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)
“Yeah, that’s right.” And Peyton was the last infant I took care of. In fact, I only had one charge after that, and he was older, already school-age, so it was only before- and after-school care, and I didn’t live in the house with the family. They ended up moving because the father was in the navy and was being stationed overseas. After that, I started working for Spark House.
“Is he still hot?” Avery asks.
“Yup,” London chimes in, letting the P pop with affirmation.
“So? What’s the deal? Was he just here for the party?”
“I guess they moved back to town. He asked me if I wanted to go for lunch with him and Peyton.”
London frowns. “What did you say to that?”
“I said sure. He was probably only being nice, so I doubt he’ll call.” And honestly, I’m on the fence as to whether I want him to. I had a lot of great memories with Peyton and Gavin, but the last ones overshadow everything else. And they inspired a lot of personal changes. I put college on hold, stopped working with kids and their families, and joined Spark House with my sisters. I didn’t trust myself not to let something like that derail my life again.
* * *
Two hours later I walk through the door to my apartment and find my boyfriend, Chad, sitting on the living room couch, a controller in one hand and his phone in the other. We’ve been dating for a few months, and I met him through a mutual friend. “Awesome. You’re home. Everyone’s already at the Firkin, you ready to go?”
“I should probably change first.”
He hits the pause button on his controller and drags his gaze away from the TV. His eyes widen. “Why are you dressed for Halloween?”
“I’m a fairy godmother. I had a birthday party for a ten-year-old today, and it was princess-themed.” I drop my purse on the counter and kick off my shoes. They’re flats, but it’s still nice to set my toes free. I prefer sandals to any other footwear. Unfortunately, Colorado winters are not conducive to open-toed shoes.
“Ah. That makes sense. Too bad there isn’t a theme park around here. I feel like you would have loved being one of those princesses.” His nose wrinkles as I cross the room. “Are you … sparkling?”
I glance down at my arms. The hives are pretty much gone at this point, thank God. “Probably. We had glitter crafts today.”
He holds out a hand before I can get close enough to bend down and kiss him hello. “You need to shower, babe. That glitter business gets all over everything. The last time you had a birthday party, I couldn’t get it out of my hair for weeks and the guys at work gave me shit for it.”
I suppress an eye roll. “You won’t have to worry about glitter after today.”
“Oh? Well, that’s good news. Right?” He unpauses his game.
“I guess.”
“Glitter isn’t really something you want to wear unless you’re a unicorn.” He glances up and then back down at the TV. “Why no more glitter after today?”
“Because this is the last birthday party I’ll be hosting for kids. I told you that last week, remember?”
“Right. Yeah. I forgot. Those things kind of seem like glorified babysitting, anyway.” His phone pings with a message and he glances briefly at the screen. “That’s Allen asking when we’re gonna be there.”
“Give me fifteen and I’ll be ready to go.” I leave him in the living room and stop in my bedroom to grab a change of clothes before I hit the bathroom so I can wash away the birthday party, and hopefully some of the sadness that goes with it.
Three
LUNCH DATE FOR THREE
HARLEY
Two days later I get a message from Gavin saying that Peyton has been hounding him about seeing me again and asks if I would be up for lunch with the two of them. I wait half an hour before texting back, to see if I break out in hives again. When I don’t, I agree. I meet them at Chuck E. Cheese on a Monday afternoon, which is always slower at Spark House since most of the biggest events take place on weekends. I’m dressed in Chuck E. Cheese-appropriate wear—a T-shirt, jeans, and flats.
Gavin and Peyton are already there when I arrive. I stand outside for a moment, take a few deep breaths, and tamp down the familiar embarrassment. It happens every single time I think about Gavin and Peyton, so it makes sense that seeing them magnifies it. I’m hoping that with repeated exposure, it will lessen, not worsen like an anaphylactic allergy. I took a non-drowsy antihistamine in preparation for this event. Just in case the hives decided to come back.
“You can handle this. You can have lunch with a nine-year-old and your former boss,” I mutter as I push through the doors.