Page 52 of The Santa Rules
“I might have some helpers for that.” I wink. “What are you doing tomorrow? We still have a couple items to check off that list I texted you,” I say, dropping my voice on the last part, curious to see if I’m going to get hot or cold Hardy.
The tips of his ears pinken. “I’ll see if Maggie can hang out with Avery tomorrow afternoon.”
“Can I give her the present we got her?” Avery asks excitedly.
I chuckle. “She’s so excited about everything she picked out. Good luck getting her to save all her gifts till Christmas.”
“Let’s try to wait closer to Christmas, baby girl,” Hardy says, walking over to her and leaning down to kiss her head. When he pulls back, he swipes at his lips like he has a hair stuck to them. Then he blows air through his lips, making a horse sound.
“You okay over there?”
“Glitter,” he mutters.
CHAPTER 17
HARDY
Ineed to just do it. What am I so fucking scared of? What’s the worst that could happen when the worst has already happened to you?
Blowing out a deep breath, I walk into the kitchen and see Avery sitting at the table, eating a bowl of cereal while she watches a video on her tablet. Shit, I thought I put that away last night.
“Can we talk, baby girl?”
“Okay, Daddy,” she says, still glued to the screen. I wave a hand in front of it, and she looks up at me as I hit the power button to turn it off.
I have no clue how to start this. Before things go any further with Bella, I need to know that Avery is on board with it.
Taking a seat next to her, I look into her green eyes. Fuck, she has her mother’s eyes. I inhale deeply, willing myself to continue. “Do you remember what we talked about the other night?”
“About washing my hands after using the potty?” she asks nervously, like she forgot to do it again.
“Not that. About Daddy having a girlfriend,” I say hesitantly.
She turns back to her cereal, taking another bite as I stare at the rainbow-colored milk swirling around her bowl. “I don’t want you to have a girlfriend,” she says softly, still chewing.
There’s a lead weight in my gut and I clasp my hands together, resting my elbows on the table. “Why not?”
She continues chewing as she thinks about her answer. “I don’t want you to leave me.”
I reach out and scoop her up, pulling her into my lap as I hug her against me. “Avery, baby girl, I’m never going to leave you.”
“Mommy said that too,” she says softly, and I can’t hold back the tears. Fuck. My heart physically aches, and I squeeze her against me, as if hugging her could physically heal both of our broken hearts. She wiggles against me, moving up and wraps her arms around my neck.
“Mommy would’ve stayed with you forever,” I whisper, trying to speak evenly around the tears. “And I’d stay with you forever if I could. But sometimes things happen that we can’t control. But I promise you I will do everything in my power to stay with you as long as I can. Do you understand?”
I feel her nod against me as I rub a hand along her back, trying to soothe her sobs as her chest heaves rapidly with each breath.
“I know you miss Mommy. I miss her too, every day. No one could ever replace her. But it’s also okay to let new people into our life.” I wrack my brain for examples. “Like Miss Carlisle and all your new friends in class.”
“And Isaac?” she asks, pulling back to look at me.
“Exactly. None of those new people replace your mom. And they bring joy and love to your life, right?”
She nods as I wipe a tear from her cheek with my thumb. “I like Isaac. And Miss Carlisle. Can she be your girlfriend?”
Inwardly my heart is doing flips, but outwardly I remain composed, afraid to get her hopes up. “Would you like that?”
“Yeah, because then I could see her all the time. And she makes you laugh.”
