Page 5 of Give Me a Reason

Aria’s lips twitched. “I think your ego can handle it.”

“I love teaching. Young kids are so eager to learn, and the schedule works for my daughter.”

Aria’s eyes widened at my words. “You have a child?”

I nodded, my heart picking up for a different reason. How would she feel about me having a child? More importantly, why did it matter? “Paisley. She’s six.”

Her face flushed. “That’s sweet.”

She thought kids were sweet, or was it the fact that I had a daughter? I hoped for the latter. I hadn’t done much to impress her, but maybe she respected the fact that I was a dad.

“I should probably get back in case Gia needs me.” She moved toward the door, but I didn’t want her to leave. I wanted her to see me differently, but I wasn’t sure why.

“It’s a party. You’re not working.” I pushed off the wall to stand but kept my hands in my pockets so I wouldn’t reach for her.

Aria slowly turned to face me. “I want to make myself indispensable.”

“This job is important to you.” It was like getting a puzzle piece to what made Aria unique.

“It is.” She didn’t elaborate, but I wanted—no, I needed to know more.

“Why?”

Aria shrugged. “I worked as an instructional assistant at a local school for years, thinking I wanted to be a teacher, but when the funding decreased, my job was the first to go. Now I don’t know what I want to do. I don’t have a talent like you do for music.”

“You enjoy planning weddings?” I said, my tone a little disbelieving. For Gia, it was a business, and that made sense to me.

“Why do I get the feeling you disapprove of everything I say and do?” Her tongue darted out to lick her lip, and I wanted to chase it with mine.

“I don’t disapprove of you.” I wanted to crush her against my body and kiss her. I wasn’t sure where the desire had come from, but my fingers itched to touch her.

“It seems like you do,” she said hesitantly.

“I just don’t understand you.”

Her nose scrunched. “You don’t have to. We’re nothing to each other.”

She opened the door to leave.

“Wait.”

She paused but didn’t turn around.

“I followed you because I wanted to apologize for what I said earlier. When I implied you didn’t have anything to worry about in your life. That was unfair of me. We don’t know what anyone else is dealing with on any given day.”

She turned to me, her eyes soft in a way they never were in my presence. “Thank you. I appreciate that.”

I wanted to say I needed to get to know her better, to understand why she was so hopeful and positive about relationships and marriage, but I shouldn’t. She opened the door and slipped out before I could say anything else.

I needed to chalk it up to a weird personality clash. We didn’t agree on anything. Despite this physical attraction, we had nothing in common.

I had a daughter to care for. I worked the teaching job because I enjoyed it, and it provided steady income and insurance for me and her. I did the gigs on the side to pay for her activities and to save for the future. I didn’t have a lot, but I had enough.

I prided myself on not touching my trust fund unless I needed it, like I had for the house we lived in. I wanted Paisley to live in a nice home in a good school district. But otherwise, I relied on my income for living expenses.

I watched Aria cross the yard to the barn, her long dress skimming the grass. A sense of loss shot through my chest, and I wasn’t sure why.

Early the next morning, my doorbell rang. When I checked the video feed, it was Paisley and her mother, Naomi.

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