Swapping a Broken Heart for a New Start novel Chapter 35

Camila Davis had been worried at first—this was a lot of pieces, and she thought it might be tough for Lillian.

But to her surprise, the little girl dove right in. She was totally focused, and her hands flew over the puzzle like she’d done it a hundred times before. Before long, Lillian had figured out the pattern and was piecing it together at lightning speed.

Camila tried to help by handing her a couple of pieces, but honestly, she was way slower than Lillian. Pretty soon, she was the one asking her own daughter for help.

“Lillian, you’re amazing! Mommy spent forever on this piece, and you took one look and just—bam! Done! Come here, let Mommy give you a kiss!”

She planted a big, noisy kiss on Lillian’s chubby, soft cheek, her face glowing with a mix of pride and love.

Her little girl might be on the autism spectrum, but she was sharp as a tack and picked things up faster than any kid Camila had ever seen. Give her any kind of brain-teaser or puzzle, and it was a walk in the park for her.

Lillian blushed shyly at the kiss and snuggled closer, nuzzling her mommy’s shoulder in reply.

Camila felt her heart melt into a warm puddle.

She couldn’t resist smothering her with a few more kisses, then said with a grin, “Keep going, sweetheart! If you finish the whole puzzle, Mommy’s going to take you to the zoo to see the red pandas!”

Lillian’s eyes lit up, and she nodded quickly before turning back to her puzzle, all business.

Camila didn’t want to interrupt. She just sat quietly, watching her daughter, sipping her coffee and feeling the kind of happiness that tasted like fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies.

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