AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Andre
PAISLEY WALKS OUT into the den and does a slow spin, sending the skirt of her velvet dress swirling around her legs.
“You look stunning.” Stunning doesn’t even begin to describe the woman beaming at me. She’s remarkable in ways I never expected, proving more every day that she is exactly where she belongs.
With me.
“Look at that dress.” Her mother sits in her wheelchair, bundled up and ready to go, her own red velvet dress hidden under layers of blanket and coat. “I would have given my left arm for a dress like that back in the day.”
Paisley’s gaze falls on her mother, carrying a level of love I will never begin to understand because that opportunity was ripped away from me by a man I’ve been thinking about more than I care to admit.
“Are we ready to go?” LaShawn stands behind Rhonda’s wheelchair, decked out in a Christmas dress of her own, complete with a necklace of flashing lights.
“You head over. Paisley and I will follow you.” I know I won’t get her to myself much tonight, so I want to steal a minute while I can.
As soon as they’re packed into the elevator and on their way, I reach into my pocket and pull out the first Christmas gift I’ve given in my life.
Paisley’s blue eyes dip to the small box, hanging a second before lifting back to meet mine. “What is it?”
“Yours.” I tip the velvet box out into my hand. “Just like me.” I lift the lid.
I wanted to get her so many things.
I want to give her everything.
But instead of sending me home with the ring I came for, Dagmar insisted I practice something I’ve always struggled with when it comes to Paisley.
Patience.
She reaches up to run her finger along the delicate chain of the necklace. “It’s beautiful.” Her touch lingers over the engraved surface of the locket. “Should I look inside it now?”
I carefully remove the necklace and step behind her, draping it into place before clasping it at the back. “I would wait.”
Paisley gives me a small nod, the hint of tears already edging her eyes telling me I steered her correctly. One hand comes to rest over where the locket lays against her heart. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” I never knew what it was like to love a mother, but I’ve been lucky enough to catch a glimpse of it, and I can’t imagine the pain that is waiting for her.
But I do know that she won’t go through it alone.
“We should probably get going.” Paisley’s hand remains on the locket. “LaShawn is really excited about this party and I don’t know that she will wait until we get there to start.”
I smile because she’s absolutely right. “I would never ask her to.”
I pull the cape I chose for tonight from the closet and wrap it around Paisley’s shoulders, fastening the hidden snaps into place before pulling the draping hood over her head.
Then I pull on my own coat and take her out into the cold, keeping her hand in mine as I drive to the loft style hall I rented for the night.
Everyone on my staff is invited because I know that’s what Paisley would want. She’s taken them all on in a way I never did, bringing them close. Making them a part of her life.
Of my life.
It’s something I once would’ve considered foolish, but my view on that is beginning to change.
Maybe it’s brave to take on risk knowing it could ultimately lead to loss.
I wish it was a change I’d made sooner. Then maybe Sebastian would have known what he meant to me.
That I thought of him as more of a father than the one fate actually cursed me with.
