Chapter Fifteen Violet
Chapter Fifteen
Violet
I’d totally messed things up with Charlie. I’d wanted to have a one-night stand with the man, and instead I’d managed to accuse him of heinous doll crimes and offend him so badly that he had no desire to sleep with me anymore. And now, of course, it was all I could think about.
But today wasn’t about me or my horny lady parts.
I’d gotten up early and blown up more pink and white balloons than I could count. The good news was that I’d be able to reuse these balloons in my balloon arch later at the party.
I wanted today to be magical for Harper.
Maybe in a way I was reliving my own failed birthday parties through her.
My father had never shown up to celebrate my birthday.
Not once.
My mother spent most of my childhood bitter and angry that her husband had left us.
So, I usually got a cupcake, and we’d go to the diner and have dinner after school.
There were no Pinkalicious balloon arches or birthday fairies.
I sent a quick text to Charlie.
Me: Just wanted to remind you that I’m coming through the back door with the balloons, so don’t attack me for trespassing please.
Charlie: I always get up early on Harper’s birthday. Plus, I want to make sure you don’t set me up for a crime I didn’t commit.
Me: I see we’re over the drama from yesterday.
I grabbed the three large garbage bags full of balloons and was dragging them across the yard when I heard his deep chuckle from the doorway.
“Are you going to stand there laughing or help me with these bags?” I grumped.
“I was worried you’d think I was going to murder you, seeing as less than twenty-four hours ago, you thought I was a serial killer.” He moved toward me and tugged two of the bags from my hands, leaving me with just the one.
“You’re hilarious.”
“They say most serial killers are.”
“Shh . . . we don’t want to wake her up,” I hissed once we stepped inside.
“She’s a deep sleeper. Tell me what we need to do,” he whispered.
I glanced around, and the way he’d decorated the kitchen took my breath away.
A garland of colorful flags hanging above the kitchen island read Happy 7th Birthday, Harps.
Several doughnuts were stacked on a cake plate, and a pile of presents on the island had been wrapped in pink gift wrap with white ribbons.
Charlie Huxley is a rock star dad.
Sure, I’d briefly thought he was murdering dolls in his free time, but I never doubted that he was a good dad.
But damn, this was next level.
I pushed away the lump in my throat and looked up at him. “This looks nice.”
“Thank you.”
“Okay, we just need to quietly place these all over the floor in her room, and we’ll put a few on the foot of her bed. So when she wakes up, she’ll know the birthday fairy was here,” I said, keeping my voice low.
“She’s been talking endlessly about this birthday fairy. I take it that came from you?”
I nodded. “Yes. This kid in my class used to talk about the birthday fairy when I was in third grade, and I literally waited every year for her to come.”
“Did she come?” he said, gaping at me.
“No. My mom wasn’t big on the fairy thing, apparently. But at least I can use my childhood trauma for good now.” I shrugged.
He smirked and shook his head. “Every time I think you’re pure evil, you go and surprise me.”
“That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me,” I said, my voice laced with sarcasm. “Come on, let’s go.”
Charlie led the way down the hallway with the two bags in hand.
He pushed the door open, and Harper was sound asleep in her bed.
She looked so peaceful and happy. Her bed had several stuffed animals in it, and the unicorn night-light allowed just enough of a glow for us to see the balloons and quietly spread them around the bedroom.
I placed four balloons on the bed, and then we quietly tiptoed back out of the room and down the hall.
Once we got to the kitchen, he took the empty bags from me and balled them all up and tossed them in the trash.
“I’ll see you later,” I said, assuming he was done talking to me.
“You want a doughnut? I’ve got plenty.”
Maybe he doesn’t hate me anymore.
“Sure. That sounds great. I can never fall back asleep once I’m up.” I moved to sit on the barstool at his kitchen island.
“Coffee?” he asked as he poured himself a mug, and I nodded.
He set it down in front of me, clearly remembering that I took my coffee black, and he put the box of doughnuts in front of me as well, as he had several that he hadn’t taken out yet.
I chose the white cake doughnut with sprinkles on it.
“Man, I could sleep any time of day,” he said, his voice low and deep. “Even if just for fifteen minutes, I’d take it.”
I took a bite of my doughnut and studied him. “Have you always been that way?”
“Yeah, pretty much. I’ve never slept deep, so I think little catnaps work for me.”
“Why didn’t you sleep deep as a kid? I thought all kids sleep deep,” I asked.
He took a sip of his coffee. “I was in and out of foster care, so I never slept well. I moved around a lot and saw some shady shit, so I was always on edge.”
I got a vision of a young Charlie, with dark hair and ocean-blue eyes, watching everyone cautiously.
My heart ached at the thought.
“How old were you when you went into foster care?”
“Around Harper’s age, and I was there until I graduated from high school.” He leaned forward and used the pad of his thumb to swipe something off the corner of my lip. “You had a sprinkle there.”
“Thank you,” I whispered. “Was it lonely in foster care?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t know any different, and I’ve never minded being on my own.” He shrugged. “Don’t feel sorry for me, Firefly. I don’t do the pity thing.”
“I don’t feel sorry for you, Charlie.”
“What do you feel then? You’re looking at me like someone just ran over your puppy.” He chuckled, but it wasn’t genuine.
It was a painful memory for him, whether he wanted to admit it or not.
“I feel like there’s so much more to you than I realized.
I feel like you’re an amazing father. I feel like you’ve been really kind to me by letting me live in your guesthouse and renovating my home, while I’ve tortured you.
” I got up and stood in front of him. “I feel like I was scared to cross the line yesterday, so I found a ridiculous excuse to call it off. I’m sorry for doing that. ”
He reached for my hand and laced his fingers through mine. “It’s all right. I understand that more than you know.”
“I feel like I want to kiss you, Charlie.”
“So, kiss me then.”
I leaned down, tangling my hands in his hair before my lips found his.
It wasn’t frantic this time.
My lips parted and his tongue slipped inside. His hands moved to my ass and pulled me onto his lap, where he sat on the barstool.
Our tongues tangled, exploring one another’s mouths as I groaned.
His hardness grew between my legs, and I moaned into his mouth.
I pulled back and looked at him. His heated gaze studying me.
“Okay, we should probably stop, huh? Harper’s going to be up soon,” I whispered.
“Yeah. Let’s sit with this for now.” He nipped at my bottom lip before helping me to my feet.
I glanced down to see the obvious tent in his gray joggers, and I chuckled. “I sure seem to leave you frustrated often.”
“I think torturing me is your superpower.” He winked, and my stomach fluttered.
What the hell is that about?
I didn’t do stomach flutters or get all flustered over a good-looking man.
But Charlie Huxley was doing something to me.
“We’ve all got our strengths.” I chuckled. “I better go get dressed so I can come back and decorate for the party in a little bit. Thanks for the doughnut and the coffee.” I chewed on my bottom lip. “And the hot make-out session.”
“Not a bad way to start the day, Firefly. Thanks for making Harper’s birthday so special. She’s going to love it.”
“I’ll see you in a little while.” I made my way out the back door and through the yard. Once I was inside, I leaned my back against the door and slid down to the floor.
What is happening?
I dialed Montana’s number, and she picked up on the first ring.
“Hey, it’s Saturday. Why are you up so early?” she asked. My bestie was an early riser, where I preferred to sleep in.
“I went to do the fairy surprise for Harper,” I said.
“Oh yes. I forgot you were doing the balloons in her room this morning. So why do you sound so defeated? Did you wake her up when you were setting things up?”
“No. But I kissed Charlie again.”
She chuckled. “Vi, it’s okay to say you like Charlie.”
“I don’t like Charlie. I just like kissing him.”
“If you just liked kissing him, you wouldn’t have run out of his house yesterday because you found that stupid elf in the balloon.
You panicked. You’re nervous because you actually like him.
This is not a ‘bang it out of your system’ type of thing.
You. Like. Charlie,” she said, pausing on each of the last three words, which infuriated me.
“You aren’t helping,” I groaned. “Plus, I can’t like Charlie. He doesn’t like me.”
“Charlie likes you,” she said, giggling. “He came down to your office yesterday and tossed that weird elf in your face because you hurt his feelings. Because he likes you. Why is that so hard for you to believe?”
“He’s not my type. And he’s not looking for anything either. He doesn’t do relationships. So liking him is a bad idea. Banging him was one thing, but I can’t like him. It’ll be a disaster.”
“You told him you weren’t looking for anything. Maybe you both just said it to protect yourselves, you know? Just go with it, and don’t overthink it. See where it goes. Stop with the games, and just tell the man how you feel.”
“I did not call for rational advice, Monny. I called for you to tell me to pull my head out of my ass and walk away now. I’m just confusing lust with feelings. I’m attracted to him. I can’t like a man who irritates me all the time.” I got up and headed to the bedroom to get dressed.
“That’s not true. Myles irritates me all the time,” she said before loud laughter bellowed from her. “But I love that man like crazy. I think it’s good that you’re feeling things. You’ve had this guard up around you for so long, and I’m happy to see it come down for someone.”
“What if he rejects me?” I whispered.
Because at the end of the day, that was what I was afraid of.
I’d had a lifetime of rejection from my own father.
I wouldn’t allow anyone to make me feel like I wasn’t good enough ever again.
“Violet,” she said, her voice wobbling as she said my name, “you can’t spend your whole life protecting yourself from heartache.
Look at what happened with Myles. I put myself out there, and it hurt like hell when he left.
But he came back to me, and everything worked out.
Had I not put myself out there, we wouldn’t be together now.
Sometimes you’ll get hurt, but you’ve got to take risks to get what you want. It’s part of life.”
“I don’t think I can go there,” I said, my voice low as I swiped at the single tear streaming down my face.
“The thought of him not feeling the same way about me would be too much. And we’re friends.
I love Harper, and I want to keep her in my life.
I don’t have it in me to hate Charlie Huxley, and if he rejected me I would have no choice. ”
“Because you have actual feelings for the man. The fact that we’re even talking about this is huge for you. You’ve always been one foot out the door in every relationship you’ve been in. Just enjoy this right now and see where it goes. Don’t decide anything yet, okay?”
“Well, I don’t have time to decide anything anyway. I’ve got a Pinkalicious party to set up, and I think Harper’s mom might be coming to the party, so for all I know, they still have feelings for one another.” I pulled on a pair of jeans and a pink blouse before moving to the bathroom.
“I don’t even know his ex, and no one in town has ever mentioned her. It’s weird that she just comes to town once a year, right?” she asked.
“It’s very bizarre. I want to see how the dynamic is. So I’m shaking it off, and your job is to forget this conversation ever happened. I’m already over it.” I put a few curls in my hair before pulling it into a low ponytail.
“Good luck with that,” she chuckled. “Unfortunately, feelings are not something you can just decide to get over. But I know you’re in party mode now, and I can’t wait to see you work your magic. We’ll see you at the party in a few hours. Call me if you need me. Love you.”
“Love you,” I said before ending the call.
I put on some lip gloss and mascara and stared into the mirror. “You don’t like Charlie Huxley. Shake it the hell off.”
And that’s exactly what I intended to do.