I’d held Harper for the last twenty minutes while Charlie and his ex from hell had remained out in the kitchen. And now Charlie had strolled into the room like some sort of superhero, and I was mesmerized at the way he was talking to his daughter.
“Come on now, baby girl. It’s your special day. It looks like Pinkalicious puked out in the kitchen—we can’t let all those decorations go to waste.” He was bent down low to the ground as he stroked her hair.
She giggled for the first time since she’d run down the hallway.
“Pinkalicious doesn’t puke, Daddy.”
“No? Well, there’s a lot of pink out there, and your friends should be arriving any minute,” he said, his voice calm and deep.
“I didn’t want to wear the fancy necklace.” Harper sat forward and sniffed a few times as her father pulled her from my arms and wrapped her up as he pushed to a full stand.
“You don’t have to wear the necklace. I shouldn’t have allowed her to come here. I didn’t handle that right, but I will handle things differently moving forward, all right?” he said as he rocked her back and forth and she clung to him.
“Because it’s you and me against the world, right, Daddy?” she said before glancing over at me. “And Violet can stay here with us as long as she wants. She’s our family too.”
I felt my chest contract, and I stood up.
“Aw ... I’ll give you two a few minutes to clean up. I’ll meet you out there.” I’d started to move when Charlie’s hand wrapped around my wrist, and he pulled me close.
“She’s right. You can stay as long as you want. Thanks for taking care of my girl for me.” He tucked me into his chest, and the three of us just stood there hugging.
It felt wonderful and overwhelming all at the same time.
I was getting too attached.
I’d never felt like I fit anywhere, and in a way, that was safer than hoping I’d fit somewhere.
It was both exciting and terrifying. I liked how I felt when I was with them, but I also didn’t want to be another person who let Harper down if this was all just a temporary situation.
The doorbell rang. Charlie let his arm drop as I stepped back, and he put Harper down on her feet.
“I’ll get the door, and you can help Harper get cleaned up,” he said, winking at me before he mouthed the wordsThank you.
And when Charlie Huxley appreciated you, it felt like you were on top of the world.
I nodded and took Harper into the bathroom, where I fixed her ponytail and cleaned up her face.
“You look like you’re ready for the best party ever,” I said, kissing her on the cheek as she stared in the mirror.
“Violet,” she said, reaching for my hand. “I love you.”
A large lump formed in my throat, and I nodded. “I love you too, Harper Huxley.”
“Let’s go party.” She clapped in excitement and then skipped out of the room, tugging me along with her like I belonged right beside her.
A few of her classmates had arrived, and I hurried to get the food out and the cake set up on the dessert table. We had the doors to the backyard open, and the kids were running in and out.
Harper’s best friend Lily had already asked me if I’d plan her birthday party.
“Thanks a lot, Charlie,” Tim said with a laugh. “Now we have to hire party planners for our kids.”
“Hey, they only have so many birthdays. I’m not against it,” Jeanne said, bumping me with her shoulder. “But I didn’t know you did birthday parties. I thought you only did weddings.”
“She does,” Montana said as she and Myles walked over. “But she made an exception for Harper. Although I will say, I wouldn’t have guessed kids’ parties were your thing, but this is pretty spectacular.”
“Well, Harper is pretty spectacular,” I said, and I looked up to see Charlie watching me. He had a beer in his hand, and his gaze never left mine.
“Excuse me, lady,” a loud, whiny voice said as she tugged my hand unusually hard.
