Page 11 of The Manny

She looked up at me, her pink cheeks wet with tears. “Did you really love Mommy?”

A lump formed in my throat. “I did. I’ll always love her. She didn’t have to be around me for me to love her.”

Thomas watched us, his expression compassionate.

Mrs. Jones came over and kissed Mia. “I have to leave now, sweetie. You can call me and talk to me on the phone anytime you want. Okay? I care about you, Mia.”

Mia nodded, and her little fingers dug into my back. “Will you come see me?”

Mrs. Jones looked to me. “If Uncle Jack doesn’t mind, maybe I will.”

“Of course,” I croaked.

“Bye, bye, Mia.” Mrs. Jones gave a tearful smile, then she turned and left the kitchen.

Thomas followed her, and after a few moments, I heard the front door.

“She’s gone,” Mia whispered.

“Yes.”

She stared at me, her blue eyes wide and uncertain.

“But I’m here. And Thomas is here.” Thomas walked into the room at that moment, and I relaxed a little. I cleared my throat. “Do you want more juice?”

Mia shook her head.

Damn. Now what?

“Would you like to see your room, Mia?” Thomas asked, coming closer. “Uncle Jack put a lot of work into making it pretty for you.”

“I have my own room?”

“Of course.” I frowned.

“Shall we go see it now?” Thomas smiled.

I was going to set her down, but Thomas walked up to me and took her from me. My skin tingled where his arms brushed mine, and again I was very aware of his clean scent. It was perplexing to me that I found him attractive, considering he annoyed me so much.

He met my gaze. “Come with us,” he coaxed.

“Oh, uh, okay.” I followed them from the room. I’d have preferred to stay in the kitchen, but since this was Mia’s first day in my home, I guessed it was important I put in some effort. I’d back away more as the days passed, and let Thomas take over the lion’s share of the bonding stuff.

When we reached Mia’s room, Thomas set her down. She stood near the bed, glancing around the room. She ran her fingers over the fluffy pink comforter, looking hesitant. “This is really my room?”

“Yes.” I nodded. “Do you like it?”

“It’s pretty.”

Thomas walked to the dresser where there was a silver frame with a picture of Jules. “Uncle Jack made sure there was a photo of your mommy in your room. Wasn’t that thoughtful of him?”

My face warmed because I highly doubted he thought I was a thoughtful person.

Mia perked up. “A photo of Mommy?”

“Right here.” Thomas held the photo out to her. “Come see it.”

That damn lump in my throat returned as I watched Mia run to Thomas. She took the frame from him and stared at the picture. I didn’t have a ton of photos of Jules, but I’d collected some over the years. The one I’d picked for her room was one Jules had sent me not long after Mia’s birth.

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