Page 30 of Broken Silence
“Erm, Leona said you have to come back and play with her,” he said on our way back to… his house, I guessed. Nervously scratching the back of his neck again, he added, “I can get you out of it if you want. I mean, you—”
“No. I’d love to spend time with her.”
And you.
Mostly you.
He cleared his throat. “Yeah? Okay. Good.”
“She seems to really love you.”
“She’s an awesome kid. Mia couldn’t afford to move out, so she stayed home. Leona’s loud and doesn’t look where she’s running. I barely got any sleep when she was first born because of that cry, but I wouldn’t change it.”
“How is Chris with her?”
He turned his nose up. “He’s a good dad, but I’ll never forgive him for what he did to Mia.”
We drove home, catching up on family stuff and keeping it strictly off the subject of us.
As soon as we walked through the door, Leona ran towards me. She was the image of Mia as a child. Thankfully, there wasn’t a hint of Chris in her at all.
She was beautiful.
“Oaley,” she chirped, mispronouncing my name. Her little arms shot out for me to pick her up.
Okay.
Balancing Leona on my hip, I followed Cole into the kitchen. He made a comment about how Leona would normally have gone to him first and that I was her new best friend.
I couldn’t help smiling a little at that. It meant a lot that Leona liked me. I’d missed so much of her short life, and I had a lot to make up for—and not just with her.
“Hi, sweetheart,” Jenna gushed, giving me a hug around Leona. “Come and sit. I’ll make you a hot chocolate.” She smiled wide, showing her straight white teeth.
“Can I have some, too?” Leona asked.
Jenna leant over and stroked her cheek. “You can have whatever you want.”
That was exactly the type of nan I expected Jenna to be.
I sat at the table between Cole and Leona. It was so cute, watching them interact. Leona looked up at Cole as if he was her hero.
He would be a great dad one day.
Don’t think of that.
“Why are marshmallows squishy?” she asked Cole.
“Because they’re made from clouds,” he replied.
She gasped and looked into her marshmallow-topped hot chocolate with amazement.
“Clouds?” I asked.
He shrugged. “Sounded better than sugar and eggs.” Smiling at me across the table, he lifted the mug to his lips.
God, I was in trouble. I was going back to Australia after the trial. That was the plan.
This was going to hurt so much more a second time.
