June, Eight Years Ago

Nick leaned against his SUV and folded his arms across his chest, soaking up the sun’s warm rays as he waited for the last bell of the school year. And thank fuck for that. He needed a break from mid-morning drop-offs. Not that he minded taking Aria to school during his bi-weekly rotations—which he split with his siblings—but man, he was looking forward to some uninterrupted shuteye.

Ryan parked his ass next to his, mirroring Nick’s stance. “The soccer moms are gonna miss you.”

“Or maybe it’s you they’re gonna miss,” Nick drawled as he scoped out the sprawling campus, which looked like a picture-perfect brochure for some ivy-league school.

“Of course, they’re gonna miss me,” Ryan replied. “Who wouldn’t miss seeing this face? But it’s you they’re all about.”

“You need to start wearing a hat.” Nick rolled his eyes from behind his dark designer shades. “I think all that sun fried your brain.”

“I’m being serious.”

“So am I,” Nick replied. “Add sunscreen to your routine while you’re at it.”

“Look man, you’ve got this whole brooding DILF vibe going on.” Ryan nodded towards the group of soccer moms swarming the parking lot. “The ladies are all about that shit. I mean, look at them, they’re practically drooling in their strappy sandals.”

“I’m not a dad.”

“Maybe not in any official genetic capacity.” The humor faded from Ryan’s tone. “But you’re more of a dad to Aria than your father ever was.”

“Yeah, well, I’m doing my damndest not to repeat his mistakes.”

“And you’re killing it.” Ryan glanced over at Nick. “Aria’s been happier these past four months than she has in the last six years.”

“So, I’ve noticed.” Nick smiled. It had been one hell of a steep learning curve when it came to balancing his work life while taking care of Aria full time. Thankfully, his siblings and friends picked up the slack when his job demanded his full attention. But he always made time for Aria. Sometimes it was only a few minutes when he dropped her off or picked her up at school or tucked her in at night. But he made up for the lost time, devoting entire evenings and weekends to her whenever he could. And it was damn good to hear that his efforts were paying off.

The bell rang and the double doors busted open, a flood of kids pouring out of the gothic-style building like they were staging a fucking prison break. Aria emerged from the pack, her face lighting up as she spotted him. She waved to her friends and tore across the manicured lawn.

“Nick!” She tossed her arms around his waist. “Look what I made!” She shoved a drawing into his hand.

“Ryan!” Aria all but tackled Ryan in the world’s fastest hug and tugged at his hand. “Come see!”

“Looks like you got the entire group.” Nick studied the colorful sketch, which was of their entire coven chilling by a bonfire on the beach. There were fireworks in the background and a few animals off to the side. “Who are these little guys?”

“Our pets!” Aria beamed up at him, thrusting another piece of paper into his palm. “I made a list of everything I want to do this summer, and I’m supposed to cross everything off by this fall. My teacher said so.” Her crystal blues twinkled with excitement.

Nick cocked his brow, hiding his amusement. “Is that so?”

“Mm-hmm.” She nodded solemnly.

His baby sister was full of shit, and he would’ve laughed, but he was teaching her all about honesty. “Aria.” He kept his tone level but stern.

She heaved out a dramatic sigh, rolling her eyes. “I’m supposed to cross off as much as I can. Within reason, or whatever.”

“Let’s see what you’ve got.” Nick studied the lengthy list. And it was no surprise—none what-so-fucking-ever—that the very first things she listed were all the animals she wanted to adopt, including a kitten, puppy, bunny, baby goat, baby duck, an owl, and a pony. She might as well have asked him to start his own animal farm, which was not gonna happen, BTW. And it wasn’t because he hated animals. Hell, he loved them more than most people, but he didn’t have the time or patience to take care of his own zoo.

But the rest of the list was reasonable—minus the hot pink sports car—and attainable. She listed a fuckton of activities she wanted to do this summer, some of them as simple as eating s’mores by the fire and drinking frozen hot chocolate on the beach. Others included attending the Summer Solstice Fest, taking a trip to the petting zoo, learning how to play soccer, and more. And while he couldn’t promise to cross every item off her list, he was definitely gonna give it the good old college try.

“Hop in.” Nick opened the rear passenger door for his baby sister. “Let’s get that frozen hot chocolate and hit the beach.”

“Really?” Her eyes lit up.

“Really.” He ruffled her hair. “You earned it.”

And she had. Aria hadn’t been allowed to act like a child, at least, not for the six years that she lived with their parents. They were all about appearances, all about being prim and fucking proper, stifling any and all joys that came along with childhood. And while he couldn’t rewind the clock, he could ensure she had a normal upbringing. Starting at that very moment.