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)
Avery: How’s the sleepover going?
Harley: Exactly as I predicted.
Avery: So you’re sitting by yourself while Gavin puts Peyton to bed.
Harley: For the second time.
Avery: LOLOL. You totally called it!
Harley: It’s cute that he thought we’d actually get some alone time.
Avery: Dating a guy with a kid is eye-opening. And she likes you!
Harley: Lucky for me. Now I just need to work on his MIL.
Avery: *eyeroll gif* You do realize you’re basically my only babysitting option when I pop this kid, right? Declan’s mom is too busy online shopping to remember to feed a toddler.
We message back and forth until I hear the soft click of Peyton’s door closing and let her know that date-night sleepover is resuming.
Avery: *crossed fingers emoji* Good luck having slightly frantic, awkward, and quiet sex while simultaneously being worried it’s going to get interrupted by a cockblocking nine-year-old.
Gavin appears in the living room as I drop my phone back on the coffee table. “Everything okay?”
“Suddenly she’s afraid of the monsters in the closet. She’s never been afraid of monsters. Not even after we watched the Harry Potter movie with the Voldemort dude.”
I grin. “Funny how kids can develop new fears just like that.” I snap my fingers.
He drops down on the couch beside me. “You’re so gleeful about this.”
“She’s a kid, and this is new. Didn’t you ever try a sleepover with any of your past relationships?”
He frowns and shakes his head. “No. Not when Peyton was home anyway. We never got to a point where I felt comfortable enough to try it. Or maybe I was too nervous? I don’t know.”
“So this is new for all of us. She’s excited, but she’s also nervous. She likes me, but this is very different, so she’s going to push some boundaries.” I run my fingers through his hair. It’s still kind of wonky from the mini horn ponytails. “Relationships with kids involved take time and patience. She needs to know that you’re still here for her, and that I’m not going to take you away from her. Did you really think tonight would be about more than sleeping?”
He shrugs and gives me a chagrined smile. “I wasn’t banking on it, but a guy can hope.”
“We’ll get there eventually, but it might not be tonight.”
“Karen offered to take Peyton next weekend, sort of as a peace offering. We could drive her to Boulder and rent an Airbnb. Have some us time. The uninterrupted kind.”
I bite my lip. “Us time would be amazing.”
“I’ll call Karen tomorrow morning. As long as you’re sure you can get the time off.” He laces our fingers together.
“We’ve hired a bunch of new people to help with events, so I’m pretty sure I can make it work. Let me double-check with my sisters, but next weekend is a corporate event and Avery typically handles those.” One of the positive things that have come out of the franchise opportunity is the hiring of additional staff. We’ve been able to bring in new people and promote some of our other employees. It’s freed up more and more of our time recently, and has allowed me to focus more of my energy on the parts of the job I love the most.
“I’ll keep my fingers crossed then.” Gavin brings my hand to his lips and kisses my knuckle. The creak of a door opening has him closing his eyes and exhaling heavily through his nose. “Crap. I can’t stand up right now.”
“I haven’t even touched you.”
He cracks a lid. “I know, but talking about alone time is making things happens. My control is on par with my teenage self from two decades ago.”
I laugh and lean in, giving him a quick peck on the lips. “Would you like me to see if I can get her to stay put this time?”
He nods once, and I push to a stand, meeting Peyton at the threshold to the living room. She glances from me to her dad and back to me. “There’s a scratching sound outside my window.”
“Why don’t we check it out?” I offer her my hand.
“Can I hug Daddy one more time?”
“Of course. Go give him a hug, and then we’ll see if we can figure out where the scratching is coming from.”
She rushes over and gives him a hug and then comes back to me, slipping her hand into mine. I pull her curtain aside, and we discover it’s just a branch that’s swaying in the wind.
“Can you sing me a song?” Peyton asks as she climbs back into bed.
“One song and then it’s bedtime, okay?”
“Okay.” She nods and pulls the covers all the way up to her neck.
I brush her hair away from her face. “But before I sing you a song, I want to ask you something.”
“Okay.”
“Were you really afraid there were monsters in your closet?”