Page 19 of Hartley

Inside, Julia stayed with us while Rory kept the SUV idling, just in case. With Gil finally gone, I didn’t have many worries for myself. Ava was another story. I didn’t want anything to happen to her, so I didn’t mind the extra precautions when she was with me.

Ava browsed the aisles and stopped when I pointed out which would work best. She first chose a solid black, which I expected. But then peered up at me like that was it.

“You don’t want more?” I asked.

“This is enough.”

“Ava, Jordan is paying. He has more money than he’ll ever know what to do with. Please pick out more. Consider this part of your school clothes.”

She bit her lip and glanced at the fabric, her eyes bouncing between two particular colors. I knew she wouldn’t say anything. Ava wouldn’t ask for too much. I’d learned thatalready. She didn’t want to be a burden. She couldn’t be. We’d do anything for her.

Instead of waiting for her to tell me, I took the two choices, and we brought them over with the other to be cut. “Do you want pockets in the leggings?”

“Can they be small, hidden ones?”

“Sure. How about just big enough to fit your phone?”

“Yes, please.” She didn’t have a big phone, so it would be easy to stitch in a pocket to fit it.

I had them cut generously. If Ava loved these, I could make her more. Leggings would be easy compared to some of the other articles of clothing I’d designed. I could also make a line of leggings for men. There was something to consider. Maybe I’d make a pair for myself and test out the reaction with Jordan and Vail. At home and only when Ava wasn’t around because I had a feeling my men would like the tight material on me very much.

Shaking my head, I focused on the task at hand again.

We got what we needed and paid. Rory drove us back to my studio, where I took Ava’s measurements. I offered to have Julia do it instead. It would be easy to tell Julia how to. But Ava asked me, so I did it as efficiently as possible so we could move on to the fun part.

Ava and I sat down to sketch the design. Sure, it was a pair of leggings, but we could have fun with them. Add different color stitching, more pockets, whatever Ava wanted. I didn’t even care if she hated them when they were done. What mattered was bonding with her and watching the smile bloom on her face as she got excited to talk about what we were doing.

“I’ve never made clothes before. This year in school I’mlearning how to sew, but it’s not like this. We’re doing it by hand.”

“Well, if you need any help, I’m here and have tricks I can teach you. Once you know how to sew, you’ll carry it with you and fix your own clothing. You can even make more of your own designs.”

“Really?”

“Of course. Anything you want. We can have a lot of fun.” I didn’t want to persuade her to do more with me, but if she found a hobby where her mind was busy, that was a good thing. And when she was done, she’d have something to show for her hard work.

My other tasks were pushed aside while I spent the rest of my Saturday with Ava as we made multiple pairs of leggings. She said she couldn’t wait to go home and show Vail and Jordan. She even called Julia in to show her as well.

What surprised me most was when Ava hugged me. She put her arms around me and thanked me for teaching her today. If my eyes were a little misty, well, that was because of dust getting in them.

9

JORDAN

Arden’s first day had finally arrived. He was the new therapist for my guards. Not for me because, like I’d said in the past, if I needed someone to talk to, it would be the men who shared my bed with me every night.

“Arden’s here, sir,” Reghan said from his usual spot.

I nodded and started walking toward the elevator. Reghan pressed the button. As soon as it arrived, we both got in. With Hartley and Ava at his studio and Vail working at Untouchable for the lunch and dinner crowd, I had the home to myself. Normally, I would have work lined up. There was always something that needed to be done. But with Arden starting today, I wanted to keep my day clear, just in case.

Stepping into the lobby, I found Arden standing in a sea of my men. He was the only one in a suit besides me.

Arden’s light blond hair was trimmed neatly and combed away from his face. He wore light-framed glasses that drew the gaze to his blue eyes. While he tried not to fidget standing in the room among men who could easily kill him, I didn’t miss the way his fingers twitched by his side.

“Arden,” I greeted and offered my hand, which he shook. “Thank you for coming.”

“Of course. We have an agreement.” He leaned in close. “Will I have to do this every week?” His eyes darted around. None of my men were looking at him, but that didn’t stop the feeling that they were. The guards were intimidating, just how I liked them.

“No. We’ll get you set up so you can enter through the garage and avoid this.”

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