Jade smiled, her eyes crinkling at the corners, making her look even more. beautiful–a kind of beauty Alessia had never seen before, not even in her own mother.


    For a moment, little Alessia just stared, utterly mesmerized.


    “My mom’s really pretty, isn’t she?” Cole leaned in close, whispering with all the subtlety of a six–year–old.


    Uncharacteristically, Alessia didn’t argue. She simply nodded, eyes still <i>wide</i>.


    The look on Alessia’s face delighted Jade. Unable to resist, she gently nudged her son aside and cupped Alessia’s chubby cheeks in her hands, giving them a soft squeeze.


    Alessia’s baby fat hadn’t quite melted away, making her cheeks irresistibly squishy. She scrunched up her features in protest, but instead of looking upset, she only seemed more endearing–her childishness shining through, making her all the more adorable.


    “Oh, Lessie, you’re the real beauty here,” Jade cooed. “You’re the prettiest little girl I’ve ever seen.”


    “All right, all right, careful you don’t scare her,” Parrish finally interrupted, seeing his wife had had her fun. He gently rescued Alessia from Jade’s overzealous affection.


    “Lessie, would you like to stay for dinner tonight?” Jade asked, her tone warm and inviting. “If your parents mind, I can talk to them for you.”


    “No need,” Alessia replied, slipping right back into her little grown–up persona the moment Jade released her.


    “My parents get home reallyte. My brother’s at boarding school–he already went back today,” Seeing Parrish and Jade’s puzzled faces, she added, “He’s older than


    me.”


    “Lessie, aren’t you scared being alone?” Jade’s brow furrowed with concern.


    No one had ever asked Alessia that before. She paused, then answered honestly.


    “I’m <i>not </i>scared. I used to live by myself in a tiny ce off the alley and I wasn’t scared then, <i>so </i>why would I be now? This house is so much nicer, and there’s a butler and housekeeper here. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”


    Her matter–of–fact tone only made Jade and Parrish’s hearts ache more.


    <b><i>1/2 </i></b>


    <b>12.34 </b>


    But Alessia herself didn’t see what the fuss was about


    Before the Tates moved here, money had always been tight. They only managed to send Max, her brother, to kindergarten, while Alessia spent her days at home, watched over by a neighbor who got paid a little extra for the help. When Max started grade school, Scott–her father–sent him off to a better boarding school.


    Max hadn’t wanted to go, but he was too young to fight his parents‘ decision.


    From then on, Alessia was alone most of the time. At mealtimes, the neighbor would bring over dinner in a lunchbox, thene backter to collect it.


    It wasn’t until they moved to this new home that things changed for Alessia. For the first time, she got to go to school.


    Every time Max came home from school, he’d teach her new words and bring back battered old textbooks for her. When he returned to boarding school, on those long, sleepless nights, Alessia would curl up in bed with the shlight Max had given her and the stuffed doll he’d left behind, practicing everything he’d taught her again and again.


    Because of Max’s help, she’d slipped easily into kindergarten, even skipping two grades to join the older kids.


    She thought her parents would be proud, but they weren’t. All they did was rush through the enrollment paperwork before leaving again, saying nothing more.


    That night, Jadey in bed, tossing and turning, sleep impossible. Parrish pulled her into his arms and clicked on the bedsidemp.


    “Still thinking about Lessie?”


    “She’s only five,” Jade said, her voice tight with emotion. “If she were ours, we’d spoil her rotten–we wouldn’t let her out of our sight!” The more she thought about it, the angrier she became, tempted to storm over to the Tate house and shake Scott by the shoulders, demanding to know how he could treat his daughter that


    way.


    But she wasn’t a teenager anymore. No matter how much Parrish doted on her, she had to act like the grown–up, like a mother. And the truth was, she was still an outsider–no matter how much she cared, interfering might only make things harder for Alessia.


    <b>12:34 </b>