Diana smiles.

"Yes baby." She presses a kiss on her forehead as they disappear down the hall.

I sigh and turn to fill myself a glass of water. Just as I'm done gulping it, Ella stares at me with an amused smile on her face. In the short time that I've known her, we may not be the closest friends, but yeah she's a good person and can totally pass as a friend.

"So?" She starts after I look at her.

"What?" I ask, trying to look dumb.

She laughs, "I'm pretty sure that I walked in on a really hot make up session which would have ended inside her bed room if it wasn't for me ruining the moment." She smirks.

"You just snapped us back to reality." I tell her honestly.

"Yeah? The reality where you two can't stay away from each other. Am I right or am I right?" She clicks her tongue.

"Ella, we're trying to get over what happened. Don't put those thoughts in my mind and make it more hard than it is already is."

"You both are idiots, I hope you know that." She mumbles under her breath before giving me a look.

I'm thankful when Emily comes back in the living room, distracting us from the current topic. She looks like the most adorable child in her silver dress, and almost involuntarily a smile takes place on my face. The door bells rings and Ella moves to open the door, letting in more kids, who I assume are Emily's friends and Connor who looks as surprised to see me here as Ella was.

A frown stretches across my forehead when I realise that Diana's still in her room, so I make my way down the hallway and knock at the door. I might just well talk to her, and thank her for inviting me today. Whatever made her do that, I'm not sure about what did, but I'm grateful that she gave me a chance. A chance that means shitloads to me.

"It's open." She shouts from inside and I turn the knob as I step inside.

Honestly? After we shared that kiss out of nowhere, I should be far far away from her. Yet, my instincts always draw me back to where she is. Last week was the most horrible week of my life as I had to witness her presence but ignore her. The day she walked out of the diner, I wanted to believe that we were done but it isn't so easy to give up on people. I couldn't give up on her, even though it sure as hell looked like she did. But I could tell her thoughts were jumbled today when she invited me over.

"Hey." I say, catching her attention and she turns around with a surprised look.

"I didn't know it was you." She tells me.

"Uh- should I leave?" I ask, motioning to the door and she steps forward.

"No, it's alright." She gives me a tight lipped smile.

I stare at her, while she does the same. She has changed into a very similar dress like Emily's, just less glittery but she looks breathtaking in it. Absolutely stunning.

"Done checking me out?" She asks with an amused smile and my eyes shoot up to meet hers.

A nervous laugh escapes my lips, "You look beautiful."

"Thank you." She smiles, a genuine smile, directed right at me. Fuck, I missed her.

"Diana, why did you invite me today?" I ask the question that has been bothering me ever since.

She sighs, almost expecting the question, "I can't do this right now." She whispers, her eyes wandering away.

My feet move on their own as I walk closer towards her, stopping just a feet way, "I need to know what this means, Dee. You kissed me."

"And you kissed me back." She defends herself.

"Yes, and I would do it all over again. I'm sorry for walking out that day, but I can't pretend anymore that us being apart doesn't affect me. It does, so fucking much. I haven't been able to sleep properly and by the dark circles under your eyes, I know neither have you."

She breathes, "Aaron-"

I shake my head, cupping her cheeks with both of my hands, "Just give me a chance, let me show you that this is not temporary. I want to be with you, get to know your daughter and just make you smile." I say, meaning every fucking word.

She's the girl I'm falling in love with, the least I can do is fight to be with her, even if that means fighting against her.

"We'll talk about this tomorrow at lunch." She says and I let out a relieved sigh.

I know she brushed me off right now, but her words gave me enough hope for tomorrow. She agreed to have lunch with me, what else could I ask for? I thought that thing between us was gone forever. It makes me incredibly happy to see that it's not.

"Yeah, okay." I give her a small smile before making some distance between us.

Just as I'm about to leave the room, she calls out, "Hold on."

I turn around with a frown, "Yeah?"

She moves to the corner of the room and digs into her office purse before handing over me the box that I know holds the small pendant for Emily. I have no idea what was going through my brain when I did that, but I just wanted to convey in some way that I didn't want us to be over forever.

"I told you I'm not taking it back." I tell her.

"I think you should give it to her yourself." She says with a nervous smile and my eyes go wide.

"What? Are you sure?" I ask, sounding unsure myself.

"Yeah, she'll love it. And, I think I want her to get to know you." She mumbles but I catch onto it, smiling almost immediately. "Hey, when did you get the time to change?" She asks out of nowhere, pointing towards my tshirt.

"I took a half day." I shrug and she nods.

The day in the office felt way too gloomy, so I went back to my apartment, changed out of those grown up clothes and changed into a black tshirt and blue rugged jeans with my white sneakers. Definitely a better look.

We both make our way out to the living room and notice that Emily is giggling along with her friends. Honestly, half of the things kids say of her age goes above my head. Diana must have enough talent to understand the baby language.

"Here." Connor comes by my side as he hands me over a glass full of soda and I take it.

But as soon as I bring it to my lips, my nostrils burn and I give him a look, "Bourbon?" I ask with a chuckle and he pats my back.

"Diana's orders, I can't be drinking around children, but a man's gotta do what he gotta do." He shrugs and I nod as I take a sip.

Well, I definitely need bourbon to calm my thoughts down. I notice the way Diana laughs with the children as she tries to keep them busy, offering them food and hardly taking her eyes off her daughter. She doesn't looks like the Diana I first met in my kitchen. That was a girl who was rude to me, and wanted to bring me down; right now, I'm looking at a mature woman who cares about nothing more than her daughter.

"I know that look." Connor says, sliding on the kitchen counter with me as he follows my gaze.

"What look?"

"Oh man, I've been whipped from two years to that girl." He points at Ella who's almost mirroring Diana's actions to keep everyone happy. "I know what it means when you're staring at a girl from a distance and yet smiling like a love sick puppy." He laughs and I shake my head, gulping down the rest of the bourbon mix soda.

"No one's love sick here except you."

"That's the first stage : denial." He smirks.

"Oh, I'm not denying anything. I'm just not love sick, yet." I clear out with a smile and he grins at me.

"She deserves someone like you, you know? Diana and I fight a lot, but it's mostly for fun. She's my best friend at the end of the day, and trust me when I say this, she has been through hell. And I just really want her to be happy now, like experience the true happiness." He says, and I give him a look. He doesn't look drunk, but I know that this isn't the drunk talk, rather it's the sensible one.

"That's a lot coming from her best friend since I walked out on her." I say, criticising myself.

He gives me a sad smile, "You were scared, anyone would have been. She's twenty one and already has a three year old daughter, that's a lot to take in. I don't appreciate what you did, but I know you regret your actions."

"How do you know?" I frown.

He chuckles, "Well, let's just say that you're here in kid's party where you have absolutely no business says a lot about what you're trying to prove to her. Also, my girl filled me in with the whole make out details." He laughs again and I feel like face palming myself.

"Caught up in the moment." I groan.

"Hey, just be glad that Ella had Emily's eyes covered for the whole surprise thing. It would have been a lot more disastrous otherwise." He points out and I laugh, agreeing.

"What are you both laughing about?" Diana interrupts as she stands in front of us with her hands on the hips. She looks hot.

"Nothing." I shake my head and she frowns as she notices the glasses in our hands.

"Oh my god, are you both insane?" She whisper yells, giving both of us murderous glances. "I told you Connor, no alcohol."

"Hey, it's not daily my best yet the most annoying friend turns twenty one. When are you going to have your first legal drink?" He says, excitedly.

"Well, definitely not when my daughter is ten steps away from me." She growls at him.

"Tsk.. party pooper."

"Did you lose your mind with him too?" She looks at me and I gulp on my own saliva.

"Sorry, I guess?" I raise an eyebrow.

"God, it's okay. Just promise me no more drinking?" She looks at both of us.

"Sure." We both say, shrugging together and she rolls her eyes.

"And you, get the cake out there." She instructs Connor who slides off the counter and moves to settle the cake on the dining table.

"Are you mad at me?" I ask, when he leaves.

She gives me a look, "Honestly? No. You aren't even supposed to be here. You must be bored out of your mind, I don't know what I was thinking when I invited you." She sighs, running a hand through her blonde hair and I hold out her hand, intervening our fingers together.

"I'm really glad that you invited me." I tell her honestly.

"Yeah?" She asks, genuinely curious.

"Yes." I say as I place a light kiss on her cheeks and she sighs.

I can tell that her guard is falling down, it has been since the moment she talked to me in the office today. I don't know what did it, but whatever it was, I'm glad that it's working.

The door bell rings, interrupting our moment and Ella moves to open the door. Mr. Wilson and her wife step in, and I get down from the counter. Diana and I both move to the living room and they both look surprised to see me, throwing curious glances at both of us. Did they know about the whole break up fiasco?

"Aaron." Mr. Wilson passes me a smile with a curt nod.

"Mr. Wilson." I pass the smile back.

"Now that you're here, let's cut the cake?" Diana announces and all of Emily's friends start jumping up and down with excited.

Kids.

"Well, let's move to the table, yeah kids?" Ella says with a grin as she directs everyone to the table.

Emily runs into Shelly's arm who laughs as she hugs her back, "Happy Birthday Princess." She wishes her and Emily giggles as she moves to Mr. Wilson.

"Happy Birthday little girl. Your Gramps is so proud to see you growing up." He kisses her head and she beams at him.

"Thank you Gramps."

"And you," He turns to Diana, "Happy Birthday, Dee. I've seen you grown from her age to yours and you always make my ego boost with the pride for my niece." He hugs her from the other side.

Well, fuck me if I'm wrong but I almost witnessed Diana tearing up. She laughs it off nonethless, "Thanks Uncle." She hugs him before moving to hug Shelly who wishes her as well.

It swells my heart to see that she's surrounded by the people who love her on her special day. She deserves all the happiness in the world, literally every inch of it.

Diana's phone starts ringing on the coffee table and my eyes fall on the screen as I'm standing just beside it. Derek's name flashes on the screen and it immediately makes me mad. Why the hell is he calling her? She moves to answer it, and then motions everyone to move to the cake.

Everyone does, and so do I but I stay close enough to be able to eavesdrop on their conversation. Wrong, but I can't help it.

"Hey," she says calmly on the phone.

She laughs as she listens to him, "Thanks asshole! I didn't expect you to remember."

Oh, he called to wish her. I almost sigh with relief.

"Yeah, definitely hard to forget considering I told you about it before I gave you the best head of your life. Even if you wanted to, you couldn't forget about it." She laughs and her words pierce through my heart.

Seriously? I give out a bitter laugh as I shake my head, trying to cover up my emotions which are suddenly all over the place. Her eyes shoot up to me and she immediately hangs up on the phone, being aware that I heard her.

"Aaron, I-" she starts but I cut her off.

"She's waiting for you to cut the cake." I say before looking away, not being to manage to look at her anymore.