Chapter 16

After Mason rocked my world with his mouth, we fell asleep. It wasn't until Brantley, Eli, and Chloe knocked on the door with a fast-asleep Ari in their arms that we woke up.

I was planning to go home with her, but when Mason asked us to stay, I couldn't tell him no. Especially when he showed me the bedroom he had renovated to be hers. He had someone come in and hand paint a mural of a field of flowers and had the other walls done in a soft pink. Her bedding is white with a canopy around it. He even went as far as to have glow-in-the-dark stars put on the ceiling so it doesn't get too dark in there. As soon as she saw it, she was head over heels in love.

How could I deny her her dream room?

It didn't hurt that he then dragged me into his bedroom, which had the most heavenly mattress known to man in it.

I fell asleep before I could even think about the consequences of staying in his home.

So I'm not surprised when I wake up in a panic when I realize I'm in his bed. Some things don't change overnight, and being in an unfamiliar place will always cause me a slight panic when I can't immediately hear or see my child.

Looking down, I smile at the T-shirt he gave me to sleep in last night. It smells like him. Still, that panic in my chest is growing the longer I don't know where my kid is. I know logically she is probably safe. Especially since Mason isn't in here with me. I'd bet they are together in the kitchen, but that doesn't make it better.

Rushing out of bed, I head downstairs. Then I stop outside of the kitchen as I hear them talking. My chest settles.

She's okay.

"Uncle Brantley said that hockey players are superior because they aren't afraid to get a little dirty. He said they defend their teammates and are willing to fight for them. Aunt Chloe said that they are always playboys. Daddy, can I have a playboy when I'm older? Then they could play with me whenever I wanted them too."

I peek around the corner when I hear Mason choke.

The scene I find is adorable. He has Ari in her own seat with a plate of eggs, pancakes, and bacon in front of her. He even got her a glass of apple juice. He has the same in front of him, except he was taking a drink of coffee when she asked her question.

His face is red, and he looks both angry and unsure of what to say.

Deciding to save him, I step into the room.

"Honey, playboys aren't a good thing. Aunt Chloe was saying that hockey players don't necessarily treat their girlfriends well."

She frowns. "The one I met did. He had a wife and a daughter my age. I played with her most of the game. I think Aunt Chloe is wrong. I still wanna marry one of them."

"I don't think you should marry any of them, Ari girl. Boys are dumb, and they say mean things sometimes. Can we agree that we won't think about marrying until we are at least forty?" Mason asks.

I shake my head. Poor guy. He is truly becoming a girl dad.

I start to make my own coffee as they negotiate. It only makes me think of the negotiation we did last night. I still don't feel good about taking money from him, but it would help with Ari. I could get her some new clothes and buy better food for us.

Glancing back, I see that Ari is considering her father's words.

Ari makes a decision then, nodding and saying, "Okay, but does that mean you won't marry Mommy until she's forty? I don't want you to wait that long. I want you to get married, and then I can have a sister."

My eyes widen. "What?"

Mason says, "Sister?" At the same time.

"Jeremy says that when his daddy married his second mommy that they gave him a little brother. I would love to have a sister, but I don't want to wait a long time for one."

I really need to move her to a new day care. This one obviously doesn't pay attention to the kids.

Mason looks at me. "What do they allow the kids to do at this day care? You know what? I don't want to know. We are talking about this," he warns me before turning to Ari. "I don't know when Mommy and I will be getting married, but when we do, we can talk about giving you a sibling."

"Sister. I don't think I want a brother. Boys are gross and dirty," Ari says.

"Yet you want to marry one?" Mason asks, confused.

"Not a boy. A playboy. They didn't look gross. They looked tough. Like men are supposed to be. Or so Uncle Eli said."

"Your friends need to stop filling her head with that shit," I whisper to him as I take the seat beside him, grabbing a piece of bacon from his plate.

"Trust me, we will be having a talk," he says, handing me the entire plate.

I smile at him gratefully.

"Hey, Mommy?" Ari asks suddenly.

"Yes, baby?"

"Why aren't you wearing pants?"

I groan.

Of course she would notice. In my panic, I didn't think to put any on.

Thankfully, Mason is on top of it.

"She wore a dress yesterday and didn't have any. How about you and I go wash up while Mommy finishes breakfast, then we can go home and change?"

"Okay, Daddy."

Watching them walk out of the kitchen together, my heart clenches.

This is what I always wanted for her.

So why can't I trust that it's real?

* * *

"Daddy, watch me," Ari calls as she goes down the slide for the hundredth time.

I would never tire of this.

Today is one of those days where the bank, schools, and day care take off, but no one else actually considers it a holiday. Normally, I wouldn't either, but Ari needed someone to watch her. Olivia had requested the day off, but with them being short-staffed, Max asked if she could possibly come in. He even told her to bring Ari.

I scoffed at them both and said I would take care of her. I can do my work from anywhere. Hell, I'm the CEO. I could not work at all, and everything will be fine.

That's how we ended up here. My little girl loves the park, and I couldn't deny her pouting when she begged to come.

"Look at you go. You are flying down that thing," I encourage her.

She giggles before running back up to the top. She goes down several more times before moving to some bug-looking thing on a spring. I don't quite like the look of it, but she seems to know it well. She climbs on and starts shaking back and forth.

I take a few photos of her before sending them to Olivia.

I know she won't respond. Not right away, at least. She takes her work seriously. I love that about her. Her work ethic is like mine. She wants to do her best at what she does. She isn't there to just collect a paycheck. She's trying to make the place better. I have stayed very hands-off with the whole situation. I came in to help Max, but as soon as I found out about Olivia, I've been distracted. I've left it all up to Max and Eli.

They have done an amazing job of it, though. They have already minimized the turnover rate and started establishing new rules for everyone. So when Max told me about some of the changes Olivia suggested, I was impressed. She really knows what she is doing. I think she will go far in the hospitality industry. I hope she plans to stay at my hotel, but even if she doesn't, she will be an asset wherever she goes.

My phone rings, drawing my attention away from Ari for a moment. I cringe when I see my mother's name. She has no room in my life right now. I can't deal with her shit. I decline the call and pocket my phone at the same time I hear Ari scream.

My heart is in my throat in a second as I rush over to her. She's on the ground, crying as she holds her knee.

"What happened, baby girl? Where does it hurt?" I start to look her over.

"I fell. My knee hurts, Daddy." She's bawling her eyes out.

I can feel tears in my own eyes as I look at her knee. It's scraped, but as I move it, she doesn't seem to hurt anymore. I hate that she's hurt, but it doesn't seem like it needs a hospital trip.

"I'm so sorry, baby girl." I feel guilty as hell for not watching her better. "Let's go get this cleaned up, and then Daddy will take you for ice cream."

I pick her up in my arms, her little ones going around my neck the best they can. Then she lays her head in the crook of my neck, sniffling, her sobbing having subsided.

"Promise?" she asks.

"I promise. Let's go get some Band-Aids," I tell her, carrying her to my car.

Thomas opens the door as I approach, his eyes taking in Ari. He looks worried.

"Is she okay?" he asks.

She looks at him. "It hurts, but Daddy is going to get me a Band-Aid and ice cream."

Thomas looks to me to confirm, so I nod.

"There's a drugstore down the street," he tells me, heading back to the driver's side.

I buckle Ari into her seat before climbing into the other side of the car next to her. Ari holds out her hand to me, so I take it. I squeeze it lightly, looking at her.

I feel like five years were shaved off my life. Hearing her scream did something to me. I never want to hear it again. I never want to see her hurt again. My chest still feels like it's being squeezed.

When Thomas pulls up outside the pharmacy, I pull Ari out and take her inside with me. I could have had her wait with Thomas, but I'm feeling a bit clingy at the moment. I don't want her out of my sight. It is such a startling feeling, but it also makes me feel more like a parent. Like it's normal to feel this way.

In the Band-Aid aisle, Ari is obviously feeling much better.

"Daddy, the kitty Band-Aids would help me heal much better." She bats her eyes up at me.

Normally, I would be happy to give her whatever she wants, only the kitty Band-Aids won't cover her scrape.

"They are too small, though, honey. We need them to cover the entire wound."

"We could put more than one on it. Please, Daddy. I really want the kitty."

What would Olivia do? I could call her, but I don't want her to worry. Ari is okay now, and I can handle this. I can make this decision.

If I put like six on it, they will be covered. So I conceded.

"Okay. Grab two boxes, though," I tell her, letting her grab the boxes.

These marketing people know what they are doing. The plain Band-Aids are all at the top, while the cartoon and character ones are at kid height. All so the kids can sucker parents into spending twice the money on the character ones and getting fewer Band-Aids.

Anything to keep the smile on Ari's face.

Next, I grab some antibacterial ointment and some gauze to clean it. Then I go to the register with Ari.

"Well, what happened here?" the nice older lady asks.

Ari smiles up at her. "I got hurt, but Daddy makes it better."

I feel like a damn superhero at that. I made her feel better.

"Oh, that's good to hear. We all get a little bump from time to time, but it's important to have a daddy to make it all better."

"I think so too."

I pay the woman, taking the bag.

"Do you have a bathroom I could clean this in?" I ask.

She nods. "In the back."

Taking Ari to the men's room, I prop her on the sink. Then I take the soap, cleaning the wound with the gauze. She winces, and her lips wobble, but she is brave. I'm so proud of her. When I apply the ointment, one tear gets free while she sniffles, but she stays still and quiet. When I finally put all of the Band-Aids on and kiss it, she takes a deep breath. Then she smiles at me.

"Much better, Daddy. I love you."

My heart stutters. "I love you too, baby girl."

I hug her to me before kissing the top of her head. Then I set her down on the floor, cleaning up our mess. As we make our way out of the store, she waves at the cashier, who smiles and waves back.

At the car, she proudly shows Thomas her pretty Band-Aids. He gushes over it like it's the best thing he has ever seen. It makes me glad I hired him. He's a good guy.

"Ice cream now?" Ari asks.

I nod, buckling her in. Ari chats about nothing as we make our way over to the parlor. I love listening to her talk. Sometimes she asks for my input, but she is also content just talking to herself. It's sweet to listen to the innocence of a child. Makes me want to protect her even more.

"How about we get ice cream to go? Mommy will be home soon. We can get her some too."

"Good idea, Daddy."

After ordering her a cone and two pints for Olivia and me, we are headed back home. I cringe when the ice cream melts everywhere, but Thomas assures me it'll be fine. Still, when he drops us off at home, I hand him several hundred dollars and tell him to get it detailed on me. He graciously takes the money.

Escorting my little princess up the stairs, I think about what a great day we had. How I can't wait to have another one with her. I might have to take all of the holidays off to spend with her.

Opening the door, I call out, "Honey, we're home."

"Where have you guys been?" Olivia asks, coming around the corner with a smile on her face.

That is, until she sees Ari's knee.

"What the hell happened?" She is in front of Ari in a second.

She's looking up at me angrily as she looks at all the Band-Aids.

"I fell, but I'm okay, Mommy."

"At the park?" Olivia asks.

"Yep. Can I go play now?" Ari asks.

"Of course."

As soon as Ari is gone, Olivia turns on me.

"My daughter gets hurt, and you don't even have the decency to call and let me know? What the fuck, Mason? This is not okay."

"Whoa, calm down. She has a little scrape. I washed it and put ointment on it, then bandaged her up. It wasn't that serious."

I must say the wrong thing somewhere in that statement because she looks as if steam could be coming out of her ears.

"Calm down? Don't you dare tell me to calm down. That's my child. I have a right to be upset about this. I trusted you with her, and she got hurt on your watch. Not only that, but you didn't bother to tell me. Instead, you tell me it's not that serious. I guess my daughter doesn't matter that much to you if it's not that serious. How did she even end up falling? Weren't you watching her? This is why I should have stayed home. This wouldn't have happened."

I can feel my own anger rising with each word. Her daughter. Not our. She is acting like I'm some babysitter who fucked around and let her kid get hurt, but it's not her kid. She's ours. Arianna is as much my daughter as hers. I might not be on the birth certificate, but if she wants to keep this up, I will go through with getting added. I thought we were making progress, but I guess I was wrong.

Here I am, falling in love with Olivia and seeing a family with her, and all she sees me as is some incompetent asshole who is only a part-timer in her life.

Realizing this, I say the words before I can even consider what they mean.

"I can't keep living like this, Livvy. I want you, but you have one foot out the door. You're waiting for me to mess up, and when I do, you are ready to crucify me for it. I'm not perfect. Ari got hurt, but I took care of it. If you can't trust me to be her father, then I can't do this with you anymore."

The look on her face is a punch to the gut, but those words ring true in my heart.

I can't have her ready to bolt. That's not a healthy relationship.

As much as I want her, Ari is too important.

So for Ari, I have to let Olivia go.