Hayden is quick with excuses, but the way he keeps answering for me is rubbing me the wrong way. “I don’t work all day, every day.”
Lily’s face brightens. “So can you help my dad?”
I glance at Hayden, waiting for him to come up with another excuse. When he presses his lips together and stays silent, I rack my brains for something. If only I’d kept my mouth shut and agreed with Hayden, I wouldn’t be in this position. I can’t think of anything quick enough to get me out of it. And with Lily staring at me with hope on her sweet face, how can I say no?
“I can help if it’s okay with your dad.” Let Hayden be the one to say no and break his daughter’s heart. My chest puffs out with pride at throwing it back at him.
“Can she, Dad? Pleassse!”
Hayden gives Lily a smile. Then he turns to me, and it tightens. “I’ll be happy for the help.”
“Yes!” Lily cheers, jostling Avery from sleep.
“Let’s put Avery in her crib.” Harper rises from the armchair and lifts the baby from Lily’s arms. Lily shuffles off the couch to follow. “Finn, can you help us, please?”
Finn stares at Harper with confusion, like he’s wondering why she needs help putting Avery to bed. When she gives him a not-so-subtle head nod toward the stairs and communicates with a wiggle of her eyes, he mutters, “Arrhh…yeah…sure.” And he follows her from the room.
When the room is clear, Hayden says, “You could have said no.”
“Unlike you, I don’t enjoy disappointing people.”
He cocks an eyebrow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Is he clueless as to how he’s treated me? He’s the one who ran. Criticized my job. He’s left me wondering what I’ve done wrong when in fact he’s the one with the issue—I don’t know what it is, but he’s aiming his problem at me. I shake my head. “Nothing. Ifyou don’t want my help, I’ll make up an excuse to tell Lily I can’t do it anymore.”
“She’s looking forward to it. I don’t want to upset her.”
I can tell Hayden would do anything for his daughter—even put himself in an uncomfortable position. Again, there’s that redeeming sweet side of him. It makes me want to like him and kick myself for the thought at the same time.
“Thank you.” A smile cracks through his stone-like expression. A smile that stabs me in the chest. Oh boy, I’m in trouble if a smile can do funny things to me.He’s a jerk. He’s a jerk. He’s a jerk.This is my new mantra. One that will hopefully make me keep my distance.
“When do you want me to look at the space?” I ask.
Lily skips into the room. “Can she come over this afternoon?”
“We need to give Alyssa more notice.” Hayden brushes his hand down Lily’s hair.
“No, that’s fine. I’m free.” Better to get this over with. It’s not like I have a raging Saturday night planned.
“Okay, great. I’ll send a car to pick you up,” Hayden says.
“That’s unnecessary. I can find my own way. Just give me your address.”
“It won’t do you any good traipsing around on your leg.” He points to my strapped ankle.
He has a point. “Okay. Thank you.”
“I’ll have my driver pick you up at five PM if that suits you.”
I nod. “Perfect.” Butterflies flutter in my stomach. More time with Hayden is probably not a good idea. Thankfully, we have Lily as a buffer.
“I’ll give the driver your address. I know where you live.”
Chapter Ten
HAYDEN
At five-thirty PM that afternoon I’m pacing the living room, waiting for Alyssa to arrive. I don’t need her help. How hard is it to put up a few mirrors and barres? Many times this evening I wanted to call and cancel. I insisted Alyssa give me her number before she left Harper’s house in case things changed. I would have canceled if Lily weren’t so excited—she hadn’t stopped yapping about it all afternoon.
