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She hadn’t given away everything, having chosen to keep some of the baby furniture she’d had for Layla, but she was beginning to lose hope that she’d have any more children. Misha had used some of it when she’d first arrived with Ciara, but since then, it had all just sat in the storage area in the basement. Gareth and Aria had chosen to buy most of
“Does Layla ice skate at all?”
Charli’s first response was to not want to share anything with him about Layla. But she knew she couldn’t do that without raising his suspicions. “Yes. She takes lessons every year.”
“Amelia has mentioned that she’d like to learn. If you could recommend a teacher, I’d really appreciate it.”
“Does she have aspirations to skate in the Olympics?”
Blake chuckled. “Not exactly. But I think she’d love to be able to wear pretty costumes.”
“Layla does ballet as well,” Charli said, even as she lectured herself that answering questions was different than volunteering information about Layla. “That might give Amelia more of a chance to wear pretty outfits, as Layla usually does her skating lessons bundled up in warmer clothes.”
“Oh, she’s mentioned ballet as well.”
“Lessons will start up soon for the ice skating. They’ve already started for ballet, but she should still be able to join the lessons.”
For a moment, the surrealness of the situation sank in. Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined that she’d be having a conversation with the man she’d once loved about their daughters. Daughters that they weren’t parenting together.
“It was nice of Kayleigh to make a reservation for us,” Blake said as they left Serenity and headed in the direction of the resort where Kayleigh and Hudson worked.
“Yep. It’s good to have connections.”
They’d needed to choose a restaurant not too far from Serenity, since their time together was limited because of the girls. That meant that restaurants in Coeur d’Alene had been out of the question.
When Kayleigh had offered to set up a reservation for them at a restaurant in the resort, Charli had presented that option to Blake. He’d liked the sound of The Steakhouse, and Charli had always enjoyed the food whenever she’d eaten there, which wasn’t too often as she didn’t want to take advantage of her sister’s generosity. Plus, it was kind of pricey.
They didn’t have to worry about paying for their meal that night, as her siblings were footing the bill. Normally, Charli would have protested that and taken care of the cost herself. However, since Jay and Janessa had been so insistent about the dinner, Charli was happy to let them pay for it.
“Do you eat at the resort often?”
“No. Usually the only time I do is if others in the family are going.”
“Hudson said he really likes The Steakhouse.”
“I think that’s where they eat lunch quite often.”
“So Hudson works at the resort too?”
“He has an office there, but he doesn’t work for the resort. His job is with Remington, the company that owns the resort. So while they work for the same company, they don’t work together.”
Blake asked about her other siblings, having met most of them when he’d been there twelve years ago, even the ones who were currently away from Serenity. Charli was glad for a topic of conversation that wasn’t too personal and happily divulged all the details on everyone else.
When they reached the resort, Blake parked the truck, then they got out into the cool fall evening air. As they reached the door to the restaurant, Blake pulled it open and waited for Charli to precede him inside.
Blake had always had impeccable manners, and when she’d commented on them previously, he’d said that they were the result of his mom demanding he act a certain way. It looked like none of that had been lost in the years he’d been in the army.
The hostess greeted them with a smile that grew when Blake gave his name. “Oh, you’re Kayleigh’s family.”
Blake glanced at Charli, then said, “Yep. Charli is her sister.”
Charli waited for the woman to stare at her, searching for the similarities between Kayleigh and Charli, beyond their dark hair and eyes. The woman’s expression didn’t change at all as she turned her smile on Charli.
She picked up a couple of menus, then asked them to follow her. The restaurant was filled with soft music and dim lighting. There were tables scattered around the room, as well as booths along the outside wall.
The hostess led them to one of the booths in the far back corner of the restaurant. A Tiffany lamp suspended above the table cast a soft circle of light. After they’d settled into opposite sides of the booth, the hostess handed them each a menu.
“Your server will be with you in a moment.”
