Page 38 of Small Town Secrets

She leaned and pressed her forehead to his, his expression easing, as his stare held her. “You better call the Little Poppet over for dinner before we make it really obvious I’m more than just mommy’s friend helping out.”

She chuckled and resisted an urge to lean in farther to kiss him, forcing herself to pull away, while adjusting the red summer dress she’d worn for his benefit and calling for Whitney.

The smell of roasted vegetables and grilled beef wafted from the table as they took a seat, Whitney quick to dig into the food.

“Adrian is a good cook.” Whit spoke with her mouth full of roast potato and smiled at him through her words.

“I had a little brother to cook for and a really busy mom, so I learned young.” He sawed into his steak but kept his attention on Whitney. “If you like, you can help me next time and I’ll teach you a few things.”

She gave an enthusiastic nod. “My mom is always busy too.”

Quick to bite into a green bean from her plate, Whitney was unaware of the insult in her comment and a dull ache took up space in Laila’s chest.

Adrian’s stare fell on her, like he knew about her guilt, only for Whitney to pipe up again.

“Mommy?” Whit’s innocent eyes glittered up at Laila, and Laila braced for whatever she might say next. “I don’t like brothers, but I want someone little I can cook for, just like Adrian. Can we get a little sister?”

Laila’s lips parted but no words came out, and her face turned cold, while she fought every urge to look to Adrian, afraid of what she’d see if she did. Whitney didn’t know how little brothers and sisters were made, so the question suggested there might be some kind of ‘sibling shop’ Laila could just stop by and pick up a new family member.

Still refusing to make eye contact with Ramos, the chill over her face changed to a slow and stinging burn.

“Oh, Whit”—she reached out and gave Whitney’s chin a tender pinch, embracing the sweet distraction of averting her child’s thoughts elsewhere—“Mommy is always busy, and a little sister would make her even busier. You’d have to share me with the baby.”

There! Conflict resolved! And she’d managed to reuse Whitney’s comment about her busyness to her advantage.

“Ramos can take care of the baby and you take care of me.” Whitney shrugged and popped more food in her mouth before she did the unthinkable and turned to Ramos. “We still have some of my baby clothes. I’ll share those. We can all play with the baby and put her in pretty dresses.”

Caught in a state of shock, Laila’s attention veered over to Ramos, his fingers clasping his fork with a piece of speared meat on the end and his face muscles slack. His sudden stillness lingered, even as his blank gaze shifted to Laila and he mumbled, “She has our lives all planned out for us.”

Laila dipped her chin and mouthed the word no, pleading with him to do nothing to encourage any new ideas from her child.

She forced a slow and cautious smile and dropped her gaze back to her daughter. “Whit, you’re starting kindergarten next year, which is about as long as it would take to get a sibling. By that point, you’ll have so many friends to play with, and some might even be happy to play dress ups with you. You won’t miss having a little sister. Trust me.”

Whitney’s mouth formed a small frown and her eyes darted toward Adrian, as though he might help her. He thankfully did no such thing, and she soon nodded and returned to eating.

In a clear quest to cheer her up, Adrian directed a comically wide expression of interest at Whitney. “Watch any good Power Cats lately?”

Thankfully his attempt worked, and Whit lowered her fork, her entire face lighting up as she bounced in her chair. “Yes! Yes! Yes! There’s a new season. It’s so cool! Have you seen it?”

Laila pressed a knuckle to her lips, trying to stifle a laugh at the mental image of Adrian sitting alone at home willingly watching Power Cats.

He caught her amusement, his eyes crinkled in the corners, while he switched focus away from her and back to Whit, shaking his head. “No, but I wish I had. Want to tell me about it?”

Whit pushed loose brown curls from her face and straightened, as if making certain nothing could distract from the story she had to tell. “In the last show, they fought a giant robot, but they lost and got swallowed. So, then they had to answer a question to get out of its belly, but I already knew the answer because momma read it to me in a book.”

“What was the question?”

“If I tell you, you have to think of the answer for yourself. Mommy and I won’t help you.”

Adrian gave a quick nod, his gaze flicking momentarily back to Laila, who didn’t even try to hide her smile at his efforts to talk to Whit about something she very much enjoyed. Or that he’d succeeded in putting an end to the awkward conversation about siblings and babies. “Sure thing.”

Whitney’s grin grew impossibly wide, and she switched focus between the two adults. “Okay, here goes. What does a caterpillar hide in before it turns into a butterfly?”

He shrugged, like the answer would be easy. “A cocoon.”

“Wrong!” Whitney squealed and bounced up and down again, almost toppling backward. Laila thrust a hand out and caught the back of her chair.

“It’s a chrysalis, you silly!” Whitney stabbed a finger at Adrian, completely oblivious to the fact she’d almost cracked her head on the porch.

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