“Okay.” She frowns, and it reminds me of Jules’s.
I clear my throat to unclog the lump forming.
“Jules and I found out some news the other day. It’s big news. You remember when Gamma explained to you that Jules and I are married? That we did it years ago, but we both forgot.”
Her bottom lip goes between her teeth. “Yeah. She said that Daddy’s head was sick and it made him tell some lies.”
I nod. “Yes. That’s right. Well, we found out that there was another lie he told.”
Her lip begins to wobble, and her eyes turn glassy with tears.
Fuck, this is so damn hard.
With her free hand, Jules grabs one of Aria’s. “It’s okay to cry,” she tells her tenderly.
Aria sniffs, and I’m so proud of her when she pushes the need to cry away. This little girl acts so much older than her almost seven years.
“I’m a big girl,” she says stubbornly with a jutted chin. “Tell me what Daddy lied about.”
“Do you know how Jules was asleep for a lot of years?” She nods. I look at Jules for a brief moment then back down to Aria. “Well, she had a baby while she was asleep. The baby was mine and hers.”
Her eyes turn wide. “But how did she have a baby? Don’t you have to be awake to have a baby?”
Aria looks at Jules when she’s the one to answer.
“Most of the time you do, but the kind of sleep I was in, I couldn’t wake up. My brain wouldn’t let me.” She releases my hand and lifts up the bottom of her shirt until the scar on her lower stomach shows. “You see this line right here?” She points to the four-inch silvery line and Aria nods. “To get the baby out, they had to cut my stomach open.”
Her mouth drops open. “Didn’t it hurt?”
Jules smiles and pulls her shirt back down. “No, sweetie. I didn’t feel anything because I was asleep. But even if I was awake, they give you medicine so you don’t feel anything. It numbs you.”
“Oh. That’s good.” She shudders, then her eyes turn curious. “Did you have a girl or a boy?”
“A little girl.” Jules’s voice cracks, and I snatch her hand back in mine behind Aria’s back.
“Oh, wow.” Aria’s face lights up a million watts with a look of wonder. “Can I meet her?” she asks in excitement. “How old is she? Maybe we can be friends!”
“Aria, you’ve already met her.” Her eyes swing back to mine.
“I have?”
“Yes. You wanna guess who she is?”
Her lips purse out, another one of Jules’s expressions, as she thinks over the possibilities. “I don’t know.”
I shift my eyes to Jules once more. Love and affection shine in her eyes as she gazes down at Aria, our daughter. As if sensing my stare, they lift to meet mine. She smiles nervously at me, and I return it.
I look back to Aria. “It’s you.”
Aria straightens, her blue eyes as wide as saucers and filled with confusion. “Me?” she squeaks.
“Yes. You.”
I watch and wait as her little innocent brain thinks over what I’ve just told her. I know she’s perplexed, anyone would be, but more so her because she’s so young. Her eyes leave mine to look across the living room, staring off at nothing. I want to grab her and haul her into my arms, but I force the urge back.
What seems like forever later, but couldn’t have been more than a few minutes, she looks back at me.
“Does that mean you and Jules are my momma and daddy?”