One More Time (Ruby Falls #2) - Aurora Rose Reynolds Page 0,36

the time, it felt so far away, but this last week has been a whirlwind of dealing with contracts, working on my new series, and spending every free moment I have with Tide. And with everything happening, I didn’t have a lot of time to worry, but now that I’m sitting here, the butterflies fluttering in my stomach are making me nauseous. I don’t think I’ve ever been more nervous than I am right now or felt like more was on the line.

“I’m so nervous.” I shake out my hands in an attempt to get them to stop shaking, then turn to glare at Gia when she laughs. “This isn’t funny.”

“It’s a little funny.” She picks up Gino from his carrier when he starts to fuss. “Also, it’s so sweet that you’re nervous about meeting Olivia, when I have no doubt she is going to love you on the spot. She’s a good kid.”

“But what if she doesn’t like me?” I ask, and Gia looks up at the dozen pink and gold balloons floating above my head, then at the big birthday bag that I brought with me, sitting on the table.

“She’ll like you.”

“You can’t buy love, Gia.”

“You’re right about that, but she is going to think it’s sweet that you bought balloons and a gift for her birthday when you didn’t have to, and she’s going to see how happy you make her dad and love you even more.”

“Or she’s going to hate me because I’m with her dad,” I mutter, and she sighs.

“Don’t stress about stuff that hasn’t happened. Just wait until you meet her.” She hands me Gino, and I drop my chin to look at his cute little face.

“You’re right. I’ve just always been the person who plans for the worse-case scenario, then if things turn out good, I’m relieved, and if they turn out bad, I’m not disappointed,” I admit as I touch my finger to Gino’s cheek, and he smiles as he latches onto my finger.

“I get that,” she says, then asks quietly, “Do you want kids?”

“Yes.” I lift my head to meet her eye.

“Then everything will be okay.” She looks across the room when the bell rings, and I do the same, feeling my heart lodge in my throat. Over the last few weeks, I’ve seen dozens of pictures of Olivia on Tide’s phone, but seeing her in his arms, wearing a frilly dress and tights, with her hair curled, a cute little crown on her head, and a wide smile on her pretty face, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything more adorable.

“Aunt Gia.” Olivia wiggles for her dad to set her down, and once he does, she runs to Gia and jumps into her lap.

“Happy birthday, sweet girl,” Gia says as Tide leans down to kiss my cheek.

“You okay, babe?”

“Yeah.” I smile at him, feeling more relaxed with him close, then look at Colton and hold Gino out toward him. “I’m going to guess you want him.”

“Always.” He grins at me.

“Angel,” Tide calls, and Olivia turns to look at her dad while my heart sighs, hearing her nickname. “Come here. I want you to meet Aria.”

Her eyes come to me as she hops off Gia’s lap and walks toward her dad, looking a little nervous but not scared or annoyed, which is a relief. “Hi.” She lifts her hand toward me, and I grab it as I fight the urge to wrap my arms around her.

“It’s so nice to finally meet you, Olivia. Your dad has told me so much about you and shown me a million pictures. He’s very proud of you.”

“He showed me pictures of you too. You’re really pretty.”

“Thank you.” I smile as I reach out and touch her birthday crown. “Are you having a good birthday so far?” Today, she had school, so Tide went to have cupcakes with her and her class, and since Anna has her for the weekend and is having a party for her, she allowed him to have this evening. I know that after school he planned on taking her to see her grandparents before meeting Gia and me here, and I guess somewhere along the way, he picked up Colton, who must have gotten someone to cover the bar for him.

“Yes.” She looks at her dad. “Are we still going bowling after pizza?”

“We are.”

“Do you want to be on my team?” she asks me.

Oh God, I’m going to cry.

“I would love that, but I think I should tell you that I’m