Page 15 of Give Me a Reason

I filled a glass with ice and water from the fridge, content to watch Paisley interact with Aria.

“You dip the bread in the olive oil, and it is delicious.” Paisley dipped her bread and took a big bite.

“I bet it is. You enjoy cooking?” Aria asked her.

Her nose scrunched. “I’ve only cooked kid meals before. Mac and cheese and chicken nuggets.”

“That’s impressive. My sister and I learned to cook at a young age too.” Something flashed in Aria’s eyes, and I wondered if she’d regretted sharing that detail. If so, I wondered why.

“You have a sister?” Aria asked, awe filling her voice. A sibling was the one thing she wanted more than anything.

“Iris. She’s six years younger than me.”

“See, Dad? You can have another baby now. I’m six.”

Aria covered her smile with her hand.

“Yeah, that’s not how it works,” I said dryly as I opened the oven to check on the veggies.

“But if I had a brother or a sister, I’d have someone to play with.”

“And fight with. You forget I have a sister, and it isn’t all sunshine and rainbows.”

“I love my sister. Sure, we had disagreements, but we’re close.”

I turned in time to catch the sweet look on Aria’s face.

“Does your family live nearby?” I asked her, curious to know more about her.

“I grew up here, and they still live in the same home.”

Before I could ask where home was, Paisley brought up that we were making ratatouille and that it was our favorite movie. Then she took Aria by the hand and pulled her to her room to show it to her.

I let them go because it was important for Paisley to get to know Aria and feel comfortable with her. But I wanted to figure out Aria. Why was she so optimistic about love and relationships? Were her parents one of the unicorn couples that stayed together and were more in love now than they were when they married?

I heard laughs and talking coming from Paisley’s room, but I resisted following them. I wanted them to have some time alone together to bond. Besides, I didn’t trust myself not to ask Aria a billion personal questions she wouldn’t appreciate.

I channeled my nervous energy and set the table while they talked and played. When dinner was ready, I called them to the table.

“This looks amazing,” Aria said when she sat across from Paisley.

I’d already dished the ratatouille over the brown rice in large soup bowls. “You can dip the bread in it. I thought this would be easier than spreading it over it.”

“It looks delicious. Thank you.” Aria spread the napkin over her lap.

“Paisley has been asking me to make ratatouille for a long time, and I resisted because it looked complicated. It wasn’t that hard. Just a lot of cutting up veggies.”

Aria lifted her spoon, her lips tipping up. “Well, I’m impressed.”

A flash of pride flowed through my chest. I shouldn’t care if Aria was impressed, but I was.

I took my first large bite, the flavors of the tomatoes and veggies bursting in my mouth. It was good, but next time, I needed to add something else, a protein. This wouldn’t fill me up. “If you’d like slices of chicken on the side, I have some leftovers.”

“This is fine. I ate a snack when I came home from work.”

“Me too,” Paisley said, clearly delighted with her as she ate her veggies with a spoon. “This is good.”

“Thank you,” I said, ruffling her hair. When I glanced over at Aria, she was watching us with interest. I wondered if she thought I was a good dad. She’d said as much at the festival, but she barely knew us.

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