Page 32 of Down the Aisle
Giving me an amused chuckle in return, he shook his head. "No, I'm not." The way his voice gained a possessive edge, with a slight darkening in his eyes sent shivers down my spine.
Did I make a grave mistake?
If I hadn't feel like trapped prey before, then I definitely did then.
The wild look on his face was fleeting, enough that I questioned whether it was real. If it weren't for the dreadful feeling in the pit of my stomach, the one that told me to shove him away and run—an instinct I knew came from my time with James—then I would've thrown my doubts away.
My string of thoughts snapped at the feeling of his warm lips pressing against my temple. "Be safe out there, alright?" The genuine concern that warmed his eyes into molten steel made my paranoia feel stupid as I forced it away. "And, if you're hungry and want a late-night snack when you get back, then let me know so I can whip something up, alright?"
God damn you, Adam. I'll find something distasteful about you sooner or later.
Humming, I nodded my head in response before kissing Asher goodbye and hugging Adam briefly. "He likes the book—"
What came out of his mouth next should have been a blaring red sign. "I know, the one with the farm animals and the sounds."
How on earth did he know that?
Chapter 12
Adam
~2.5 weeks later~
"Adam, it's eight in the morning on my day off," Eliza whined with a pout when I went to wake her with Asher.
"I think someone's becoming a little spoiled," I joked with a chuckle, slowly pulling her sheets off and sitting on the edge of the bed with Asher in my lap.
"Mama up! Up! Go!" Asher's excited energy lit up the room with smiles as the two of us looked at the toddler. "Out! Go!"
With a tired and sad smile, Eliza sat up in bed and held Asher's hands. "Honey, bad weather, no park today," she told him in a baby voice, making Asher frown and shake his head.
"No! Out!" he demanded, slapping his hand against my thigh and gesturing at me.
Chuckling, I reached out and tucked her messy strands behind her ear. "I told him we were gonna go out today, and we are, just not to the park," I clarified, not wanting her to get into an argument with the toddler and set him into a tantrum. "I'm taking both of you out to Portland today. Get a little shopping into spruce up your closet and whatnot, eat out, just have some fun in the city."
No matter how hard she tried to hide her excitement, it warmed its way onto her face with big, bright eyes and a lovely, grateful smile. "Adam, you really don't have to." And here came the little tiff again, the one I always won. I knew her argument by heart, but I always won in the end.
"I'm spoiling you, and that is it. Besides, going to the local thrift store is not a shopping trip," I deadpanned playfully, leaning over and kissing her forehead. "And remember, you agreed to this trip," I reminded her with a smug smirk, causing her to roll her eyes and smack my leg.
Scoffing, she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and yawned for a second before remarking, "I only said fine to shut you up."
"Still an agreement," I retorted with a victorious snicker.
Standing up, I helped her up and hugged her tightly with one arm. "Go eat breakfast, then wash up. I'm going to finish getting things ready for our outing." I gave her a tentative pat on her bubbly ass in encouragement, chuckling a little from the pouting glare she threw back at me.
After flashing a bright smile at me, she leaned up on her tippy toes, and gave my cheek a soft, shy peck before going over to the dining table.
For a moment, I stood there and admired her lovely body, the that was filling out nicely with how I'd been making her eat properly. It wasn't a huge change since it’d only been about two weeks since she’d been eating properly, but I could definitely see a subtle change. Not only did she have a healthier glow to her, but the way she carried herself was more confident.
As she ate, I kept Asher on my hip while I packed his bag for the day. "Do you have an idea of what you want for lunch and dinner? I know we're going to be at the mall, and the food court will be right there, but there are so many options in Portland, soI don't want to limit us to the shopping center," I asked, breaking the peaceful silence between us.
Now, I expected some generic answers like 'I don't know' or 'Oh, you pick', something along those lines, but she surprised me with actual answers. "Can we get dim sum and Korean? Doesn't have to be that order, but I've been kind of having an itch for those two."
I wasn't gonna complain about my life being made easier. "Whatever my little rose desires," I replied warmly. "Besides, if I wasn't fine, then I would've just picked for us or not asked at all."
Rolling her eyes, she giggled and looked at me longingly for a moment before returning to her food. "That's a fair point." Sipping at her juice, she grinned at me from behind her cup. "And thank you for breakfast."
"You don't have to thank me for everything,mia rosa. But you are more than welcome." Her gratitude for everything I did for her really threw me for a loop, more often than not. I had expected it to stop after the first few days, but nope. Although, I couldn't help but wonder if she was expressing her appreciation or if it was a habit.
