Page 32 of Bossy Trouble

“I heard you yelling,” Avery countered without taking her eyes off Donovan. “You never yell.”

“I know. I wasn’t yelling, my love, I was just….” I glanced back at Donovan. He was staring at the both of us while wearing the most baffling expression I’d ever seen on him. It would have been comical at how taken aback he was if the whole situation wasn’t terrifying. “I was having a conversation with a friend.”

“Who is this?” Donovan asked, speaking up for the first time.

“I’m Avery,” Avery responded, leaving my arms to walk toward him. She stuck out her hand. “Nice to meet you.”

Shit. I nearly forgot about my daughter’s obsession with introducing herselfproperlyto people.

I didn’t know why, but one day, on the way back from school, everywhere we went, she’d introduce herself to random people, yelling, “Hi! I’m Avery!” It was slightly adorable but mostly mortifying. When we got home, I cautioned her not to do that again and taught her the right way to introduce herself to strangers if she had to.

She did it exactly like that now, and I couldn’t tell if Donovan was impressed or highly amused.

He took her hand. “Hi, Avery. I’m Donovan.”

“Are you Mommy’s new friend?”

He glanced at me before answering. “More like an old friend.”

I watched the exchange in fascinated horror before I finally couldn’t take it anymore. I rushed forward and grabbed my daughter’s hand, resisting the urge to yank it away from him.

“Avery, honey, let’s go put you back to bed.”

“But I’m not sleepy anymore.”

“Yes, but you have to do it anyway. If not, you’re not going to be able to get up early tomorrow morning for Macy.”

“You’re leaving again?” My daughter’s eyes widened with so much despair that it sent a pang to my chest. “You’re not going to take me to school?”

I sighed. “Avery, honey, we’ll talk about this later, okay? Come on now. Are you hungry?”

Avery shook her head, and her shoulders slumped dramatically, but luckily, she didn’t make any other protest. I swept her into my arms and began up the stairs. When we got midway up, I felt her stick out her hands and say, “Bye, Mommy’s friend.”

“It’s Donovan,” he replied from behind me.

“Bye, Donovan,” Avery whispered as we got to the top.

I didn’t wait to hear his reply, pushing open the door to Avery’s bedroom. I shut the window against the slight draft before I laid her on the bed, admiring the way the moon fell across my daughter’s face and highlighted her cherubic features.

“I’ll be right back, Ave,” I told her, giving her a reassuring smile and running my fingers through her hair. “I’m just going to say goodbye to my friend, and I’ll come up and tuck you in.”

“Will you read me a bedtime story?”

“Of course.” I ran my fingers through her hair again and leaned down to kiss her on the cheek. And then I did it again because she was just too adorable. “I’ll read you as many as you want.”

“I really don’t want you to leave again tomorrow, Mommy.”

I sighed. “I have to, honey. You’ll understand when you get older. But for now, I need you to be very good, okay? And don’t come downstairs while I talk to my friend.”

“Alright. I’ll be good.”

“I love you.” I felt the words come up unbidden. “So, so much.”

“I love you too,” Avery murmured with a yawn. I gave her a little snuggle and then headed for the bedroom door.

The minute Avery’s door shut behind me, I squared my shoulders and readied myself. It was time to face the music.

My feet felt leaden as I headed downstairs. Donovan was facing away from me but turned when I reached the bottom.

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