Page 36 of Must Have Been Love

“That sounds like my cue to leave,” Jesse says and we all laugh because we kind of forgot he was still here.

“You don’t count as men,” Autumn says.

“Thanks.Not.” He wrinkles his nose.

“Seriously. You’re one of us,” she says, her eyes crinkling as she smiles at him. “I bet you can trash talk like the rest of us.”

“Not at a kid’s party,” he says.

“Speaking of kids, where’s Ayda?” I ask, looking around. Because I have a huge soft spot for that little girl. I put her gift on the table at the other end of the lawn when we arrived, but I’d still like to say hi to her.

“Over there.” Autumn points, and I see her on the dance floor with some other kids. They’re all moving to the sound of “Circle of Life” and they look so sweet it makes my heart clench.

“Are they her friends?” I ask, as one little girl grabs Ayda’s hand to dance.

“They are now,” Autumn says. “I miss being able to make friends like that.”

Ayda looks up, her lips curling into a smile when she sees me. She runs over and throws her arms around my hips.

“Ooh, she likes you,” Francie murmurs. “She’s never hugged me like that.”

“Me either,” Jesse adds.

But I’m too busy hunkering down and looking at Ayda’s pretty dress to acknowledge them.

“Look at you! You look exactly like Elsa. I love your braid.” I run my hand over it and she grins. “Are you having a good birthday party?” I ask.

She nods, then she looks up at Autumn before back at me.

“What is it, sweetie?” Autumn asks. “She has the look on her face when she wants something.”

Ayda bites her lip then takes my hand in her tiny fingers, using her other hand to point at the dance floor, where her new friends are now dancing to ”I Just Can’t Wait to be King”.

“You want to dance?” I ask her.

She nods, then pokes my stomach and points at the dance floor again.

“You wantmeto dance with you?” I clarify.

This time her nod is emphatic. I look up at Jesse, Autumn, and Francie. “I guess I’m going dancing,” I tell them.

“Have fun,” Autumn says, though I can tell by the way her eyes crinkle she’s pleased.

“I’ll find you later,” I tell them all, as Ayda drags me away.

“Don’t forget about our girls’ night,” Francie calls after me.

“I won’t,” I promise, practically running to keep up with Ayda. When we get to the dance floor, the music has changed again. This time it’s “We Don’t Talk About Bruno”, and I love the song so much that I start singing, taking Ayda’s hands in mine as we both dance our little hearts out.

Then I sweep her into my arms and swing her around and she giggles out loud, enough to make my eyes widen.

She curls her arms around my neck, hugging me tightly as we dance. And my skin prickles, as though somebody is watching us.

* * *

HUDSON

“Who’s that?” West asks as he looks over at the dance floor we had erected in the center of the lawn.

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