Page 75 of Ice Daddy
A girl that must've been Lance's sister was flipping through a magazine on the couch. She leaped off the couch—as much as averypregnant woman could leap, anyway—to greet them.
“Hi Lance! Hi Paige!” Ella said, smiling warmly. “I'm Ella.”
The two women greeted with a hug and then Ella turned her eyes onto Irie. “Why, hello there, darling Irie! Gosh, you're beautiful, aren't you?”
“That's your Aunt Ella,” Lance spoke softly to Irie. He held Irie's arm and made her wave. “Sayhi, Aunt Ella!”
With Irie in his arms, Lance took off, showing Irie all around the living space of his condo. The two women took a seat on the living room sofa.
“I can't believe how much Irie looks like him,” Ella said to Paige. “Same eyes and mouth and everything.”
“Yeah,” Paige agreed. And now that she mentioned it, Paige noticed that Ella had the same features, too. “The family resemblance runs strong in you two.”
“That's what you get with the Couture bloodline,” Lance said, as he showed Irie the view from the window. “We've got those super dominant genetics.Alphagenetics.”
Ella and Paige both groaned at his hubris—and Paige began to think,hey, I think I like her!
“Tell me aboutyourlittle one,” Paige said, motioning at Ella's belly. “When are you due?”
“I'm due in a week and a half,” Ella said with relief, her hands going to her lower back. “And I amsoready for it to be over, Paige. My back is killing me.”
“Oh, trust me, I remember that feeling. This will be your first one, right?”
Ella snickered. “Yeah. I couldn't believe it when Lance told me that he already had a daughter. I thought forsureI was finally going to beat him to somekind of life achievement.” She gave a listless sigh.
Paige giggled. “You two have a little sibling rivalry, from what I hear.”
“Oh, you don't even know the half of it.”
Paige looked around, appreciating Lance's taste in furniture. “Lance, Ilovewhat you've done with your place.”
“It's badass, isn't it? But I had nothing to do with it—Ella's my interior decorator. Speaking of, we've got something to show you.”
“Something to showme?” Paige asked.
“Yep. C'mon.”
Lance beckoned for the women to follow him. He led them down the hallway and held the bedroom door open.
“Check this out, Paige. This used to be Radar's room. Once he moved out, I turned it into a guest room. But now I've got a different use for it.”
Paige stepped into the room and immediately thought she might cry.
Lance had the room completely ready for Irie. The walls were painted a soft periwinkle, with accenting peach window curtains. Framed watercolor paintings of cutesy animals adorned the walls. A wooden crib sat nestled between the windows. A potted ficus, soaked up the afternoon sun and brought the room to life with a vibrant splash of green. Irie had a wardrobe, a playpen, a wooden rocking horse, a fully stocked diaper changing station, and of course, a hockey set just like the one Irie had at her Grandma and Grandpa's.
“Oh myGod,Lance!” she gushed.
“It's Ella's brilliant work, not mine,” he said humbly. He put an arm around his sister. “She's a real pro.”
“Don't sell yourself short, Lance,” Ella told him. She turned to Paige. “He helped a lot. He did all the painting and heavy lifting, of course.”
Lance set Irie down, and she stamped about her room happily, as if sheknewit belonged to her. She climbed onto the rocking horse and began to sway back and forth, laughing and cooing.
“Looks like Irie loves it. So? What do you think, Paige?” Lance asked with his charming smile.
“It's so adorable, you guys. It's perfect for her.” She hugged Ella first. “Thank you, Ella.”
“Of course!” Ella answered. “Happy to pitch in for my niece.”
