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“I wrapped everything up as soon as I could. Now I can spend the weekend with you both before we have to get back to working on the Coastal takeover. Speaking of Ava, I’ve ordered a playhouse for her birthday, like you suggested. I need to be here Monday for the delivery and installation, so I’ll be working from home that day.”
Jules was pleased he’d taken her advice on the playhouse. They were learning to work together to make decisions for Ava. “We’ve managed to get things done while you were on the other side of the country, one more day away won’t matter. I’m glad you decided on a playhouse. Ava will love it.”
Nik’s hand came up to cup her breast, his thumb dragging across her nipple. “Enough talking about Ava. We were apart for weeks. I have to make up for lost time.”
Nik rolled her under him, and Jules lost herself in his kiss.
CHAPTER30
Jules raced home as fast as traffic would allow, her mother’s words echoing through her mind the entire trip. A construction crew? Engineers? What kind of playhouse had Nik bought for Ava?
The sight of multiple trucks in front of her house, all bearing the logo of the most well-known contractor in Vancouver, had her blood pressure soaring. What had Nik done?
Unable to access her driveway because of the construction traffic, Jules parked her car and hustled down the sidewalk, barely managing to refrain from stomping her feet in anger. This was so far outside the scope of what she had imagined that she didn’t know where to begin. Ava was turningfour, for heaven’s sake. Jules had assumed that any playhouse Nik chose could have been delivered and assembled in less than an afternoon. She’d sent him suggestions. For him to have hired a full construction crew—
Jules came to a dead stop just inside the gate to her backyard. What used to be her backyard, because now it was barely recognizable. There was lumber everywhere. A concrete pad had been poured in the back, taking up almost a quarter of the yard itself. Tradespeople were framing the walls and running electrical wiring. Electrical wiring? What kind of playhouse needed electricity? She was going to strangle Nik for this. True, she hadn’t been clear about what type of playhouse to get Ava, but she hadtoldhim he didn’t need to buy Ava’s affection.
Jules scanned the yard for Nik, locating him near her picnic table, reviewing blueprints with a woman who appeared to be the construction supervisor. Ava was perched high up on Nik’s shoulders, wearing a pink hard hat. Jules noted absently that a purple bow appeared to have been glued to the top of the hat. She turned her attention back to the woman Nik was talking to. The woman looked familiar, and a twinge of jealousy vied with the anger coursing through Jules, but she shook it off. As she drew closer, she realized that the woman talking to Nik was Meredith Bloom, the contractor who had volunteered her services at the Dream Date Charity Auction, and the little pinch of jealousy disappeared.
Forcing a smile to keep Ava from picking up on her anger, Jules made her way over to where Nik and Meredith were reviewing the plans.
“Mommy! Look at the castle Daddy got for me!” Ava attempted to launch herself at Jules, but Nik had a firm grip on her legs and deftly shifted her down to the ground safely so she could run to hug Jules.
Castle?Jules swallowed a groan. Ava’s favourite play activity was pretending to be a knight, rescuing a princess. If Nik had found some way to build her a playhouse designed to look like a castle, he would be Ava’s hero.
Making sure Ava didn’t see the scowl she shot at Nik, she greeted Meredith and let Ava tell her all about the plan.
“It’s going to have a ballroom and a library like inBeauty and the Beast! And Daddy says the lights will work, and there will be chairs to sit on for reading, and lots and lots of dress-up clothes. It’s the bestest birthday present ever!” Ava twirled around excitedly, then collapsed on the grass, giggling.
Jules looked away from Ava long enough to see Meredith chewing her lip worriedly. “I was told you knew about the playhouse.” She gave an apologetic shrug.
Jules forced herself to smile at Meredith. None of this was her fault. “I’m sure you were. It’s a done deal now, so tell me how this will work.” Jules avoided meeting Nik’s eyes, still upset but unwilling to fight with him in front of Ava and Meredith.
“Let me show you the plan.” Meredith pointed to the blueprints on the picnic table. “It’s going to be two storeys with about four hundred square feet on each level. We’ve taken care of getting the permits from the city, and the building will fall within height and size restrictions, so you won’t have any problems with zoning. It’s made out of ...”
Jules listened as Meredith described a structure that was nicer than her first apartment, complete with stained glass windows and a mini chandelier light in the “ballroom” area of the playhouse. The exterior would be decorated to look like old stone, giving it an authentic castle appearance. Everything would be built to cater to both the safety and pleasure of a little girl, and it was being designed to last for enough years that Ava should outgrow her make-believe phase before she outgrew the playhouse. That didn’t stop Jules from being overwhelmed by the size, scope, and cost of everything Meredith was describing. This playhouse had to be worth tens of thousands of dollars.
“When will it be done?” Jules looked around. Her yard was chaos, and she was supposed to be hosting Ava’s party here on the weekend. That would be impossible unless things moved a lot faster than Jules expected.
“We need about two weeks.”
Meredith confirmed Jules’s worst fears. Now what would she do about Ava’s party? It was one more added stress she didn’t need, and the anger and frustration she’d tamped down came roaring back. Why hadn’t Nik talked to her first?
“Ava, honey, run inside and find Grandma, please?”
With a happy nod, Ava tore across the yard and ran into the house. Knowing her daughter would be safe with Simone, Jules turned to Nik. “Come with me.” Her tone left no room for negotiations, and without looking to see if he followed her, she marched over to the covered gazebo that was in the corner of the yard opposite where the castle was being constructed.
Once they were away from prying eyes and ears, she turned to face Nik, her distress pouring out. “What on earth made you think this was a good idea? She’s not even four years old! She doesn’t need a playhouse bigger than most tiny houses.” Her voice rising, she launched into what had her most worried. “And I’m supposed to be hosting her birthday party here this weekend, which is impossible now. Too many people are coming to fit them all in the house. I—”
“I’ve got the birthday party under control,” Nik interrupted smoothly. “I knew this would derail your plans, so I found a solution before I booked Meredith and her team. I rented the community centre down the street for the entire day. We’ll contact all the guests and tell them the new location, and put up signs for anyone who forgets or that we can’t reach. Plus, I hired a party planner and found a caterer to take care of the food, the cake, everything, so you don’t have to worry about anything. The party planner is handling decorations, activities, games, you name it. Ava and her friends will have a great time, and you and Simone can enjoy it along with the rest of the parents.”
Nik sounded incredibly proud of himself as he steamrolled over her plans for Ava’s party. Jules would have appreciated his helping, his planning and contribution, if it didn’t feel so much like he was taking control and trying to dictate how she did things. And it was just another show of his wealth, reinforcing the huge gap in the way they viewed the world. For him, money could solve any problem. For her, money was less important than having the freedom to make her own choices.
In a quiet voice, Jules shared her chaotic thoughts. “Did you ever, even once, think about asking me what I would want for Ava? What I might believe was best for her, considering I’ve raised her for the last four years on my own?”
Nik’s brow wrinkled in confusion. “I was trying to make your life easier. Work keeps you busy day and night. This didn’t seem like something I needed to bother you with when I could handle it.”
“You never asked me what would make my life easier; you assumed you knew. That won’t work for me, Nik. If we’re going to have any kind of relationship, you have to see me as an equal partner. You can’t solve all our problems, or all Ava’s problems, by paying people to make them go away. We have to make these decisions together.”
