Page 104 of Claimed by my Bestie's Dad

“No, and I think half of those packages are fake. They just appeared one day under the tree, and they’re not heavy.”

“How old are you, Madison? Crawling under the tree and shaking the packages.”

“I wasn’tcrawling?—”

Ethan suddenly appears again in the doorway, and I stop immediately with what I am saying and turn to him with a sweet smile.

“How’s everything looking?”

“Great. You guys have a great dinner in store if I can say that about my own cooking.”

“Perfect.” Ethan comes over and squeezes my shoulder, and we feel incredibly like a couple. “I just hope tonight goes smoothly with…Aurora.” My eyes slide to Wesley.

“It will be fine,” Ethan says.

At the same time, Wesley says, “Don’t worry about it.”

I nod, leaning into him, and letting his hand comfort me.

Then, the doorbell rings, and my heart jumps into my throat.

It’s Aurora.

Ethan squeezes my hand, a silent reassurance, before heading to the door. I take a deep breath and follow. Staying in the living room with Wesley feels like I’ll be drawing enemy lines between the Taylors and the Thomases.

As he opens the door, I see Aurora standing there, bundled up in a coat. She glances at me then turns back to her dad. Is she going to ignore me? That would make tonight very awkward. She looks…hesitant, but there’s no anger in her eyes. That feels like a win already.

“Hey, Dad.” She steps inside and hugs her dad. I clasp my hands behind my back and try to find somewhere else to look.

“Hey, sweetheart. I’m so glad you came.”

I force myself to smile when Aurora looks at me again. I feel like there is a lot of pressure on my shoulders, but I can’t let it weigh down. I have to act like her friend if I want her to do the same in return.

“Hi, Aurora, “I’m really happy you’re here.”

She nods, her gaze flicking between Ethan and me again before she finally speaks. “Yeah, me too. I… I want to try.”

My heart swells at those words. It’s not a full reconciliation, not yet, but it’s a start. A chance. Why do I feel like crying all the time? I blink back tears. Aurora doesn’t hug me, but she steps inside and closes the door behind herself.

Wesley has appeared at the entrance to the living room. He has a beer in his hand. Did he get that from the fridge himself? He really likes to make himself at home. He lifts it in a silent greeting to Aurora.

Aurora gives him a small smile. “Hey, Wesley.”

“Let’s go in the living room and have a drink. The turkey is out of the oven, but it needs to cool off some before I serve it.”

We all follow Ethan’s instructions and find seats for ourselves around the room. This time, Wesley sits next to me, and Aurora takes the armchair where he was earlier.

None of us speaks for a moment, and I feel extremely awkward. I look at my shoes. Aurora is the one missing piece of this puzzle. I have my surf school, my man, and now, a baby. Even though I wasn’t sure if I wanted a baby at first, it now seems like the perfect addition to my life.

I’m just missing Aurora.

I finally clear my throat. “How have things been?”

“Fine.” Aurora’s voice sounds strangely odd.

Ethan reappears. “Fine? That’s it? No stories of clients?”

Aurora smiles, and it seems genuine. “Not today. What about you three? Wesley, it’s been a hot minute since I’ve even seen you.”

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