I heard the amusement in his voice and chuckled. “You thought the dress I was wearing yesterday was sexy? Really? That?”

“It was sexy,” he argued. “There were legs and tits everywhere.”

I burst out laughing, startling a girl passing by who hadn’t realized I was standing there. I gave her an apologetic smile and turned away. “There was not.”

“Everywhere,” he insisted, teasing. “Tonight, jeans and a jumper that covers everything below your chin.”

“I’ll wear what I want.”

“Aye,” he grumbled. “I thought you’d say that.”

“I understand it must be exciting for an old guy like yourself to see twenty-two-year-old legs and tits but you did promise you could take this slow,” I teased right back.

Aidan gave a huff of amusement, making the line crackle. “Almost twenty-three. And I didn’t get to see your tits. I got to see nipple and fuck, we need to stop talking about this right now. Don’t you have somewhere to be?”

Giggling at his disgruntlement, I managed a yes.

“Then get going. Oh, and Pixie …”

“Yeah?”

“Crack another old guy joke and I’ll speed things up so fast, you won’t be able to walk for days.”

My breath stuttered and there was a tense silence between us. Finally, I huffed out, “Well played,” and hung up.

This time when the elevator doors opened to Aidan’s floor, it was Sylvie who came flying out to greet me. She wrapped her arms around my waist and hugged me tightly.

“Hey, you.” I brushed her hair off her face as she grinned at me.

“Uncle Aidan made lasagna!”

I laughed at her excitement as she led me into the apartment. “I take it you like lasagna?”

“It’s my favorite thing after mac and cheese. You like lasagna, right?” I nodded and she beamed. “Knew it!”

“Knew what?” Aidan sauntered around the kitchen counter, drying his hands on a dishtowel. The apartment smelled amazing and my belly didn’t know whether to growl hungrily or flip-flop in thrill at the mere sight of Aidan Lennox and the sexy smile he was shooting my way.

“That Nora likes lasagna,” Sylvie said.

“That’s good news,” Aidan approached me, his eyes dancing with laughter, “because Sylvie insisted I make a ton of it.” He bent down to press a lingering kiss to the corner of my mouth and my breath caught at his nearness. “Hi, Pixie.”

“Hey, yourself.”

I think he heard my breathiness because his smile turned cocky.

Sylvie had no reaction to any of this other than to smile at me and insist, “Come see my room.”

Instead of telling her I’d already seen it, I let her have her fun and followed her into the blue and purple space that was all Sylvie. I oohed and aahed over it like I’d wanted to yesterday.

“The best part—” Sylvie reached for a guitar case I hadn’t seen braced against the side of one of the posts on her bed. “Uncle Aidan’s teaching me. Do you want to hear?”

“Of course.” I sat down on her bed while she got the guitar out. It was a small blue acoustic covered in purple star stickers. When Sylvie started to sing and play Bruno Mars Lazy Song, my jaw nearly hit the floor. Her sweet young voice was sweet and clear, and she played the guitar well. She was pure joy.

When she was finished, she looked at me expectantly.

I burst into applause and we both jerked around when it was joined by another. Aidan stood in her doorway clapping. His eyes moved from Sylvie to me and I shook my head in wonder. “She’s amazing.”

“I know.”

“Do you think so, Nora?”

I turned back to her. “You’re so talented, kid.”

She smiled shyly. “Uncle Aidan won’t let me record anything.”

Looking over my shoulder, I watched as Aidan strolled slowly into the room and over to her. Gently extricating the guitar from her hands, he told her gently, “You’re too young. Now be a good girl and go set the table.”

She made a face. “We don’t have a table.”

“You know I meant the counter.”

With a beleaguered sigh, Sylvie did his bidding, leaving us alone in her room. I watched him as he put her guitar in the case. I tentatively said, “Maybe she should be doing something with her talent?”

He placed the guitar back against the wall and sat down next to me on the bed, his leg pressed against mine. His hand came down on the top of my thigh, like he couldn’t be near me and not touch me. “Like what?”

I hadn’t come to his apartment tonight with the thought of broaching the subject of Sylvie’s education, and I certainly didn’t want to overstep but I was worried about her. It trumped my fear of pissing off Aidan. “Like a choir. At school. Where maybe she should be again?”

Aidan’s hand tensed on my leg but he didn’t move it. “I homeschooled her so she could be close to her mum, and then I thought it best to let her have time to adjust to life without Nicky.”

“It’s been over a year, Aidan,” I said gently. “I know this might not be any of my business, but Sylvie lights up when she’s with the kids at the hospital. Maybe it’s time you put her back in school and let her have some normality again.”

“It’s not that I haven’t thought about it. I just don’t want to put her through too many changes in a short period of time.”

“This would be a good change. Talk to her. She’s a smart kid, and we both know she knows her own mind.”

He exhaled heavily. “I’m fucking this up, aren’t I?”

“No!” I cupped his face in my hands, rubbing my thumbs over the thick bristle on his cheeks. My eyes got lost in his as I found myself wanting to wipe away every fear or concern this man had. “You are doing magnificently.”

His lips quirked at the corner. “Magnificently?”

I smiled. “Magnificently.”

Quite abruptly, his mouth was on mine and heat flashed through my body as I clung to him.

“Uncle Aidan, the oven is beeping!”

Aidan released me with a groan. “What are you doing to me, Pixie?” He stood up swiftly, running a hand through his hair. “No fucking control,” he muttered before storming out of the room.

I didn’t know whether to be overjoyed he wanted me so much or worried that his lack of control meant we’d be speeding things up despite my request for slow. Because it seemed that as soon as that man got his mouth on me, I was ready to get naked.

Not too long later, we ate sitting on stools at the kitchen counter. I was amused when Aidan pointedly put Sylvie between us. She made us laugh as she chattered about the day she’d spent with her dad at the zoo.

“He tried to pretend like the penguins didn’t scare him but they so did.” She giggled, screwing up her face. “How can you be scared of penguins?”

“Clearly, he’s seen Batman Returns,” Aidan murmured.

“Huh?” Sylvie said, echoing my thoughts.

“It’s a movie.” Aidan shrugged. “With a very scary penguin man in it.”

“Oh. I don’t think I want to see a movie with a scary penguin man in it.”

“I wouldn’t let you see that movie, even if you wanted to, sweetheart.”

Before she could argue—because telling a girl she can’t do something only makes her want to do it more—I asked, “So, you had fun with your dad?”

She nodded, smiling, and it was the first positive answer I’d gotten from her regarding Cal. “Yeah. It was good.”

“That’s great, sweetie.”

“Listen, Sylvie.” Aidan turned to her, looking very serious. “How would you feel about going back to school?” I didn’t know why he decided to talk to her about this while I was present, but I knew it meant I’d earned his trust.

She stared up at him for a second and I didn’t like the hint of anxiety I caught in her eyes. “Won’t … won’t you be sad without me?”

Understanding dawned and I saw it did for Aidan too. “I’m happy when you’re happy, sweetheart. And if going back to school would make you happy, I’ll be over the moon.”