Make a Wish (Spark House #3)(31)
“Maybe I can show you tonight? Dad, can you drop me off at Harley’s instead of taking me to that meeting? Then we can paint with watercolors!”
“Honey, I can’t do that. Harley probably has plans, and it’s not nice to put her on the spot like that. I’m sorry, Harley. I promise when we called it was to tell you how much Peyton is loving her art class, not for any other reason.”
“That’s okay.” I pick up the dishcloth and give it a cursory sniff test to make sure it isn’t funky before I start wiping down the counters. “What kind of meeting do you have? Do you need me to watch Peyton for a bit?”
“No, no. It’ll only be a couple of hours. And we have her iPad already loaded with movies. Peyton will manage.”
“But Harley is way more fun than watching a movie alone on an iPad,” Peyton argues. “Please, Harley? Can I come over?”
“Oh my God,” Gavin grumbles, and suddenly the sound of traffic is gone.
“Please tell me you’re not driving and holding your phone at the same time.”
“I popped in an earbud. I’m so sorry, Harley. This wasn’t my intention at all. I should have known Peyton had other plans.”
“Honestly, it’s okay.” I glance at the clock. It’s just after five. If his meeting is a couple of hours he’ll be done by eight thirty. It won’t interfere with my plans. “You can drop her off here. I’m just hanging out. And she’s right, movies aren’t a whole lot of fun alone.”
“I can’t. I’ll feel awful.”
“I wouldn’t offer if I didn’t mean it. Drop her off. Go to your meeting. She and I will have loads of fun.”
“Are you sure? I feel like I’m taking advantage of your kindness.”
“You can’t take advantage when I’m the one who’s offering. I’ll send you my address and you can head this way. Sound good?”
“You’re sure, you’re sure?”
“Positively positive.”
He sighs. “Okay. We’ll be there in less than an hour.”
“Great. Tell Peyton I’m excited to see her.”
“I will. And Harley?”
“Yeah.”
“Thank you. Again. You really are an angel, and I really, really owe you for this.”
He ends the call and I smile to myself, whistling on my way down the hall to the bathroom. I need to shower and freshen up before Peyton gets here.
Nine
WHAT’S THIS BOYFRIEND BUSINESS
HARLEY
Forty minutes later the buzzer goes off, and I let Gavin and Peyton in. It doesn’t take long before they’re knocking on my door. Normally I see Gavin in his casual clothes, but tonight he’s still dressed in a suit, carrying a purple metallic backpack with a llama face on it.
Peyton is standing at his side, a wide grin on her face. She throws herself at me as soon as I open the door. “Yay! I get to see you again! Want to see my watercolor painting?” She holds it up in front of me.
“Oh, that’s amazing!” I tell her.
“Dad said I can take lessons on Wednesday after school sometimes. Maybe you would want to come too. I told him that I want you to be my nanny again, but he said you have a different job now and I’m too old for a nanny. But Claire has a nanny, and she’s a year older than me.”
“Lynn and Ian have four kids, and three of them are under the age of seven, honey. That’s why they have a nanny.” His expression is apologetic.
Peyton twists her lips to the side. “Their nanny’s name is Tessa. She’s nice but she’s not as much fun as you.”
I bring my finger to my lips and wink. “Let’s not tell Tessa that, though.”
Her eyes go wide. “Oh, I would never. That could hurt her feelings, and I don’t want to do that.”
“I wouldn’t want to do that either. Besides, one person’s idea of fun might be different from yours and mine.” I turn my attention to Gavin. “Do you want to come in?”
“I would, but I need to head straight to the meeting. It should be done by eight thirty, but Peyton has pretty much everything she needs apart from jammies in here. Oh, and she’s been fed and watered, so you don’t have to worry about that.”
“I had chicken nuggets and fries,” Peyton offers.
“Dinner of champions, huh?” I arch a brow.
“Better than the donuts she asked for, but probably not by much.” His smile is chagrined. “Thank you again. I really owe you one.” He gives Peyton a hug and a kiss, and then he’s off.
Fifteen minutes later we’re sitting in the living room with a pile of rainbow construction paper, my glue gun, several pots of glitter in an assortment of colors, and watercolor paints. I have a plastic lid, and we’re tracing circles and cutting them out. Then we’re decorating them with glitter before we make flowers out of them. After that we’ll paste them onto white sheets of paper that have watercolor skies painted on them. Is it messy? Yes. Will we both be covered in glitter by the end of the evening? Absolutely. Will I find glitter on my clothes and everywhere else for the next month? Probably, but it’s so worth the smile on Peyton’s face.
“Granny never let me use glitter or paints. She says it makes too much of a mess.”