Page 36

Four days later, Mia finally crosses the threshold of Leah's house with Aaron. They picked him up early in the morning, and between them and Elena Morris, they helped him load his things into the car. Afterward, Aaron said goodbye to the people who had been his foster parents for the last few years in the presence of the social worker, and Mia promised Elena that they would visit them at least once a month.

Leah opens the door and, as soon as they enter, Aaron finds himself greeted by the tennis player's mothers and the two lawyers.

"Welcome home, Aaron," says Leah, ushering him inside.

Aaron hugs Anne and Natalie and then does the same with the two lawyers, grateful for what they've done for him and his sister.

"Come on, I'll show you your room," says Mia with a nod.

"We'll wait for you in the garden; we've prepared a nice lunch to celebrate," says Anne.

All the women leave the house except for Mia and Leah, who carry Aaron's things and climb the stairs with him. Leah stays behind and lets Mia take charge of showing him everything.

"That over there is my room," the referee points to a door, located a bit before Leah's room, "and this one," she adds, turning to the one directly across, "will be yours."

Mia opens the door and lets Aaron in, who finds everything they thought he might need in addition to the basics, like a huge desk with a computer, a gaming chair, and a study table. Aaron blinks in surprise, drops the duffel bags he was carrying, and heads straight for the computer. He picks up the headphones and sets them aside, runs his fingers over the keyboard and his other hand over the two screens, thinking about the games he'll play with his friends.

"Is this really for me?" he asks, excited.

"Yes," replies Mia, who spent all her savings on these gadgets she has never had any interest in, "but don't think you're going to spend all day playing. There will be rules here—studies come first."

Aaron frowns slightly and smiles with amusement, looking at Leah for an ally.

"Don't be smart," she says. "I may be very nice on the court, but as an adoptive mother, I swear I'll be a pain in the ass. Don't even think that one of us will be the good cop and the other the bad cop. Either you keep getting good grades, or I'll cut off your internet," she smiles with a mischief that makes Mia double over with laughter. "Not to mention those who are now officially your grandmothers," her eyebrow arches. "You don't want to make them angry, believe me. I'll leave you so Aaron can get settled," she adds with a wink.

As soon as Leah goes out to the garden, the first thing she does is locate Emily, take her by the hand, and ask her to walk with her.

"Where are we going?" asks the lawyer.

"Don't worry, I'm not kidnapping you. I just want to be alone with you for a while," she says without stopping, guiding her to the front porch, where they both sit on the steps where Emily once tripped during one of her visits.

"Is something wrong?" Emily asks when Leah turns to her.

"No, but a moment ago, when I was with Aaron in the room, I realized that I never asked you how you felt about me becoming his legal guardian. I mean, you're my partner, Emily, and it affects you to some degree, and I didn't take that into account," she says, tenderly brushing a strand of hair from her face. "What do you think about this?"

Emily smiles, pulls a hair tie from her wrist, and gathers her hair into an improvised ponytail because she feels hot.

"What I think is that you have a huge heart, Leah," Emily says.

"Yeah..." Leah smiles, "but besides that. Do you think it might affect us? I don't know. Aaron will live with me, and so will Mia. We won't have privacy."

Emily laughs, and Leah watches her with fascination.

"For intimate moments, we have my house, Leah, stop worrying. I'm with you in this and in anything you do, unless you ask me to hide a body," she jokes, making Leah laugh as she hugs her.

"Aaron, come here a minute," says Mia, sitting next to Emma under one of the garden umbrellas.

Aaron, who is sitting with Anne and Natalie, excuses himself and gets up to see his sister.

"What's up?" he asks, sitting across from them.

Mia clears her throat, flustered, and Emma takes her hand to encourage her.

"You see, you might notice Emma coming to Leah's house very often," she explains nervously and begins to smile, "actually, it's not a possibility, it's something that will happen."

"Is she your girlfriend?" Aaron fires, and Mia sits with her mouth open, not knowing what to say.

"Yes, Aaron," Emma responds, throwing the referee a lifeline, "exactly that."

"Okay," the boy responds, shrugging his shoulders. "Can I go back to the table? Natalie says she's going to buy me a new phone."

"Yes, go," says Mia, watching him in bewilderment. "My God, he's a manipulator."

"More like a spoiled kid," Emma corrects her. "Look at him properly. He has four women around him willing to give him everything he needs, and if he's not stupid, he'll get everything he can out of you," the lawyer laughs.

"Give it a few weeks and you'll fall under his spell too."