Chapter 54

Aria

Seeing Lucas look so heartbroken made my own heart break. Without thinking, I moved from my chair and knelt down to his height, opening my arms.

“Hey, come here, kiddo,” I said softly. He hesitated for a moment before shuffling into my arms, still pouting and sniffling. “You really think I’d just stop hanging out with you? I’m not going anywhere.”

He pulled back slightly, wiping his snotty nose with his sleeve. “Really? You’ll still play with me?”

I nodded as I brushed a stray chestnut curl from his forehead. “Absolutely. In fact, I’ve grown pretty attached to you, Lucas. I think I’d miss you way too much if I stopped. So how about this—you and I can play together every day during lunch, upstairs in your playroom. And maybe even after work sometimes if you want.”

A smile crept across his face, his eyes lighting up. “You mean it?”

“Of course I mean it!” I grinned. “We’ll have plenty of time to play together. You’ll get sick of me before I’m ready to leave, trust me.”

He let out a little laugh. “Okay… then… Can we cook together too? Like when we made those pancakes?”

I chuckled, nodding. “Definitely. We’ll cook something fun at least once a week. Maybe we can try some new recipes. How does that sound?”

Lucas nodded enthusiastically, and his earlier tears had already transformed into laughter. “Maybe we can make… uh… monster spaghetti! With eyeballs and everything!”

“Monster spaghetti?” I laughed, tickling his sides until he dissolved into even more giggles. “I love that idea! And I bet it’ll be delicious, too.”

He giggled, squirming in my arms until I let him go and began ushering him toward the door. “Go color something for me downstairs now, okay? I expect a masterpiece waiting on my desk for me when I’m done talking to your daddy.”

“Okay!” Lucas exclaimed, already turning and scampering out of the office. “I’ll draw something real good!”

Once he was gone, I turned to Darren, who had a look of disbelief written across his face. “How do you do that?” he asked, shaking his head. “You’re so good with him. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him calm down nearly as quickly as he does with you.”

I shrugged. “I’m not really sure. I didn’t have a lot of experience with kids before this, but Lucas… I guess he’s different.”

Darren raised an eyebrow. “Different how?”

I thought about it for a moment, the memories of meeting Lucas in his pup form flickering through my mind. “Maybe it’s because I met him when he was still in his pup form? I don’t know, maybe I’ve just come to associate him with this cute, harmless ball of fur,” I said with a chuckle.

“Or… maybe he reminds me of someone else I took care of once,” I added softly after a moment.

Darren’s eyes widened, then softened as he met my gaze, his expression shifting into something unreadable.

I didn’t need to clarify who I was talking about, of course.

…

Later that evening, I found myself in the forest ‘playroom’, out of breath as I ran around with Lucas—both in and out of his pup form. I need to get in better shape, I thought as he chased me in circles around the trees, my chest heaving and my muscles burning.

We played until the first stars started to twinkle to life in the sky, and by then, both of our stomachs were growling. Suddenly, the idea of ‘monster spaghetti’ didn’t sound so bad.

“Alright, kid,” I said. “Let’s head inside and get some dinner going. I think we’ve had enough playtime for one day.”

Lucas nodded, grabbing my hands as he skipped beside me back toward the elevator. We made our way to the kitchen, where Darren was seated at the counter with his laptop open in front of him.

While I started gathering the ingredients for spaghetti, Lucas bounded up to his dad and tugged impatiently at his pant leg. “Daddy, are you going to make dinner with us?”

Darren didn’t look up from the screen as his fingers flew over the keyboard. “I have to finish up some work right now, Lucas. Just give me a little bit, alright?”

Lucas’s face fell, and he looked up at me with disappointed eyes. “When you go home tonight, Daddy’s not going to play with me at all.”

I could see Darren’s jaw tighten, his fingers pausing for a brief moment before he continued typing. “Lucas, we’ve talked about this. I work so I can take care of you, alright?”

Lucas’s lips pressed into a pout. “But you don’t work so much whenever Mommy is here.”

That comment hung in the air, making my breath catch a little as I sifted through the fridge for dinner ingredients. I was pretending not to notice the conversation, but it was hard not to glance over at Darren.

I could see the guilt flicker in his eyes, but I could also see the pain in his son’s gaze. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, I thought, sympathizing with Lucas. But I didn’t say that out loud.

When Darren looked at me, silently pleading, I bit my lip and closed the refrigerator door. “Hey, Lucas,” I said softly, kneeling down beside him, “your dad works really hard, you know? It’s not that he doesn’t want to spend time with you.”

Lucas crossed his arms, his pout still firmly in place. “But he’s not even looking at me.”

Darren’s head shot up at that, his expression softening as he finally met his son’s gaze. “Lucas, I’m here, okay? I’m just… I’m just a little busy.”

“But you’re always busy,” Lucas murmured.

I could see the conflict on Darren’s face; he didn’t want to be the dad who was always working. I placed a hand on Lucas’s shoulder, trying to remedy the situation as best I could.

“Tell you what, Lucas—how about I stay a little longer tonight? We can all have dinner together, and then maybe your dad can take a break to play for a bit.”

Lucas’s face brightened instantly, and he turned to Darren, clasping his hands together. “Please, Daddy? Just a little bit?”

Darren sighed, running a hand through his hair as he glanced between us. Finally, he gave a reluctant nod, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “Alright. Just for a little while.”

Lucas cheered, wrapping his arms around me in a tight hug. “Thank you, Aria! You’re the best!”

I laughed, ruffling his hair. “Anything for you, buddy.”

As I turned to start making dinner, I felt Darren’s gaze linger on me, and when I glanced up at him, there was a silent gratitude in his eyes. I offered him a small smile, although truthfully, I wasn’t doing this for him. I was doing it for Lucas.

With that, I began prepping the ingredients for a saucy vegetable spaghetti, chopping vegetables as Lucas watched intently, occasionally helping to stir or add spices to the pot. Darren sat at the kitchen counter, still working on his laptop.

But oddly enough, he shut it about halfway through dinner cooking. I thought that maybe our noise was bothering him and that he would move to another room to work, but to my surprise, he stayed and watched while I cooked.

It was a quiet, peaceful evening. It almost felt like… family.

When dinner was finally ready, we all sat down at the table, passing around dishes. Lucas did most of the talking, of course, but I didn’t mind. Darren didn’t seem to mind, either.

As we finished dinner, Lucas’s eyes began to droop, his energy finally waning after a long day of excitement. I helped him clean up, taking him to the sink to wash his hands before leading him back to the living room, where he collapsed onto the couch with a contented sigh.

“Aria, you make the best dinners!”

I chuckled, exchanging a glance with Darren. “Thanks, Lucas. I’m glad you liked it.”

“But… Daddy’s going to be lonely when you go home.”

My eyes widened slightly, shocked at that little admission. Darren stiffened in the doorway and rubbed his hand across the back of his neck, suddenly taking a keen interest in the floorboards. I opened my mouth to say something, but before I could, Lucas suddenly leapt to his feet and grabbed my hand.

“Ooh, I have an idea! Let’s have a sleepover!”