Page 63 of The Last Promise You Made

I headed up the stairs and in the back door Sadie had left open.

The house smelled like vanilla and sugar. Eva was in the kitchen, and if I hadn’t had a report on her sitting in a folder on my laptop, I would have wondered if she did anything but cook and bake. Instead, I knew what book clubs she attended and the line dancing she did with her husband.

She smiled at me in welcome, warm eyes sparkling just like her youngest daughter’s.

“Gia! Nice to see you again,” she said. “Is my son behaving himself?”

I thought about our passionate kiss in the kitchen that I’d instigated but he’d taken control of. I remembered the way his fingers had bitten into my skin and the feel of him pressed into me.

I smiled and said, “Of course. Perfect gentleman.”

Sadie scoffed from behind her mother and then said, “You know Mama was hoping you’d say the opposite.”

Even years of practicing an expressionless face couldn’t stop my cheeks from flushing.

Sadie let out a laugh, kissed her mother on the cheek, and said, “I’m off to the bar. Uncle Phil has me working ’til close tonight.” She grabbed a coat and a purse from the coatrack and then sent me another cheeky grin. “Game night at the bar tonight. Ryder usually makes an appearance. You should get him to come. I think he needs a few drinks to loosen up that attitude he’s got growing into an ugly beast.”

“Sadie!” Eva laughed.

My lips twitched. “I don’t disagree with him needing an attitude adjustment, but I highly doubt you’re going to get that man away from Addy at the moment.” I glanced around for the little girl and was unable to prevent the worry that coasted through me when I didn’t see her.

Eva read my concern, saying softly, “I sent the girls to wash their hands.”

An older woman came into the kitchen via the archway from the living room. Her face was just starting to show signs of wrinkles, and her black-and-white corkscrew hair was tucked beneath a vivid magenta scarf littered with pictures of unicorns Mila probably adored.

She walked over to me, extending her hand with a smile, saying, “I’m Rianne.”

I shook it, flipping through the Hatley file in my mind. She was Maddox’s babysitter who was more family than employee. She was also a retired teacher and had taught all the Hatley kids in the third grade.

“Gia.”

“Oh, I know who you are. I’ve heard quite a bit about you.” She winked.

I didn’t know how to react to the admission, and I was glad I didn’t have to respond as Mila came running back in with Addy slowly following her.

“Nana, can we eat at the table in the playroom?”

Addy saw the new person and stopped at the archway. The soft smile on her face turned completely expressionless, and the fingers on her right hand dug into the skin at her wrist on the left. It destroyed my heart to see her react this way. There was a difference between teaching kids to be wary of strangers and the absolute fear Addy seemed to experience.

“Get the tray out,” Eva said to her granddaughter, and Mila shouted, “Yes!” before running to the pantry and coming out with a wooden tray. Eva assembled bowls of homemade chicken soup, thick slices of homemade sourdough, silverware, and napkins on it.

“Don’t forget the snickerdoodles, Nana!”

Eva shook her head, patting Mila’s cheek. “Nope. I know better. You’ll eat the cookies first. Lunch and then snickerdoodles, Bug-a-boo.”

Mila looked devastated.

Addy had made her way over to me and was standing so close she was almost pressed into my side. She’d removed her jacket and her backpack by the door, and she kept darting her gaze toward them, as if she was trying to figure out how long it would take her to get away.

“You okay?” I asked softly.

She shrugged, watching as the other people in the room chatted away about Mila’s school. I realized with a panicked start that Addy should be in school too. Then, I wondered if she’d ever gone to school. I highly doubted it. Somehow, Ravyn had been able to keep her out of the education system. Maybe she’d said she was homeschooling her. Maybe there was no record of Addy existing anywhere. I wasn’t sure. But I did know there was no way the little girl could go to school at the moment. We couldn’t afford for people to know she was Ryder and Ravyn’s daughter. Not yet.

Eva handed Mila two glasses of lemonade, picked up the tray, and made her way to the archway. She glanced over to where Addy stood with me. “Come on, kiddo. Let’s get you settled in the playroom.”

Addy hesitated, but then she looked up at me as if to make sure it was okay. “I’ll be right here, and Ryder will be in soon.”

She didn’t say anything, but she went to her backpack, dragged her jaguar out of it, and followed her grandmother and cousin from the room.

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