Total pages in book: 122
Estimated words: 115288 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 576(@200wpm)___ 461(@250wpm)___ 384(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 115288 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 576(@200wpm)___ 461(@250wpm)___ 384(@300wpm)
“That’s right, kiddo.” He ruffles her hair as she brings her hand to her mouth, yawning widely. “I should probably get you home, huh?”
“I might fall asleep in the car,” she warns.
“That’s okay. It’s been a busy day.” He gives her shoulder a squeeze.
He turns her in the direction of the parking lot, and she slips out from under his arm and grabs my hand. I guess I’m walking them out. She tugs me along as she regales me with all of her birthday party ideas.
When we reach his SUV, Peyton looks up at her dad. “Can we come back to Spark House again soon?” She turns back to me. “Maybe you can come over and see my new house. My bedroom is decorated with fairies and princesses. We could make magic cookie wands again!”
“Oh, uh, well, maybe we should get the rest of the house unpacked before we go inviting guests over.” Gavin gives me an apologetic, chagrined smile.
Peyton frowns. “But you said it’s going to take forever to unpack, and I don’t want to wait forever before I see Harley again.” Leave it to kids to be painfully unaware of the tension in the room.
“If we’re hosting your birthday party here, I’ll definitely get to see you before forever happens,” I tell Peyton, trying to let Gavin off the hook without feeling like I’m being personally snubbed.
Her lips twist and pull to the side. “I guess that’s true.”
Peyton climbs into the back seat and Gavin closes the door. He gives me another wry, uncertain smile. “I’m sorry about putting you on the spot like that.”
I wave off the comment. “No apology necessary. It’s great to see Peyton again.”
He nods and then pauses for a beat before he says, “Uh … I don’t know what your schedule is like, but maybe if you have some free time, Peyton and I could take you out for lunch? We could catch up?”
I’m not sure if he’s being genuine or he feels compelled to ask because of Peyton, but her comment about not seeing me for forever prevents me from turning him down. “Uh, sure. That would be nice.” And embarrassing. I’ll definitely need to take an antihistamine if it actually happens.
“Great.” He smiles and his shoulders drop, as though he was worried I would say no. “We can exchange numbers? I’ll call you later and we can figure out a day that works?”
“Absolutely.” I pull out my phone and discover that I still have Gavin’s contact, although there are no messages attached to it, which makes sense since I’ve upgraded my phone a few times since he moved to Boulder. I still remember the last message he sent more than seven years ago, thanking me for all I’d done and letting me know that he’d direct deposited my last paycheck into my account. I’d responded with keep in touch. And a week later I’d messaged, asking how the move had gone, but I’d never gotten a reply. I hadn’t wanted to push, so I’d stepped back and moved on with my life. I’d tried to bury the guilt along with the memories, but clearly the grave I dug wasn’t deep enough, since the day he announced they were moving away lives rent-free in my head.
I swallow down my fears as I send him a message and his phone pings. Part of me would love the opportunity to finally apologize the way I wanted to back then, but the other part of me worries that dredging up the past like this is only going to cause those old wounds to reopen.
He checks the screen without opening the message. “Looks like I still have your contact. I’ll be in touch soon.” Gavin opens the driver’s side door, but pauses before he gets inside. “It’s great to see you again, Harley.”
“You too, Gavin. Both of you.”
He smiles and drops into the driver’s seat. I wait until he’s pulling down the driveway toward the road before I return to Spark House.
I’m barely in the door before my sisters are on me. “I need to know everything. Tell me what’s going on. London said a hot dad you used to nanny for was here. Sorry I didn’t come out to help, but I was getting things organized for the upcoming proposal with the Mills brothers.” Avery is pretty much on top of me as she follows me down the hall to the office.
“Do you remember Gavin and Peyton?” I ask.
Avery drops into her chair and pats her belly—she’s pregnant and finally starting to show. She’s also eating like it’s her second job. There’s a platter on top of her desk that’s been picked over. “Not really, no.”
“He lost his wife during childbirth,” London supplies. “Harley nannied for Peyton for a year and a half.”
“Oh!” Avery’s eyes light up. “I remember them. They moved, didn’t they? Isn’t that why you stopped working for them?”