Pushing away from the desk, I went to him and took his face in my hands. I kissed him, keeping it short and sweet.
“I appreciate you telling me,” I said softly. “Is there anything I can do to make you feel better about this?”
“No, that’s what my therapist is for.”
“That’s fair. But if you can think of anything, you can tell me. And it’s okay to be scared. It’s a big change. I’m not saying it’ll be easy, Harley, but that’s later on down the line.” I kissed him once more. “I just want to date you, princess.”
“Right, about that,” Harley sighed, “and this is terrible timing, considering everything I just said, but I need to cancel our date tomorrow. Holly has to go into the city for the weekend, so I don’t have childcare.”
I smiled.Like that was a real problem.
“I might sound stupid when I ask this, Aria wouldn’t happen to have a dress she could wear, would she?” I asked. The question made him laugh, and I grinned. Aria’s entire wardrobe was custom-made dresses. “Date night’s not canceled. Just make sure both of you are ready. I’ll pick you up at eight.”
“She goes to bed at eight,” he said.Right. Bedtime.
I clicked my tongue as I tried to think of good family date ideas to do with a six-year-old because the romantic date I had planned for Harley and me wouldn’t work. I ran through several options before loosely settling on something that I was almost positive she hadn’t done before.
“I’ll pick you up at four… no… that’s too late… let’s do three. Three means I can get you home before her bedtime.”I hoped I could get her back before bedtime.“How much trouble am I in if I don’t get her back before bedtime?”
“I’m sure we can come up with an adequate punishment if you don’t get her back on time,” Harley teased, making me arch a brow. I would’ve given anything to know what was going through that mind of his, especially considering the way his cheeks tinged pink the longer I stared at him.
“Kinky, princess,” I commented. “I’m holding you to that one.”
“You’re about to make sure we end up home late just to find out, aren’t you?” he asked.
“Home at eight-oh-one on the dot!” I exclaimed and kissed him, enjoying our banter. I wouldn’t do that to him or Aria, but I could certainly tease him about it.
CHAPTER 107
harley
For the fifth time, I checked Aria’s hair clips per her request. They were even. They matched her fall-inspired plaid dress. Her curls looked just fine as they fell around her shoulders. It was a whole process—one we’d been doing for the better part of an hour. She fidgeted with excitement and anticipation as she waited for Maverick to knock on the door.
I couldn’t blame her. I felt the same way. All I had to go on was dress comfortably. Or in Aria’s case, dress cute and comfortable.That still meant a dress for her. He had a whole plan for our afternoon and evening, which he wasn’t sharing with me. I was only given a dress code and a warning that dirt would be involved.That last part worried me.Just what were we doing that involved dirt?
“Do I look pretty?” Aria’s uncertain voice drew me out of my own thoughts. I squeezed her shoulders as I stared in the mirror at our reflection.
“You look very pretty,” I reassured her. “But you always look pretty. Are you excited?”
“I want to know what we’re doing!” she exclaimed. “How can I pick the best dress if I don’t know?”
I chuckled as I recalled the phone conversation between her and Maverick. She had damn near interrogated him for information about what we were doing, what she should wear, and what I should wear. His patience with her was phenomenal, even as the call turned into a video chat so she could show off her dresses and get his help choosing.
He seemed completely unfazed by the whole thing, which was far more attractive than I could put into words.But seeing him prioritize and validate her only made me love him more.
At exactly three o’clock, Maverick knocked on the door. He was barely through the first knock before Aria was screaming and running to get the door.
“Watch your feet!” I yelled after her. Under my breath, I added, “We don’t need a hospital trip.”
Happy shrieking from downstairs made me rush to clean up the remainder of her stuff. I paused long enough to run my fingers through my hair and smooth a hand over the front of my shirt. At his insistence, I was dressed casually in jeans and a t-shirt, under a light blue flannel shirt. When I was satisfied with how I looked, I hurried down the stairs.
Maverick stood just inside the doorway with a big grin on his handsome face while Aria practically danced across the living room with excitement.
“Daddy!” Aria exclaimed as she thrust a stuffed animal in my direction. “Look how cute he is!”
I kept my expression carefully composed as I stared at the stuffed animal she held out for me to appraise. The dark grey snake was fuzzy from head to toe with long bunny ears attached to its head and big purple eyes that weren’t proportionate to the rest of it. It screamed Aria’s personality.
“He’s very cute,” I agreed, lying through my teeth.The thing was ugly as hell. Standing behind her, Maverick looked proud of himself. “He’ll go well with the rest of the Knights of Chaos.”
