In retrospect, maybe he should have done it anyway. Though he never would have dreamed they would find themselves in a situation like this.
“Yeah” was all he said about the matter, following it up with “Thanks for letting Chloe come over today, Doris.”
Doris wrinkled her nose and smiled. “I’m sorry I seem so surprised. This is so odd. Chloe has never mentioned you, Kate.”
Kate inclined her head. “Until Aidan and I made things official, we wanted to protect Chloe. As a mother, I’m sure you understand what I’m talking about.”
“What on earth do you mean by protect?” Doris asked. “What would Chloe need to be protected from?”
Despite the stiff smile on plastered on Kate’s face, Aidan could sense that she was getting her back up.
Before the exchange could go any further, they were interrupted by the sound of two giggling six-year-olds. Beatrice and Chloe joined them on the porch. Beatrice had a doll tucked under her arm. Chloe was carrying Princess Sweetie Pie.
“I am letting Beatrice take Annie to her house so she can spend the night there,” Chloe said. “She’s letting her doll, Iris, stay with Princess Sweetie Pie and me. It’s a doll sleepover.”
The girls jumped up and down, hugging the dolls.
“That sounds like a fair exchange,” Aidan said. It suddenly dawned on him that because of the way Doris has been questioning them, she might say something in front of Chloe about him and Kate being married.
“Chloe, I need you to go inside and help Kate find the picnic basket because the three of us are going on a picnic for supper.”
He telegraphed to Kate that she should take Chloe in the other room. She seemed to understand, because she gave him a subtle nod and then whisked the little girl away.
Of course, Kate was the one who’d told Doris about them being married. How else would Doris have found out? Judging by what he had read in Kate’s eyes, she had realized it had been risky for her to let the cat out of the bag before they could tell Chloe.
“Who was that lady, Mama?” Beatrice asked, as Kate took Chloe inside and shut the door behind her. And not a moment too soon.
“That’s Chloe’s new mommy,” said Doris. She locked gazes with Aidan. Her gaze and her bemused smile wore a question, as if she expected Aidan to explain. But what else was there to say?
“Again, thank you, Doris. I need to get inside. We will see you and Beatrice soon. Maybe next time the girls can play over here.”
As Aidan was letting himself inside the house, Doris put her hand on the door. “I gave Kate a piece of paper with information about our rock-painting group. It is a mother-and-daughter thing, but fathers are always welcome, too.”
“Thank you for the invitation.”
“I do hope you will bring Chloe and join us,” Doris said.
She looked like she wanted to say something more. Instead, she let go of the door and stepped back. “Let me know if you ever need anything, Aidan.”
Kate walked into the living room as soon as Aidan closed the door.
“I’m sorry,” Kate said. “I shouldn’t have said anything to Doris until we had a chance to talk to Chloe. But she was grilling me. Doris certainly was surprised to discover that we were married. But maybe not as surprised as I was to discover that Doris is so young and pretty. I’m not going to lie. I had a mental picture of her being more of a grandmotherly type or like Mary Poppins.” Kate shrugged. “I guess that just goes to show you what preconceived notions will do. But I think she likes you.”
Aidan flinched. Surely she wasn’t meaning that the way he was inferring it? He decided to hedge, to play dumb, because the thought made him uncomfortable.
“Doris and I get along just fine. I am the father of her daughter’s best friend. She would not let Beatrice play with Chloe if she didn’t like me.”
Kate crossed her arms and pinned him with a steely gaze. “You know that’s not what I’m talking about.”
He let his face go blank. “No, I don’t have any idea what you’re talking about. What do you mean?”
“Are you blind?” Kate asked. “You have to know what I mean, or you are blind.”
“Then if I’m blind, does that mean you’re jealous?” Aidan laughed. Just as he hoped, the question threw her off her line of questioning.
“Why would I be jealous? Or maybe I should ask if I should be jealous? As I said, Doris is beautiful, and she is obviously interested in you.”
Chloe seemed to materialize from out of nowhere with her stuffed white cat tucked into the crook of her arm. He wanted to hug his little girl for saving him. “Why are there boxes in our kitchen?” she asked. “Where did they come from?”
He and Kate exchanged a glance. They needed to talk to Chloe before the news of their marriage came out the wrong way. They needed to make this happy news. Because it was a happy thing. But first, he and Kate needed to be on the same page. And there was no room on that page for Doris Watson.
Aidan kneeled down in front of his daughter so that he was eye level with Chloe.
“Remember how I told you we were going on a picnic for dinner tonight?”
Chloe nodded and plucked at the fur on Princess Sweetie Pie’s face.
“Kate and I have a big surprise for you. And we were going to tell you about it on the picnic, because it is something very special and very exciting that the three of us are going to celebrate.”
The little girl’s eyes grew large and her mouth fell open. “What is it, Daddy?”
“It is a surprise,” Aidan said. “Go get your shoes on while Kate and I go into the kitchen and finish getting the picnic ready and we will get this party started.”
Chloe jumped up and
