“I’m great! How are you?”
For a quick moment, I study how she looks and have to admit she’s as beautiful as she was all those years ago. She still has great hair. I always loved how her warm brown hair hung so perfectly. There are still some days I can barely get my hair to behave well enough to put it up in a pony tail.
I look at her brown eyes and see she still can wear makeup like few other women I’ve encountered in this world. She always did know how to accentuate the positive. I wish I could learn how to use eyeshadow like she does. I never did get the hang of contouring and highlighting like she did.
“You look fantastic, Maia. Whatever you’re doing, it’s working.”
That may sound a bit over the top, but I mean it. She looks great.
She looks down at Lily standing by my side and smiles at her. “And who’s this?”
Lily has been practicing for when she goes to kindergarten in a few weeks, so she’s ready with an answer. Still holding my hand, she answers, “I’m Lily King. I’m five years old. I can count to one hundred, and I know my ABCs. I know my address too! Do you want to hear me count?”
As much as I love her being so enthusiastic about school, I’m sure Maia and everyone else in this ice cream shop on this August afternoon aren’t interested in hearing all that Lily knows right now. “It’s okay, honey. We can count and do your ABCs when we get to the car.”
Disappointed she doesn’t get to regale strangers with her newfound knowledge, she nods and lets out a heavy sigh. I never want to curtail her learning, but there’s a time and a place for everything.
I return my focus to Maia and see a look of confusion. “Is this your daughter? She’s lovely,” she says.
Beaming my pride in my little girl, I nod and say, “Yes, this is Lily. Lily, say hello to Maia.”
My daughter is happy to once more be involved in the conversation and smiles at her. “Hi, Maia!”
“She looks so much like you, Eden. She has the same gorgeous black hair as you.”
“Oh, thank you. She’s got a lot of me in her, but she’s got her father’s eyes.”
“Did she say her last name is King? Did you marry one of the Kings?” Maia asks, and I sense something in her tone has changed.
I know all too well the history she has with the King brothers. She dated Marius, and then right after they broke up, she slept with Theo.
“Yes, I did. Marius.”
Before she can say anything, Lily looks up at us and announces, “My father’s name is Marius, and my mother’s name is Eden.”
But Maia isn’t listening to my daughter anymore.
“Really?” she asks in a strange voice. Is she jealous?
“Oh, yes. Marius and I have been married for nearly eight years now. I’m sure you remember Ava, my best friend. She married his older brother Matthias, so we’re one big happy family.”
I watch her reaction carefully, and my suspicions are proven correct when she frowns and says, “Oh. That’s nice. Is he still playing at photography?”
Normally, I’d let a comment like that slide since it means nothing to me what anyone thinks of Marius or our life together. What do I care about other people’s opinions on what we do?
However, this is Maia, and there’s no way I’m letting her get away with making a snide comment like that about the man I love and in front of his daughter, no less. Oh, no. Not happening.
Tilting my chin up ever so slightly so it seems like I’m looking down my nose at her, I answer, “He’s a billionaire, Maia. It’s not like he sells insurance for a living or anything like that. He doesn’t have to work at all. We travel and enjoy life, and I tell him all the time he has my blessing to play around at doing whatever he wants.”
Before she can say anything in response, I lean in close to her ear and say in a low voice, “Thankfully, most of the time that’s me. You remember how that was, don’t you?”
When I lean back away from her, I can see by the flustered expression that’s she’s upset. Now to go in for the kill.
“Time to go, baby. Say goodbye to Maia.”
Lily gives her a cute wave, and as we turn to walk out of the ice cream shop, I say to Maia, “Eat your heart out. You had two Kings and still didn’t grab the brass ring you so desperately wanted. Enjoy your ice cream.”
I leave her looking absolutely furious and love it! On our way out of the shop, Lily tugs on my hand. I look down at her to see she wants to ask me something.