CHAPTER 90
harley
MAV: She’s fine.
MAV: She likes power tools—not sure if that’s going to be a problem.
MAV: See the attached picture to know the condition of your daughter.
MAV: I hear you’re going to be a “cute cat” for Halloween—she’s got plans for that costume.
MAV: Honestly, she’s a cool kid.
MAV: Does she ever stop talking? Is there an off button?
MAV: Please see the attached picture for the final fixed door of your barn, courtesy of one spooky queen.
Maverick kept me updated all afternoon. The simple action was reassuring.
The only person I’d ever left Aria with was Holly.
This whole thing was foreign and a little terrifying.
She had such a big personality, and I knew that some people weren’t as okay with that.
While I knew Maverick would never hurt Aria, I still didn’t quite trust that he wouldn’t tire of her intensity.
However, with every text update, my worries melted away.
He sent a bunch of pictures, and in every one, her smile was huge.
She was having a blast being his little assistant—though, handing her a drill and the hammer wouldn’t have been my first choice.
Which was probably why it was better that Maverick was out there with her.
And a part of me got caught up on the video update he sent me of her using the drill all by herself, of her excited shriek when she used it right, and his deep laughter in the background. I watched it more than once.
Aria held the drill like it was the most important job in the world, her tongue poking out in concentration, while Maverick talked her through it off camera.
When the screw finally sank into the wood, she jumped up and down like she’d done a magic trick, throwing her arms in the air and accidentally tossing the drill in the process.
Maverick’s laughter rumbled behind the phone, warm and genuine in a way that made something in my chest loosen.
“Good job, kid,” he told her, the pride in his voice unmistakable.
It was such a small moment, but I felt it deep inside me.
Because he wasn’t tolerating her energy the way some people did—not just charmed by her cuteness.
He wasn’t overwhelmed by it or even tapering it.
If anything, he seemed to meet it head-on, matching her excitement with an easy patience that made her shine even brighter.
And that look on her face in the next picture? The way she grinned up at him as if he’d just become the most interesting person in the world? That did something dangerously soft to my resolve about how close I’d let myself get to Maverick. I couldn’t deny the warmth spreading through my chest.
And for the first time since she was born, the idea of bringing someone else into our messy equation didn’t feel so frightening—only a little bit because it was him.
“Daddy!” Around dinnertime, the back door opened, and Aria came running into the house. Dirt smeared her rosy cheeks and dusted her dress, and her shoes were muddy.
“Daddy—”
“Whoa!” Maverick exclaimed as he caught her around the waist. He hauled her right back to the door and dropped her on the mat. “Shoes off, spooky queen. Rule number one of repair work: leave the dirt outside.”
“Daddy! Daddy!” she continued to shout with her excitement as she stumbled through getting out of her sneakers. More than once, Maverick’s hands lashed out to make sure she didn’t fall over. He did it so naturally that it made me smile. “I got to use the drill! Did you see? I got to use the drill!”
“I did!” I said, matching her enthusiasm but not her volume. “Did you have fun?”
“I did!” she squealed. “And! And! And! And! Mav said he’d get me my own tool belt!”
“Did he now?” My gaze drifted to Maverick, and he just shrugged.
“Yeah!” Aria skipped into the kitchen, and she danced around as she talked, her whole body unable to sit still. Leaning against the counter, I crossed my arms as I listened to her prattle on happily. “And! He said I could help him next time he comes out!”
“That’s nice of him. Did you say thank you to him for letting you help today?” I asked.
“Yes! Wait! No!” She bounced her way back over to Maverick and threw her arms around his waist, thanking him on repeat.
He tousled her curls and gave her a small squeeze right back.
The exchange was short and sweet, but it wrapped around my heart.
I smiled—I couldn’t help it. There was just something incredible about watching him with her.
“Will you go upstairs and get cleaned up for dinner, please?” I asked Aria when she pulled away from him.
“Okay!” She waved at Maverick. “Bye!”
“Later, spooky queen.” He returned the gesture, but I wasn’t sure she saw him as she disappeared upstairs. Maverick didn’t move from his spot by the door, his hands slipping into his pockets while he stood there a little awkwardly.
“Thank you,” I said softly. “She had the time of her life out there with you.”
“It was no big deal.” He shrugged.
“It is to me,” I told him. “Would you like to join us for dinner? It’s nothing fancy, just pasta and garlic bread.”
“That sure as hell beats going home and cooking,” he replied. He carefully took off his boots and left them on the doormat. I slipped out of the way as he joined me in the kitchen, going straight for the sink to clean up. “Does she have a bedtime, or does she just keep going all night long?”
“She sleeps really well. Once she’s out, she’s out. Only storms wake her up.”
“That’s good. Carson sleeps like shit. I typically take him once a week so that Roxy can get some sleep.”
“That sucks.” The worst I dealt with was storms waking Aria up, but when that happened, she just crawled into my bed and slept there for the night.
I couldn’t imagine if she didn’t sleep well.
And while I was curious, I didn’t ask more.
It wasn’t my place to ask medical questions about someone else’s kid.
Thundering footsteps on the stairs made us both turn. Aria appeared around the corner in a pair of clean pajamas. Her face lit up when she saw Maverick in the kitchen.
“Are you staying for dinner? Is he staying for dinner?” She gasped, answering her own question. “Daddy!”
“Yes?”
“Daddy! I have an idea!”
“Yes?” I repeated. Maverick leaned against the counter with me. I was all too aware of how his gaze drifted between the two of us as a silent observer.
“Can we make brownies in a cup after?” Aria asked. My chest constricted instantly, but she never missed a beat as she turned to Maverick. “My daddy makes the best brownies in a cup! He says they’re his feel-good food. I don’t know what that means, but I love brownies. Do you like brownies?”
The weight of Maverick’s stare has my ears and cheeks burning. Out of all the things my daughter had to bring up, why did it have to be brownies? It was the one thing I’d carried with me from Maverick over the years. I could’ve gone a long time without him learning that.
I cleared my throat, desperate to make the moment pass.
“Why don’t you head to the table, little love?” I said. “I made your plate already. We’ll be there with ours in a minute.”
“Okay!” She skipped to the table and out of earshot, completely oblivious to everything else.
Without her there, a thick silence settled between us.
The kind of silence that was charged with everything we weren’t saying.
I moved across the kitchen to put some distance between us, doing whatever I could to avoid him.
Cabinets opened and closed as I searched for plates and silverware, focusing a little too hard on the simple task—anything to keep my mind and eyes off the man standing only a few feet behind me.
The man I was trying real damn hard to pretend wasn’t watching my every move.
As I opened another cabinet, he stepped up behind me, close enough that I felt the heat of him against my back.
“Don’t get in your head now, princess,” Maverick whispered, his warm breath fanning over the shell of my ear. “I think it’s kind of sexy that you remembered.”
The gravel of his voice slid down my spine, and I shuddered before I could stop it—just the smallest of reactions. My fingers tightened around the edge of the cabinet door as awareness prickled across my skin.
For a moment, neither of us moved.
The space between us felt incredibly small, every inch of it filled with him. His presence. His heat. His breathing. My heart lodged in my throat as something built between us—something I couldn’t put words to.
Something I couldn’t quite afford. Not now. Maybe not ever.
Without another word, he reached past me and took down a cup. His arm brushed close enough to send another spark of warmth through me. And then he stepped back just as easily, putting distance between us like the moment never happened.
Laughter filled my house as Maverick joined Aria at the table, cracking a joke along the way. But I just stood there, attempting to put back together all the things Maverick had unraveled inside me.