Page 18 of The Grinch who Loved Me
Cheeto looked over at her and meowed softly at her and the girl walked a little closer and Cheeto walked down his arm and then sniffed at the girl and then stepped over to her and nuzzled at her face and neck.
The girl laughed and it lit up her entire face, “I’m Aria. Good to meet you Cheeto.”
Aria. Her name was Aria. It suited her. Perfectly actually.
She looked over at him, “So, um. Since we are having dinner together, what is your name?”
He cleared his throat, “Ryland.”
She grinned, “Ryland. I like it.”
Then she let out a small squeak and her face flushed pink.
He smiled and her blush deepened.
She held out her hand carefully, not dislodging Cheeto, and his hand engulfed hers.
He fought to keep the groan in his chest when a zing traveled up his arm from that touch and he shook her hand then let it drop.
He cleared his throat again, “I hope you like fried rice.”
She nodded, “I do. It’s one of my favorite things to eat.”
He walked to the kitchen and grabbed two plates from the cupboard and plated them each some and popped one in the microwave.
While it was heating up, he took Cheeto off Aria’s shoulder and showed her where to sit.
She sat delicately and put her crutches on the side of her as if this wasn’t new.
And he figured it wasn’t. He put the plate of food in front of her and she smiled up at him, “Thank you. This looks delicious.”
He grunted and popped his food in the microwave and sat down.
She hadn’t picked up her fork and he looked down at her, “Aren’t you going to eat?”
She shook her head, “I will wait for you.”
His eyebrows raised and as soon as the microwave dinged, he jumped up to grab it.
He sat down hard on the other chair and started to dig into his food.
He didn’t know what else to do. He hadn’t eaten with a girl before. Aside from his mom.
He looked up and she was eating her food with delicate bites and she looked up and saw him watching her.
“What is your last name?” He said and she finished her bite, “Cannon.”
“Your name is Aria Cannon?”
She nodded, “My father is a pilot. And each of the kids had something to do with his job. My older brothers are Jet and Bowing. And I’m Aria. My name means air.”
He nodded and she said, “What is your last name?”
“Ryland Downs.”
That made her smile wider, “Ryland Downs. It’s a really nice name.”
He blinked, “Thank you.”
