Her aunt sighed and looked at her with pity. “You never were the kind of girl to take risks. I was surprised that you even let Kashif into your life to begin with.”
“I did, and look what happened.”
“Sweetheart, life is not a Harlequin novel. Real life is about putting yourself out there and sometimes taking risks. Not taking a risk can have just as many consequences. Things will never change unless you open your heart.”
“I love Arella, and that’s enough. It has to be. I won’t risk her happiness,” Kristy said stubbornly. “Besides, Kashif being here has nothing to do with my love life. Maybe he did in the past, but that’s behind me now.”
“I worry about you, darling. You never show interest in even falling in love again.”
“I never said that I was in love with…not that it matters… you know what, Aunt Julia? That’s not important. What we need to focus on here is keeping Arella safe and here. Okay?” Kristy grumbled. She didn’t want to have this conversation.
Unfortunately, her aunt didn’t seem to want to let the matter go. “I don’t want you to let an opportunity pass you by because you’re too stubborn to trust someone.”
Kristy felt the familiar ache of loneliness in her heart, but she pushed it away. “One of these days, I will, but right now, all I care about is Arella. When she’s older, maybe I’ll be able to find love. You can be damn sure that it won’t be with Sheikh Kashif. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to try and spread some Christmas cheer!”
Pasting on a fake smile, she called for Arella and stared at her aunt defiantly. While she loved the woman, they were often at odds with each other. Julia was a completely different woman, always larger than life. She married Darren a couple of years ago, and although Kristy hated to admit it, Darren was a good husband. She just didn’t like that the man was always nosing into the farm business and constantly drilling ideas into Arella’s head.
“Okay, dear. I’m going to make some hot chocolate for you two when you’re finished,” her aunt called out. Arella jumped up and down with glee, and Kristy shook her head and smiled.
6
Holding the hooks in her mouth, she worked along the railing. The dogs raced around her legs, and she growled in frustration and tried to shoo them away. There was a time when the dogs listened to her every word, but lately, Arella was their master, and she laughed and danced in the middle of everything. How could she be mad when her daughter was having so much fun?
When Arella grabbed the string of lights and yanked them all down, she closed her eyes and shook her head. She was about to ask Arella to play in the yard when the toddler looked at her with big eyes. “I’m sorry, momma.”
Smiling, she reached down scooped the little girl up. “It’s okay, baby. I’m not mad. Do you want to help me put them back up again?”
Arella nodded, and Kristy sat her down and handed her the wire. “Okay, hold it up for me so I can re-hook them.”
Her daughter obediently did as she was told, and finally the lights were hung. Kristy stood back and nodded her head. “What do you think, baby girl? Pretty?”
“Pretty!” Arella agreed.
“All right. Let’s get the tree inside!”
Unhooking the ties from the top of her car, she grunted as she struggled to pull the tree down. For all she knew, the tree was scratching the top of her car, but she didn’t really care. Arella had picked it out two days ago, declaring it her favorite, and
naturally, it was the biggest one in the lot.
It would be a pain in the ass to get it through the front door, but Arella was old enough to retain Christmas memories, and Kristy wanted her to have a good one this year.
“Need some help?” a voice asked smoothly. Before she could do anything, the tree was lifted off her shoulder. Turning around, she saw Kashif hefting it up easily and carrying it inside. “I had that,” she called after him. “You don’t need to help me.”
Inside, he set the tree down easily and grinned at her. “Of course you can do it by yourself, but why not use me while I’m here?”
“Christmas tree!” Arella yelled excitedly. “Momma, can we make it pretty?”
Kristy froze as Kashif turned around to stare at the child. “Momma?” he asked softly. “You have a daughter?”
Feeling the need to protect her daughter, she quickly reached out and took Arella’s hand. “I do. Arella, can you say hi to our new guest? His name is Sheikh Kashif.”
Arella’s face screwed up a little as she tried to repeat the foreign name but ended up blurting out “Kashy” before erupting into giggles. Kristy opened her mouth to apologize thinking that no one had ever called him that before. She was surprised when he bent down to the floor and studied her while Kristy held her breath. “Aren’t you beautiful? You’re just like… a princess.”
A princess? My God, he knew. Arella’s eyes widened. “A princess?”
Kashif nodded. “And I should know, because I’m a prince. Arella is a lovely name. How old are you?”
When Arella held up two fingers, Kristy bit her lower lip. Although she was closer to her fourth birthday, Arella still didn’t understand the concept of aging. It was ludicrous to think that Kashif would believe that she was two, but if he wasn’t around children much…