“Amelia, I think I want to go with pink,” Tiffany informs me as she looks the nail polishes hanging on the wall. We are finally having a girls’ day; we aren’t alone though. Two prospects are with us, because we don’t know who threatened me.

Whoever it was, they were smart enough to take every single camera that was pointing in the direction of my car.

“I think I want pink too.” I take the nail polish off the wall, and she grabs a color similar to mine.

We are getting a pedicure then going shopping. I sit down in one of the massage chairs, and she sits right next to me. I grab her remote and move her seat forward, tilting it down so she can sink her feet in the water.

“I am so happy to be a girl right now.” She closes her eyes, sighing as I turn on her chair massager.

Laughter bubbles up at her reaction. I love this little girl. She is such a quintessential little girl one second, loving going shopping and getting her nails done, and the next she is riding her dirt bike and baiting her hook.

The ladies who filled our water leave us to soak our feet for a few minutes. Tiffany is looking at the floor, gnawing on her bottom lip.

I touch her arm. “You okay?”

She looks at me and opens her mouth to say something but closes it. “Do you want to be a mom?”

My heart stops at her words. Why is she asking this? Her eyes dig into mine; she is waiting for a reaction.

I swallow hard. “I’ve always wanted to be a mom.”

“To a girl?”

I nod. “Of course.”

She grins and looks down, pausing like she is thinking something over. She raises her head once again. “Would you like to be my mom?”

I freeze, my heart stopping at her words. She wants me to be her mom? My throat burns with tears, but I bury them until I fully understand what she is saying.

“You want me to be your mom?” I whisper hopefully.

Tiffany looks so vulnerable right now, her eyes big and her hands gripping the armrests like she is waiting for rejection. “Yes, I want you to be my mom, I always wanted a mom.” Her voice is soft.

Not able to contain myself, I lift the armrest and pull her into my arms. “I would love nothing more than be your mom, Angel.” She hides her face in my neck, her arms wrapped around me.

I close my eyes, trying to stop the tears from rolling down my face. I can’t believe she wants me to be her mom.

Tiffany lifts her head from my neck to look at me. “I love you...” She stops and thinks about her words for a few seconds. “Mom.”

Oh god! I pull her into me again, hugging her tightly. “I love you too, sweet girl, you just made me so happy.”

I wipe the tears off my face and let her go, and she goes back to her seat. She smiles at me, her eyes lit up with happiness.

Keep it together, Amelia, you can do that. This moment changed my life forever. I still can’t get over the fact that she wants me to be her mom. Me? I love this little girl and this is what I hoped for, but I never expected it to happen so soon.

Tiffany breaks me from my thoughts. “I have another game Thursday.”

“I will be there. I told the coach I will bring the drinks and snacks.” I take out my phone, checking to see the time we need to be there before the game.

“See, you are already like a mom.”

I put my phone down. I guess I kind of am. I have all of her practices and games marked on the calendar for the next couple of months, along with who is carpooling and when each family is scheduled to bring snacks.

I already have Tiffany’s lunches packed for the next couple of days so she can just grab it and go. Her clothes are already planned for the next week, right down to her shoes and hairstyle.

Lane has done an amazing job by himself, but I want to do things for her and make their life easier. I want to be there for them when they need it.

“I guess I am, Honey,” I tell Tiffany and she smiles, lifting her foot for the lady to massage the bottom of it.

“I guess I am,” I whisper again under my breath.

“Why is he sleeping on the street?” Tiffany asks me, and I follow her gaze to the homeless man sleeping on a bench outside the restaurant.

“Sometimes people fall on hard times, and they have a hard time getting back on top.”

She looks sadly at her meal of grilled chicken, potatoes, and some veggies on the side. “Can I give them to him?”

She just shocked me once again. I’m at a loss for words, so I nod. She gets up from the table, a prospect stepping out of his seat. She carries her plate, along with her silverware, outside to the homeless man. She sets the plate in front of him, laying the silverware on top of the food. The homeless man looks up at her and flashes a huge smile.

I am so proud of her. She reaches out and he shakes her hand. She walks back inside the restaurant, and the waitress walks over, confused. I motion for her to bend down. “I will pay for the plate, will you please reorder her food for her?”

Tiffany is focused on the homeless man, who is stuffing food into his mouth. I guarantee he hasn’t had a meal like this in a very long time.

“I am so proud of you, Tiffany.”

Tiffany is an old soul. She realized the homeless man was hungry and brought him her own food.

She shrugs. “He was hungry, nobody should go hungry.” Her voice is sad.

A bunch of people at surrounding tables are staring at Tiffany in disbelief and awe. She did an amazing thing, and it’s something very few people would do.

“I have a friend at school that I share my lunch with, she never has money for lunch and she never brings one.”

My heart fractures a bit more; this little girl is amazing. “Would you like to start bringing a lunch for her? You can help me make it.”

She nods frantically. “I would love that.” She pauses a second, and her cheeks flush pink. “Mom.”

My stomach flips hearing her call me “Mom” once again.

Today has been an emotional roller coaster of a day—that’s for sure, but it’s been one of the best days of my life. Tiffany has totally taken over my life; I have fallen more in love with her. The way she speaks, the way she acts, the way she gets excited over every little thing. As I watch her, it’s like I am seeing the world in a whole different way.

Tiffany was handed a shitty hand for the first few years of her life, and it’s amazing that she is handling it. She isn’t letting it get her down; she is living her life to the fullest. She is such a sweet and amazing old soul.

The waitress brings her a fresh plate of food and she digs into it.

* * *

Once we are done with our food, we walk outside, the prospects at our backs. The homeless man stands up when he sees Tiffany. He bends down toward her. “Thank you, miss.”

“It was no problem, I wasn’t hungry anyway.” She shrugs his thanks off, grabs my hand, and waves bye to him.

I shake my head in disbelief once again; she is lying to save this man’s pride by saying she wasn’t hungry.

We walk to my car and my eyes gravitate to the windshield; I’ve been paranoid ever since everything went down at the clinic. Much to my horror I see something white underneath my windshield wipers.

“Stay here.” Tristen, the larger of the two prospects, walks over to the car and pulls out the letter. He opens it and his eyes flash to mine.

Oh shit.

I grab Tiffany and pull her closer.

“Let’s head into the store, shall we?” I say cheerily and lead her into a small boutique. I mouth at the prospect, “Call Lane.” He nods and I walk into the store with Tiffany.

I am afraid they did something to my car, and I don’t want to chance getting on the road and something happening. I won’t take the risk, not with Tiffany.

Tiffany and I browse through each rack of clothes, but my mind is not on shopping. I am putting on a show for Tiffany. I am constantly looking over my shoulder, ready for anything. Why is someone doing this to me? Who could it be?

I don’t even know what the letter says, but the look on Tristen’s face is enough.

My phone dings, the screen lighting. “Adeline should be there any second for Tiffany. I am ten minutes out.”

“Tiffany, I have something that has sprung up on me, Adeline will be here any second to pick you up.”

“Oh, that’s okay.”

I kiss her forehead. “I say tonight we binge-watch Supernatural, what do you say?”

She claps her hands. “Yes!”

I love her enthusiasm. Adeline pulls up outside the boutique. “Adeline is here.” I bend down and hug Tiffany.

I open the door and walk her over to Adeline’s car. Tiffany climbs into her booster seat and buckles herself in. I shut the door, but the window is down. “Bye, Tiffany!”

She waves. “Bye, Mom.”

Tears threaten to fall once again. Adeline looks shocked and turns her head so I don’t see her expression. I know she is affected too. Adeline rolls up the windows and drives out of the parking lot.

I hear the roar of a couple of bikes, and Lane pulls into the parking lot with Wilder, Derek, Smiley, Wilder’s dad, and a few other guys. They pull up beside my car. Lane climbs off first and snatches the paper from Tristen. He studies it for a moment before his head snaps up. I start walking over and hear a loud squeal behind me.

Lane’s eyes widen before he starts running toward me at full speed. I turn around and see a huge van behind me. Someone grabs my waist. I scream as I am pulled into the van before I can resist.

I look at Lane as the door is slammed shut.