Make a Wish (Spark House #3)(95)

“Do you want to take some time off so you can focus on that?” Avery asks.

“Honestly? It’s not time off that I need. The social media stuff only takes up a fraction of the time it used to. Mostly I’m signing off on things and adding extra content to personalize our feeds, and that’s the part I really enjoy. Bringing on a social media liaison and a whole team of people who create content for us has changed the scope of my job.” I tap on my armrest and look around at my sisters and their husbands. If ever there was a time to lay it out on the table, it’s now. “Can I be totally honest with all of you?”

“Yeah, of course.” My sisters nod in tandem.

“I understand why we’re growing Spark House. Both of you have families and kids and this all makes sense, and you’re both doing an amazing job.”

“So are you,” Avery says quickly.

I give her a soft smile. “I’ve tried to find ways to adapt with all the changes, but I can’t pretend it’s been easy. And I know it’s been a lot of change for all of us, but you and London are good at finding ways to keep doing the things you love, and it hasn’t been the same for me.”

“Do you want more control over the social media stuff? London and I didn’t want to overwhelm you since you’ve been taking classes on top of everything else.”

“I appreciate that, but that’s not what I mean.” I bite the inside of my lip. “When I came on and took over the social media stuff, it was because I wanted to work with both of you, and I needed a break from the nanny gig. Gavin and Peyton moving away was hard on me emotionally. I’d gotten a lot more attached than I’d meant to and my heart needed time to recover.” And I didn’t trust myself not to get attached like that again. It rocked my confidence and made me question my judgment. How ironic that I’m in the same position I was back then, with the same man. “So I sort of stepped into that role. Don’t get me wrong, I love the creative side of things, and taking photos and highlighting our sponsors is definitely something I enjoy. But my role hasn’t been defined the same way yours have. When we started hosting those birthday parties, I felt like I was finally finding my groove at Spark House.”

“And then we took them away from you,” Avery says softly.

“Which I understood. They weren’t good for our bottom line.”

“But you loved hosting them,” London adds.

“It made me happy. For the first time since I started working for Spark House, I felt like I’d found my purpose.”

“I didn’t even think about the fact that we were canning your baby.” Declan rubs the back of his neck. “And not giving you anything in its place.”

“It didn’t make financial sense and that’s what you were looking at. Which, again, I understood. And then there was the franchise. I could see from your perspective why it would be a good thing for Spark House, and for your families, but it reinforced the fact that I don’t have a set role. I wasn’t on board with the franchise because I was afraid of what it would change.”

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Avery and London exchange a glance.

“Because it’s majority rules, and you and London were excited about it. Why create tension when I wasn’t going to win the argument?”

“But you could have told us how you felt,” London says softly.

“I know. And maybe I should have. But I didn’t want to be the reason that we didn’t move forward, and it didn’t seem like the hill I wanted to die on. And now that we’re here, I think I was right not to put up a fight. In the long run, this is going to be great for us.”

“A lot has changed over the past six months,” Declan offers. “Now that we’ve jumped through all the franchise hurdles, we can revisit the birthday parties.”

“I appreciate that, Declan.” I give him a small smile and turn to my sisters. “When I brought up the idea of in-house daycare before, you two shut me down before we could even discuss it. And I get that maybe the timing hadn’t been exactly right, but I felt like I didn’t have a voice.

“You’re both going to be parents. We have more staff than ever before. Wouldn’t it make sense to have something on-site, even if it’s a trial basis for weddings, or if we think that’s not the best place to start, then we could look at options just for staff? I recognize that it’s going to be a lot of work, but I’ve already come up with a plan and a program, and I’m willing to take that on.” Avery opens her mouth to speak, but I hold up my hand, feeling like I need to sell them on this. “Think about the logistics of it. If we started with a part-time program, you could bring your kids to work, even if it’s only for a few hours to start. I want to find a way to fit into Spark House, but I also want to do something I love, and that’s working with kids again. I want to finish this degree and put it to use, and if I can’t find a way to do that at Spark House, then I need to find a place where I can, because it’s where my heart is.”

“We don’t want you to leave, Harley.” London drops the star she’s been folding.

“I don’t want to either, but you and Avery have your thing at Spark House. I need something that’s mine. Something that I can nurture and grow, and I think we’re in a good position to make that happen now.” I bite the inside of my cheek, waiting for someone to throw up another roadblock.