Center Stage
Page 2

“That was a sound business decision to keep the house and rent it out. Benson, Benson, and Hart keep good care of it.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything different. I know I have a renter in the basement, too. Hope they don’t make too much noise. I’m a day sleeper.”
John smiled. “Oh, he’s a good guy. He won’t bother you.”
Arianna nodded and looked up at the hospital where her brother worked as an emergency room doctor. “Guess I’d better go meet the newest members of this crazy family.” She slid across the seat and placed a kiss on John’s unshaven cheek. “Thanks for the ride. I’ll take you out for pizza and a beer.”
“Never could turn down a woman who offered up pizza and beer.”
She opened the door and climbed out. He was just her kind of man.
The waiting room was full of Kellers, including Carlos and Madeline, who held a sleeping Tyler.
Carlos stood and greeted her with a hug when she walked into the room. “I thought you were babysitting him so he didn’t have to hang out here.”
“C’mon, what’s better than meeting your baby brother or sister in the middle of the night and knowing this is the kid you get to beat on for the rest of your life?”
Arianna laughed as Clara rushed over and hugged her. “Auntie, I have a new song for you. I wrote it myself.”
“And I bet it’s the best song ever.”
Arianna pulled her niece to her side. This was just what she’d needed—her family.
John opened the door to Arianna’s house. He supposed he’d have to relinquish his key now that she was home. He shut the door and carried her bags to the bedroom at the top of the stairs. He didn’t open the door. He knew it was empty, but still, it was her bedroom.
The house was dark and quiet; he’d miss that too. There hadn’t been a renter upstairs for months; he’d had the house to himself. Oh, he kept to himself downstairs in the little apartment in the basement, but he’d enjoyed using the front door access and the kitchen from time to time. There was a grill on the back porch, which offered the perfect view of the sunset. He was sure Arianna wouldn’t mind him cooking a steak or two for her, just for access to the porch.
John grabbed a beer from the refrigerator as he passed through the kitchen. He figured he’d better get his plugged in downstairs. It had been a saver on electricity since the one he had in his kitchen was old, and Arianna’s kept the beer colder.
He started down the stairs to his little apartment. The door locked from her side, which kept the renters out of the house. He’d taken liberty with that since the house was empty, but certainly he wouldn’t disrespect that rule when she came back home.
His small apartment was just the right size. He was a simple man who didn’t need much—and who didn’t have much since his ex-wife took everything he’d ever had. Ten years after she’d left him for another man, he still wondered what he’d ever seen in her. Well, he’d never make that mistake again. Women just weren’t worth it. Most women, he corrected himself. His mind had been preoccupied with one woman in particular for months. And now he faced the dilemma of knowing she’d be living only feet from him.
The last thing he wanted was a relationship—platonic or just sexual. Relationships had never brought him anything but grief.
John sat down on his Lazy Boy recliner and turned on his big screen, flat panel TV. A man had to have his luxuries. He pulled from his imported beer and thought life was good.
But only a moment later, his mind wandered to Arianna. With her hair piled atop her head, her eyes dark from lack of sleep, and her ripped jeans, she’d still stirred him up more than he’d have liked.
Beer and pizza sounded like a great idea, but he wouldn’t take her up on the offer until he knew they’d cemented their relationship as landlord/renter and friends—only friends.
Chapter Two
The night dragged into early morning, and the entire Keller family still sat in the waiting room and waited. Carlos’s head rested on Arianna’s shoulder, and he held Tyler in his arms. Clara had taken Arianna’s lap as a pillow, and she too was asleep.
Eduardo had been frantically texting on his phone until almost midnight, but she noticed that now he and Christian both had their feet propped up on the same table and their eyes were closed.
She seemed to be the only one awake, and she was happy that she was the only one to see her brother-in-law, Zach, walk into the room.
There was an unmistakable grin on his face, and his tired eyes shimmered. He gave her a quiet nod toward the room. She acknowledged with a similar nod, and then went about readjusting Clara and Carlos so that she could stand up.
Quickly she ran to her brother-in-law’s waiting arms and gave him an enormous hug.
“She wanted to see you first,” he whispered in her ear and then wrapped his arm around her waist and led her down the hall.
There was an excitement that buzzed through her. Regan had asked for her.
Regan and Arianna had been Kellers for nearly their entire lives. In fact, she didn’t remember her life before the Kellers adopted her, but the fact remained, even before the Keller family, it was always her and Regan.
They’d always shared that bond, even when their parents changed and siblings were added.
Having Regan ask for her to meet her baby first gave Arianna a pride and joy that she figured could only be rivaled with having her own baby, and she had no desire for that.
Regan was propped up in bed and her new born bundle of joy was wrapped in her arms in a blanket.
Arianna moved quietly to the side of the bed and kissed her sister on the cheek.
“I want you to meet Spencer.”
Regan handed her son to her, and Arianna fell in love. She’d done the same when she’d handed Tyler to her, too. The children of her siblings were her life. She wasn’t sure she could be more blessed.
“Hello, Mr. Spencer. I’m Auntie Arianna. I’m in charge of spoiling you rotten.”
Zach moved in beside her. “You’re setting him up, you know.”
“I know. But as I don’t ever plan to have one of these, spoiling yours is my sole purpose in life. I think I’ve done a fairly good job with Carlos’s kids, and Tyler seems to like me just fine.”
He put his arm around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze. “It looks like he’s very happy to have you as his auntie.”