Chapter 34

FREYA

Aiden put Gia in her car seat. He'd installed it the day after we moved in. I settled into the passenger seat as he started the engine. I tried to get him to tell me where we were going, but he just shook his head, refusing to spoil the surprise. I gave up and stared out the window. The surprise was revealed when he pulled up to a dog shelter.

He was keeping his promise to Gia from that day in the park—he was getting her a dog. I was still lost in thought when Aiden helped her out of the car. We went inside, and a kind-faced woman met us halfway.

“We want to adopt a puppy,” Aiden said.

Gia's eyes widened. She looked between us, disbelieving.

“There are some really beautiful puppies. I'm sure you'll like one of them,” the lady said, leading us to the puppies. That’s when Gia finally understood.

“Oh my God! Will we get a puppy?” she squeaked, a bright smile breaking across her face.

“Yes!” Aiden grinned, making her jump with excitement.

“Can I choose?” Her happiness was barely contained when she received his nod of approval. The lady guided her towards the puppies, who were just as excited to meet her, their tails wagging.

While Gia petted the puppies, Aiden turned to me. I realized I hadn’t spoken, lost in a trance. This gesture meant so much to me.

“This is really thoughtful of you,” I said, my voice choked.

Aiden raised an eyebrow. “I promised Gia.”

It probably seemed like an overreaction to him. After all, Aslen was her father. It was normal for him to do something like this, but I'd grown to expect the least and worst from everyone. Seeing my daughter with the father I'd only dreamed of shifted something inside me.

I shook my head. “Thank you.”

His inquisitive eyes softened as he smiled at me. Gia’s joyful squeal interrupted us. We turned to see her getting her face licked by a Labrador retriever puppy, while another was on her lap.

“Did you make a decision?” I crouched beside her. She pursed her lips and looked up sheepishly.

“Can we take both of them?”

“Yep, I guessed it.”

“Two puppies are a lot of work, sweetheart,” I said apologetically, rubbing the head of the puppy in her lap. Not only would two puppies demand a lot of time and care, but we were staying at Aiden’s house. He’d agreed to one, but I wasn’t sure how comfortable he’d be with another.

“Mommy, please! I love both of them. Please, Mommy!”

This was difficult. Telling her no, looking at her face… She turned to Aiden, giving him her best puppy-dog eyes.

“Please, Aiden! Can we take both! Please!”

The moment Aiden saw her face, it was hard not to melt. But something in his eyes told me he didn’t intend to refuse Gia in the first place.

“We can,” he smiled at Gia.

“Really?!” Gia exclaimed, grinning before returning her attention to her new friends. Aiden looked at me with a sheepish look eerily similar to our daughter’s.

I sighed. “Right. You promised her.”

2:31 PM

Chapter 34

“We’ll manage.”

Just two words, so casually spoken. I was at a loss for a reply. It sounded intimate, like we had all the time in the world to train our puppies. It sounded like we were a family. My heart ached. Would I ever have a family? Would I ever be able to give Gia that?

“Besides, Carlos is there to help,” Aiden reassured, mistaking my silence for stress.

I snickered. “Right! Carlos seems like someone who would be ecstatic about dog poop.”

Aiden’s eyes narrowed, as if imagining Carlos with the puppies. It did bring a smile to his face.

I exhaled. “But seriously, thank you. I haven’t seen her this happy in days.” Both our eyes shifted to Gia. I took in her glowing face. She was giddy with happiness. I looked back at Aiden. “I’m just glad she found her way to you.”

Something flared in his brown eyes, strong and intense, before he spoke words that rendered me speechless:

“I’m glad you both found your way to me.”

His words were spoken with such conviction. I stared at him, tongue-tied. Did he actually mean—

“Can we take them home?” Ava’s cheery voice thankfully interrupted me before I read too much into his words.