Her Venice Affair (The Albury Affairs) (27 page)

Most of it was about candy, ‘
cwazy
wowi
’—the endearment suited—and her aunt ‘
yody
’ translation, Melody.

Yup, he might just be able to be a father. He had a
great example to emulate, his own dad.

He was learning to love and appreciate his father with
each passing minute he held his daughter and Riana in his arms.

This was his family, and he couldn’t wait to start
their lives together.

Aurora squirmed in his arms, chanting ‘down’. He
lowered her to the floor and she ran—a penguin run he found so cute it made him
laugh—past Loraine and Melody and into what he assumed was one of the bedrooms.

“Where is she going?”

 
Riana shrugged,
pulling him toward the couch. “Who knows. She’ll be back. She is too completely
fascinated with you to stay away for too long.”

She cuddled into his side and Allan wrapped his arms
around her in a hug. He would never get over the fact that he had her in his
arms again. Just remembering…he shuddered and he held her tighter.

Riana looked up at him. He’d bet she was about to ask
if he was cold but something in his expression must have told her otherwise.
Then he saw a look in her eyes that he recognized and he knew she understood.

She kissed his chest, right before she pressed her ear
to it, right over his heart.

Melody squealed, rounding the couch. “I’m so happy you
guys are back together again.” She plopped down next to him, rubbed his clean-shaven
chin, and ran her fingers through his short hair. “My brother is back.”

Allan felt the familiar lump in his throat at her
emotional whisper. Melody’s smile wobbled, tears running unrestricted down her
cheeks.

Allan wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled
her to him. She pressed her face into his shoulder, her hand fisted in his
shirt as she sobbed quietly.

“I’m so sorry I put you through hell, Melody. I didn’t
mean to. I just…life just didn’t seem worth living without Riana and Aurora and
I know that’s selfish to you because it used to be you and me…but…God, Melody I
don’t know how to explain it!”

She pulled her head back, exposing her face. She
smiled at him as she wiped her cheeks dry. “I understand. Remember dad?”

Allan let out a shaky sigh. “Yeah. I finally
understand.”

Riana placed her hand over Melody’s on his chest.
“Still. We are really sorry to have put you through…all of it. You too,
Loraine.”

Loraine waved the apology away and sat down on the
carpeted floor across from them. “Hey, as long as my best friend isn’t
depressed anymore, I’m cool. Especially now that she’s happy. Reno on the other
hand is worried sick—happy everything turned out great, but worried, especially
since he can’t come see you.” She jerked her chin at Allan. “He wants to meet
the man who put his sister on crazy watch.”

‘What?” Allan turned to Riana.

Riana shrugged, tilting her head down, trying to hide
from him. “So I didn’t go anywhere unaccompanied, big deal. Let’s move on.” She
kicked at Loraine. “And when did you speak to my brother?”

“He called to check up on you last night and I told
him you two were catching up.” She wiggled her brows.

Riana groaned, shyly hiding her face in Allan’s side.

Allan pinched her waist making her jump. “And why are
you changing the subject?”

The room suddenly fell silent and Allan felt an
uncomfortable feeling creep up on him. He released Melody, cupped Riana’s chin
with his hand and turned her face up to him. “No matter what Riana, Aurora
comes first. Do I make myself clear?” he demanded, sternly.

She swallowed hard, blinking back tears. “That’s easy
for you to say,” she whispered. “You didn’t have to look at her, listen to how
she spoke, watch her facial expression and see the face of the dead man you
love. You weren’t the one who was going to explain to her why and how her daddy
died. The guilt of her never knowing you was drowning me as much as the pain of
losing you was.”

Allan didn’t think he could ever feel worse than he
did at that moment. He leaned down and brushed a kiss on her wobbly lips. Then
he moved back and looked into her eyes. “I’m not going anywhere. Not for a very
very
long time, if I can help it.”

She nodded then placed her head back on his chest.
“Just…don’t travel for work for a while…I need to be able to believe that
before I can rip myself away from you for longer than a minute at a time.”

“I think you two should see someone,” Loraine said,
adding to the tension in the room. “You’ve both gone through an unimaginable
nightmare and you’ll need someone who’ll help you get through this.”

Melody nodded her agreement. “Yeah, a shrink who’ll
make you both feel okay being separate from each other. Put things back to
normal.”

Allan chuckled. “Normal for us was separation for not
more than five hours.”

Riana punched him in the arm, giving him a stern look.
That made him laugh even harder. It was great she was still so shy.

Loraine snorted. “At that rate, it would have been
impossible to not get pregnant.”

“Well I’m glad. I have a wonderful, beautiful niece.”

Allan felt his chest puff with pride at Melody’s
praise. “I made your wonderful beautiful niece. Pretty good job if I do say so
myself.”

Riana jerk up, “Excuse me? You made her?
All by yourself
, I’ll bet.”

He grinned at her. “You
helped some.”

Pig, chauvinistic male, ass, and so many other insults
were thrown at him by the three women. Allan knew it was time to bail and find
his daughter.

He disentangled himself from Riana. “I’ll just go find
my daughter…”

Loraine raised her hand to stop him when he went to
stand up. “Sit down
breeder
, she’s
coming.” She leaned to the side. “Hellion, what are you dragging?”

“Loraine,” Allan warned.

“Oh. You won’t
Loraine
me when you see the home videos.”

Riana laughed next to him. “She does have a point.”

Allan had to watch those videos and see what earned
his daughter that reputation. Surely, she couldn’t be that bad…she was a girl!

Aurora came into view, a pale blue shirt tucked under
her arm as she pulled a large book that looked like an album backward into the
room.

Riana gasped next to him then she quickly turned her
face away.

What’s
wrong with her?
“Riana?”

“She does that when she’s hiding her tears from
Aurora. I usually distract her until Riana is done,” Loraine offered.

Allan nodded, giving Riana’s thigh a squeeze before he
sank to the floor. He pulled Aurora onto his crossed legs and she squealed and
giggled in a voice that he was growing to cherish. He blew raspberries into her
neck, making her squeal and giggle louder as she squirmed.

He had no idea that would tickle her so much. He just
did it on instinct.

Three years ago if someone had told him one day he
would be sitting on the ground, tickling his daughter and listening to her
laugh…he would have recommended a psych evaluation.

“Okay, show daddy what you have there.”

Aurora thrust the shirt she held to his face. “Dada.”

Confused, Allan took the shirt and froze when he
caught the scent. It was his scent.

He turned around to look at Riana. She leaned back far
enough on the couch that his upper body blocked Aurora’s view of her. She just
sat there, tears in her eyes, and a hand over her mouth.

Allan turned back to his daughter. “This is daddy’s
shirt, honey.”

She nodded vigorously then struggled to pull the album
onto her lap. Allan helped her, lifting his knees in a way that would support
the heavy book. Aurora’s tiny legs looked like they could be crushed under the
weight.

“Picas.”

“Pictures?” he guessed. He felt proud he’d understood
that without needing a translator when she nodded and smiled up at him.

 
She pushed the
cover open and began flipping the pages, as she talked. Some words he
understood, others were just a babble—like her mother, but unclear—but he
endeavored to give her his full attention.

The pictures were of Riana and him in Italy, with
little comments and captions under them explaining where the picture was taken
and Riana’s thoughts and memories. It looked like a diary with pictures. She
documented each of their experiences in Italy in detail.

Allan got emotional just reading the words. They were
so full of emotion.

He looked at the likeness of Riana and him and for a
moment they looked like different people. Just a few hours ago, he would have
sworn that they were.

They were happy and carefree in those pictures, and to
Allan’s amazement, he saw love, not on Riana’s face, but on his own. No wonder
Riana was so sure he loved her. He was the idiot who didn’t notice it.

They would become those healthy, happy people again;
he was going to make sure of it.

He felt his chest tighten when he saw news articles
and pictures of his parents and Melody.

Riana had really set out to make up for Aurora not
having a father. It stunned him how much his daughter already knew about him.
She would have always had him, going back to this album when she felt like she
was forgetting him…or if she just needed to see her daddy. And the shirt that
carried his scent…

He felt his love for Riana swell.

His family’s lives were in this book, with as much
detail she could find. All Allan had to do was fill in the details of what she
missed.

He turned around and placed his hand on Riana’s knee
and squeezed. “Thank you for making sure she’d always know me and my family.”

Riana just nodded, more tears spilling.

* * * *

“Are you okay?” Allan asked for the hundredth time
that night as she crawled into bed next to him.

She nodded, placing her hand on Aurora’s back as she
slept on her father’s chest.

God, she came so close to not having this…

Riana took a deep breath to ward off another bout of
crying.

She had cried for what felt like hours, seeing Aurora
and Allan go through her memory album.

Allan laid his hand over hers on Aurora’s back. “I
don’t think I’ll be able to thank you enough for what you did. Aurora would
have known me if I had—”

“Don’t say it,” she interrupted. “Let’s just treasure
this moment with our daughter.” She placed her head on his shoulder, close to
Aurora’s.

“She looks so beautiful and innocent when she’s asleep
you wouldn’t believe she is as destructive as a bulldozer!” Riana chuckled.

“Well, I’m still not convinced,” Allan commented
defensively.

Riana smiled. He was going to defend Aurora no matter
what. She loved him for that.

Loraine had brought her laptop with ‘the proof’ into
Riana’s room when she settled Aurora’s sleeping form on her bed during dinner.
Melody had stayed over and even Matthew had joined them. He’d wanted to meet
the woman who’d bewitched his best friend. Matthew was a wonderful man, with
the looks to match. She may be in love with Allan, but that didn’t mean she was
dead. He stood at the same height as Allan but he was wider and he
rocked
a muscle shirt and jeans. Loraine
had whistled when he walked in, followed by a ‘damn my stupid luck’ when Melody
held up his left hand.

Riana reached for the laptop and turned it on, making
sure to keep the volume on mute. Aurora got really grumpy if she was woken up
when she wasn’t ready. “There is only one way to make you a believer.”

For the next two hours, she fought laughing out loud
at Allan’s stunned expression. He kept on shifting his gaze between the tornado
on the screen and the sleeping angel on his chest. When it was done, he
whistled shaking his head.

“You are lucky she wasn’t born a boy.”

Riana snorted, setting the laptop on the bedside
table. “That’s the exact same thing Reno said.”

Allan went quiet as he stroked Aurora’s back. The
creased brown and thin lined lips worried her. “Allan what’s wrong?”

He stayed silent.

Riana wasn’t sure what to do or say. They’d only been
together for a little over twenty-four hours and she didn’t want to push. They
still had some remnant issues from their ‘mourning’ period.

He sighed. “Is it weird that I’m jealous of your
brother?”

“What?”

“He held her before I did, saw her smile, heard her
cry and her laugh before I did…”

She could hear the anguish in his voice and it broke
her heart. “Allan…”

“I bet he was there for her first steps and picked her
up when she fell, comforted her when she cried, encouraged her, and set her on
her feet to try again. I bet he supported her until he was sure she wouldn’t
fall, and then reluctantly let her go to do it on her own but stayed behind her
to catch her just in case she fell again.”