'Mommy look!' Lily pointed at a book store with excitement.
"Let's go check it out." Claire replied as she smiled at her.
They walked into the store and for the first time since they started shopping, Lily gestured Aiden to be let down. Since the moment he had lifted her in his arms, not once had he put her down. They had already been walking from store to store for over an hour, yet he didnt seem tired of holding her as they wandered around. In fact, he seemed to be enjoying himself just as much as Lily was.
'Mommy can I pick one to take with me please?' Lily's eyes were bright and wide. Reading books and watching movies were always her favorite things to do.
"Just one? Why don't you go pick three?" Claire looked down at her little flower and couldn't help but want to spoil her. The only things she would ever ask her for were books and movies. So when she did, Claire would often splurge on them.
'Thank you Mommy!' Lily replied as she gave Claire a hug before dashing off to pick her books.
"She's a book worm huh?" Aiden asked as he watched Lily enthusiastically consider what books to take.
"You have no idea." Claire chuckled as they watched her. "Since she can't go out much or do what other kids her age do, we often take her to the library. It's one of the few places safe to take her since its not frequently visited by a lot of people. She quickly grew to love the quiet atmosphere and the never ending amount of books. You'd be surprised how long she can go without putting a book down once she's dived into it."
Aiden hummed in reply as they both admired the little girl scan through the book filled shelves. Claire looked up at Aiden and decided to take advantage of Lily's distance from them to talk.
"Don't punish Cameron. I know you're his boss, but you assigned him to me. He just followed my orders."
Aiden looked down at her and studied her expression. She was serious. He glanced around and noticed the store had a small reading area with two chairs and a small table in between them. After gesturing Claire towards it, they went and sat. Since he had ordered his people to not approach Lily unless commanded and she was in clear sight, they took a moment to talk in private.
"He disappeared from my radar for far too long. I can't simply let him off." Aiden calmly told her. He was a man that had little to no tolerance for mistakes when it came to obeying his orders. Besides Jacob, he rarely pardoned them. Not that Jacob ever made any mistakes anyway.
"I know. But I literally pushed him off the dock with the intention of killing your tracker, so if it's anybody's fault it's mine. If you have no other choice but to punish him please keep that in mind and take it easy on him." She looked at Cameron through the store front glass as he stood guard at the entrance. "Besides that, I really like him. I'm not easy to be around when it comes to security detail, but he didn't crack once. Even though I ruffled him up a couple times." She finished saying as she chuckled. The image of a very pissed Cameron while biting a bullet in his front teeth popped in her head.
"You pushed him off the dock?" Aiden eyebrow lifted as he was left curious and somewhat surprised.
"Yeah." Claire chuckled again. "So don't go excessively punishing him okay? He was already bullied by me."
"Okay." Aiden answered as he grinned at her. The thought of one of his best men being pushed off the dock in a full set suit by such a petite woman was humorous to him. "So does you pushing people into the ocean have anything to do with why you only have shadow security?" He asked her as he reached out to grab her hand over the table.
Claire slightly blushed as he stroked the back of her hand with his thumb. Since she was now open to the idea of him being around more, she was a bit shy. It wasn't something she was used to. "It's one of the reasons...." She answered as she enjoyed his touch. "So do you mind if I keep Cam? He seems like he could use more action in his routine." She said in an attempt to dodged the subject.
"He was already yours to begin with." Aiden leaned forward and rested his head on his closed fist over the table. "So who's the idiot that thought it was a good idea to mess with you?" He stared at her as if he were looking at a painting. Studying every detail of her face like the work of art he considered her to be. He caught the quick flash of pain that glinted in her eyes before it was replaced with rising flames.
"I'm not sure yet." She closed her free hand's fist tight as she thought about the possible reasons behind her family's attack and of Colton's current state. "I have my team following some leads while the rats in my custody break and spill what they know. It won't be long before they do."
Aiden smirked. He liked the way she was unforgiving when it came to hurting the people who threatened those she was loyal to. "Let me know of you need anything."
"Well, there is something you can do to help." The fire in her eyes started to die down as she concentrated on him. "We should set up a meeting to discuss our previous agreement. It would help a lot if I have the connections I asked for sooner than later. I already have a suspect in mind and if I'm right about it, then I'm going to need them."
"How does tomorrow sound?" Aiden asked her.
"Sounds perfect." She replied with a satisfied expression on her face.
Lily interrupted their conversation when she placed three thick books on top of the table between them.
'Mommy I pick these. Is that okay?' Lily smiled up at Claire as she showed her what she had chosen.
"Why did you pick a gardening book sweetie?" Claire let go of his hand and lifted one of the books confused. Aiden immediately missed the feeling of her hand in his.
'Because Mommy loves to garden. So I thought you would like this one.' Lily signed as she pointed at the book in Claire's hand.
Claire felt her heart squeeze inside her chest. She lifted Lily to sit on her lap and hugged her tight. "I love you so much sweetie, thank you. I'll read it until I memorize every single page." They both giggled as Claire peppered her little round face with kisses.
Aiden couldn't help but smile at the scene. He felt his heart tug while it filled up with a warm sensation. Their giggles and smiles made him want to hear the lovely sound everyday.