Page 6 of Six of Hearts
Gabriel shot me a look. "You sound like you're trying to convince yourself."
Maybe I was. The truth was, I wanted this to work as much as any of them. Finn needed consistency, needed a woman's presence in his life. But I also knew how quickly things could go wrong when emotions got involved.
Noah's house was lit up when we arrived, warm light spilling from the windows. We let ourselves in—one of Noah's rules for what he'd dubbed "The Dad Squad" was that we all had keys to each other's homes. Practical for coordinating kid care, but also symbolic of the trust we'd built.
"In the den," Noah called out.
We found him with a bottle of whisky already open, glasses poured. That was either a very good sign or a very bad one.
"So," I said, settling into one of the leather chairs. "Tell us about her."
Noah passed a folder to Liam, but his eyes were bright with something I rarely saw in him—hope. "Her name is Aria Kent.Bachelor's in Child Psychology, associate's in Early Childhood Development. She's twenty-six, local, and she interviewed incredibly well."
"Education's important," I said, and I meant it. Anyone taking care of our kids needed to understand child development, needed to be equipped for the challenges seven children would present.
Gabriel made an impatient sound. "What about the rest of it?"
"We didn't get that far," Noah said carefully. "I wanted to make sure she was right for the kids first. That's what matters."
Liam passed the folder to me, and I opened it to a professional headshot clipped to her resume.
My breath caught.
Long blonde hair, delicate features, eyes that seemed to look right through the camera. She was beautiful—objectively, undeniably beautiful. But that wasn't what made my chest tighten.
She looked like Eva.
Not exactly, but enough. The same colouring, the same ethereal quality. The same type that had always drawn me in, that had made me fall in love with my wife before everything went wrong.
"Ronan?" Liam's voice seemed to come from far away. "You okay?"
I realised I'd been staring at the photo, my thumb pressed against the edge of the paper hard enough to crease it. I closed the folder and passed it to Gabriel, forcing my expression neutral.
"I'm fine."
Gabriel let out a low whistle as he looked at the photo. "She's gorgeous."
"What do you two think?" Noah asked, his gaze moving between Liam and me. "About her qualifications, I mean."
Liam nodded slowly. "Her credentials are impressive. And you're right—the kids need a woman around. Someone stable, someone who understands what they're going through."
Gabriel tossed the folder onto the coffee table. "Are we really going to pretend we're only thinking about her college degree? What did she say about the other arrangement?"
"We didn't discuss it," Noah said firmly. "And we're not going to rush into that conversation. Remember why we started this in the first place—to find quality care for our children. Everything else is secondary."
"Secondary," Gabriel repeated, his frustration evident. "Noah, it's been months since—"
"Since the last situation imploded because we moved too fast," I cut in, my voice quiet but firm. All three of them turned to look at me. "We will not make that mistake again."
Gabriel's eyes flashed, but I held his gaze.
"I know you're frustrated. We all are. But we're not using this woman like a solution to our personal problems. If she's good for the kids, that's what matters. We get to know her first, make sure she's the right fit professionally, and then—maybe—we see if there's potential for more."
The room fell silent. I rarely spoke up like this, preferring to observe and listen, but this mattered too much to stay quiet.
"He's right," Liam said finally. "If we mess this up because we can't keep it in our pants, we're the ones who lose. And more importantly, our kids lose."
Gabriel sat back, his jaw working. "Fine. But now that I've seen her, it's going to be hard to think about anything else."
