02. Promise?

Rylan's POV

I discarded the coat and leaned back on the sofa. There had been a lot of work pressure since the last few days and topping that was now Granddad's will that had me stressed for a month now.

"Dad?" I opened my eyes to look at my daughter who stood there with a cup of coffee, Stacey close behind her.

"Yes, sweetie." I smiled at her.

"I brought you coffee." She carefully brought the cup forward , her eyes trained on them.

"You did? Thank you, darling." Taking the cup from her hand I placed it on the table beside me.

"Come here." I picked her up and sat her on my lap.

"You can go and rest. I'll put her to sleep." I told Stacey who stood there.

"No, it's okay. I can stay up, Mr. Anderson." Ava put her head on my chest and played with the shirt button.

"It's fine, Stacey." Nodding, she started taking steps back.

"Goodnight, Mr. Anderson."

"Goodnight." After she left I brought my attention back to Ava.

"So will you tell me what happened in school?" I asked combing her hair with my fingers.

"What happens every day but today I made a drawing. I will show you later." She mumbled into my chest while I hummed.

"Daddy?" She spoke after a minute.

"Yes, honey?" She pulled back to stare at my face.

"Tomorrow is a holiday right ?" She asked with somewhat hope that her Dad wasn't going to work on weekends too. I couldn't help but feel a little guilty that I couldn't give her more time.

"Yes."

"Can we go for milkshakes?" I smiled and nodded.

"Sure, I will take you to the best place for milkshakes." I said but a frown came upon her face instead of the smile I had expected.

"No, Daddy. We will go to Tweats."

"Treats ?" I corrected her to which she smiled sheepishly.

"Yes. I want to meet Ella. I saw her last week." A smile broke out on her face at that name.

"Who's Ella?"

"Ella is my friend." The excited tone in her voice told me that she really liked this person.

"Okay, we'll go and meet your friend. Now let's put you to sleep, yes?" She nodded before wrapping her hands around my neck tightly and putting her face in the crook of my neck, waiting to be carried to her bed.

................

Elena's POV

"Enjoy your meal." Quickly passing a polite smile to the ones seated at the booth, I walked back to the counter.

The diner was quite full considering it was a Saturday. I was about to grab my pad to take another booth when I heard Ava's voice.

"Ella !" I turned around and everything happened in a snap of fingers. She collided with the legs of Amy, another waitress who lost her balance and the glasses of juice she was carrying, crashed down on the floor.

"What the hell!?" A lady sitting in the booth shrieked. My eyes fell upon her dress which was a bit spoiled by the drinks.

"I'm sorry -" The woman cut Amy off.

"Shut up! Is your sorry going to get this stain off?" She glared at her before her eyes settled on Ava .

"And you! kid! Why are you running around?" Ava flinched at her tone.

"I am sorry." She apologized, her eyes moistening.

"You should be, stupid brat!" The way the lady spat those words snapped my control.

"Miss, I would request you to not speak to a child like that." I stood in front of Ava.

"And who might you be to tell me that?" She glared at me.

"A human with conscience." I stared right back at her.

"What about my dress? This brat just ruined it." She pointed her finger , glaring viciously at her who flinched and hid behind my legs. I was irritated at how rude she was being to a child.

"It was an accident, a mistake and she isn't a brat because she just apologized after which I don't think she deserves these rude words." It will be nice to say that it was the nicest of ways in which I could put those words.

"Is this how you treat your customers? I will-" She was cut off by another deep masculine voice.

"Excuse me." I turned my head and my eyes met with a man, a good looking man. He was tall with broad shoulders and a muscular frame. His raven hair was properly set back. His sharp jawline demanded serious attention. I averted my gaze though I wasn't ashamed of checking him out. There's nothing wrong in admiring beauty!

"This is my card. Call here and provide your details. Your loss will be compensated." He handed that woman a card whose eyes were as wide as saucers.

"Rylan Parker!? Oh no, you don't have to pay for what this brat did and this lady here deserves to be fired." I couldn't help but roll my eyes.

"Of course I do because the child you're calling a brat is my daughter. It's better if you accept the compensation and leave right now before I make you pay for harassing my daughter and this young lady here." I was shocked at the revelation. He was Ava's father.

Who knew Ava had such a hot father! The domination with which he said those words and the visibly widening of the woman's eyes in fear told me that he could live up to those.

"Mr. Parker, I- I'm-" She fumbled with her words .

"Leave." He gritted out. She looked between us, her face flush with embarrassment, before rushing out of the diner. The audience we had were now going back to their businesses. I turned to look at Ava and her tear filled face really saddened me. I crouched down in front of her and held her small hands in mine.

"Ella, I am sorry." Another tear slipped out of her eyes and down her cheek.

I wiped the tears off her face.

"No sweetheart, it's okay. You had already apologized. That lady was a big meanie." I made a face hoping that she would smile but the frown stayed on her face.

"She scolded you because of me. What will she do to you? Will she hurt you?" It was warming to see how thoughtful she was. Before I could answer, her father beat me to it.

"She won't hurt her. I won't let her, okay?" He picked her up who looked back at her father with her sad doey eyes. His words caused a strange feeling in me. Maybe I should have considered not reading too many cliche romantic novels back at highschool.

"Promise?" She forwarded her pinky and pouted.

"Promise." Her father intertwined his pinky with her's. I was in awe of the cute scene in front of me. The man looked so in love with his daughter. When our eyes met, I looked back at Ava.

"So, milkshake ?" I asked her to which she nodded , a small smile coming upon her face.

"Right away."

Rylan's POV

I didn't know that Ava had been coming here along with Stacey. As soon as we entered the diner, Ella left my hand and ran in a direction calling her friend "Ella".

But then she collided with a waitress which made a mess. The woman sitting in a booth was making a huge scene out of it. I waited till Ava apologized to her but before I could step in, another waitress came to Ava's defense causing me to halt in my steps. The brunette spoke in a moderate voice but from her expressions it wasn't hard to make out that she was trying hard to keep her anger in check. I stepped in when that woman had really crossed it.

I wasn't unaware of "Ella's" stare on my face the whole time and I didn't mind it.

My thoughts were interrupted when I saw her walking her up to us.

"A chocolate milkshake for the pretty girl." She came and most dramatically placed the glass in front of Ava. The giggle escaping her lips spread a smile on my face.

"Ella, he is my Daddy." Ava grabbed my hand and beamed at her.

"Rylan Parker. Nice to meet you." I stuck my hand out. This time I had a proper look at her face.

"Elena Smith." She passed a polite smile while shaking my hand. She had a pair of beautiful blue eyes and her brown hair gracefully cascaded down her shoulders. She was beautiful with high cheekbones and a perfect set of teeth.

"Thank you for defending Ava there. " She gently shook her head.

"You don't need to thank me. That woman was clearly crossing her limits." Irritation was visible on her face at the thought of that woman. She exhaled before the smile was back on her face.

"Would you like to order anything?"

"A black coffee." She nodded and took her leave. Leaning back in my seat, I watched her retreating till she was out of my sight.