Page 156 of The Spring in My Heart

Ay smiles so wide. “Papi made hot chocolate.”

Our gazes meet, and then I see the thermos in his hand. “You did?” I push to my feet and take it from him.

“I hope you like it,” he says with just a hint of shyness that makes it adorable.

“I’m going to love it. This is so sweet.”

I swear he’s blushing a little. “What about that?”

We all turn to look at the ginormous monstrosity of a bouquet Mateo sent me.

“It got delivered while I was away.”

“So gorgeous.” Ayla stands close to it and leans in to get a whiff.

Her father, on the other hand, says nothing, but pushes to his feet. “We should go, A.”

“I’m a peonies kinda girl,” I say, ignoring Oliver’s frustration. “I once got the prettiest daisies. They became my instant favorites.”

His eyes widen, and then he gifts me his signature smile, potent enough to melt the clothes off my body.

“Why don’t you guys stay a while and hang out?” I find myself asking.

“Okay. What do you want to do?” she asks, the light dancing in her big eyes.

“Cookies and hot chocolate,” I reply.

“And…Vampire Chronicles?” She’s really too cute.

“You know me so well.”

I begin to stand, but Ollie does the same.

“Stay. I’ll get the mugs,” he says. “But first, I need to make a phone call.”

We sit on the couch, and ten minutes into the new episode, Ayla and I turn to each other and roll our eyes.

“We should watch old episodes. I don’t like Carla with this guy. I miss the hybrid. And I bet he’s missing her too. He lights up when she’s around. You know?”

I nod. “It’s sad because they’re made for each other.”

“Like you and Papi.”

I almost choke on my cookie and have to pat my chest a couple of times. She keeps staring at the screen like she didn’t just drop a bomb in my family room.

Did he put her up to this? No, that’s not his style.

“Why did you say that about me and your dad?”

She turns a pointed look my way. “Because you are. He was so worried about you and was sad because you were hurting. I asked him to bring me to drop off the cookies, and he insisted on making you hot chocolate because he knows you like it.”

“Are you sure that wasn’t your idea?”

She shakes her head. “He loves you. He wanted to find a way to make you feel better.”

We switch to watching a movie. It is about a guy who goes back to his hometown and finds out he’s a dad.

“It’s like Bron and Mr. Cam,” Ayla says. I don’t have to look at her to know she’s smiling. “She was so happy when she finally met her dad.”

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