Make a Wish (Spark House #3)(33)

“Well, that’s … really great that you got Harley back. She’s cool, isn’t she?” Chad rubs the back of his neck and glances from me to her as if he’s looking for direction.

“She’s the coolest. She lets me use glitter, and my granny never does,” she announces. “And Harley lets me have chocolate milk with dinner too.”

“But not all the time, right?” I prompt.

“On special occasions and weekends because too much sugar isn’t good for us.” Peyton sighs, as if this information frustrates her.

I put a blanket on the floor, and Peyton and I pick all the hot pepper and mushrooms off her pizza slices. There are also bread sticks, which she’s a fan of, so she polishes off a bunch of those while Chad hoovers down half the pizza and an entire pound of wings.

I’ve never seen Chad interact with kids before. I don’t think he’s ever been around when London has had Ella with her either. It becomes clear that he doesn’t have much experience with kids and that he has no idea what to say or do when it comes to Peyton. He’s the youngest in his family and doesn’t have nieces or nephews yet, so that makes sense.

“Do you want to make glitter rainbow flowers with us?” Peyton asks, obviously trying to be nice.

Chad makes a face. “Did you say glitter rainbow flowers?”

Peyton nods enthusiastically. “They’re so fun, and when we’re done, we can hang them on the wall, and it will look like a sparkling flower bed!”

“Uh, I’m gonna pass on that, but thanks.” He picks up his phone.

Peyton shrugs, and we continue making glitter flowers while Chad manages his hockey draft.

At eight fifteen, I start winding things down, making Peyton a snack and cuddling with her in a chair so I can read her stories.

At five to nine Gavin shows up. Peyton is tucked into the oversize reading chair, sleeping soundly. I slide out carefully so I can get the door and hopefully not disturb Peyton. “I’ll be right back.” I leave Chad on the couch, still engrossed in the draft, and let Gavin in.

“Hey, sorry I’m later than I meant to be.” He’s lost the suit jacket and the tie, the top two buttons of his dress shirt are open, and the cuffs have been unbuttoned and rolled up to expose his forearms. He has nice forearms. And biceps. Which is not something I should be appreciating.

“It’s not a problem. She fell asleep about twenty minutes ago. She’s passed out on my reading chair, looking adorable. Wanna see?” I thumb over my shoulder, toward the living room.

He gives me a lopsided grin. “I never pass up a chance to see my daughter looking adorable.”

I motion for him to follow me to the living room, and I point to Peyton, tucked under a blanket, her bunny cuddled against her cheek. We gave him some light surgery before story time so the stuffing stays inside instead of peeking out of his bum.

Chad’s easy smile drops as his gaze lands on Gavin and then shifts to me, before returning to Gavin. I glance between the two of them, wearing matching displeased expressions.

Chad’s cheeks puff out, and he drops his phone on the couch and pushes to a stand. He, too, is wearing a dress shirt and dress pants, although his are a lot more wrinkled at this point in the day, and the dress shirt has a pizza stain on the left side of his chest. He stands, his shoulders rolling back. “Hey, you must be Peyton’s dad. I’m Chad. Harley’s boyfriend.” He crosses the room and holds out his hand.

Gavin looks at it, and for a moment I’m unsure what’s going to happen. As it is, there’s tension in the room that makes me uncomfortable.

“Gavin.” He takes Chad’s hand and gives it a firm shake. “Harley and I go way back.”

“Yeah. I heard. Harley was Peyton’s nanny when she was a baby. It’s really good of her to help you out with babysitting until you find someone else.”

I fight a cringe at how awful that sounds coming from Chad, despite it being true.

“Peyton adores Harley,” Gavin says.

“She and I have that in common, then.” Chad smiles stiffly.

Gavin clears his throat. “Yeah. Of course.”

They shake hands for what seems like several seconds too long before Gavin drops Chad’s hand and turns to me. “Can I talk to you for a second?”

I glance from Chad, who looks highly unimpressed, to Gavin, who ironically is wearing a similar expression. “Uh, sure?” It comes out sounding like a question.

“Probably in the kitchen so we don’t wake Peyton.” He looks from Chad to Peyton to me, as if he’s not 100 percent sure about leaving his daughter alone with Chad. Which makes me bristle. Chad might not have experience with kids, but he’d never do anything to hurt anyone, let alone a child.

“We’ll be right back,” I tell Chad as Gavin follows me to the kitchen.

I don’t have a chance to address the awkwardness before he does. He props a hand on his hip and glances over his shoulder, then turns back to me and drops his voice to a whisper. “Why are you bringing strange men around my daughter?”

“Excuse me?” I feel like I’m actually the babysitter getting scolded for inviting a boy over. Which is insulting and ridiculous since this is my house and I’m a grown-ass woman.

“I don’t know that guy.” He points in the direction of the living room. “I had no idea he was going to be here.”