Page 12 of My Forbidden Holidate

“Sweetheart,” he says gently, “we talked about this. You’re going to Grandma’s tonight for a sleepover while Hayden and I watch a movie together.”

“But that’s no fair,” Star whines, hugging a pillow that’s as big as her. “I want to watch a movie!”

“We watched a movie together yesterday,” I remind her, still standing in the kitchen. It’s like I can’t move any closer. What is Dan planning?

“But not in a fort!”

The doorbell rings and Dan swoops in and scoops his daughter up and out of the fort. “That’s Grandma. Go get your overnight bag. It’s already packed and on your bed.”

Star crosses her arms over her chest. “Youpromiseto build a fort with me tomorrow?”

“This weekend,” Dan promises, kissing the top of her head. “We’ll build an even bigger one this weekend.”

That brings a smile back to Star’s face, and she runs to her bedroom to grab her bag.

“I hope you like surprises,” Dan says, walking over to me to give me a kiss. “Because tonight is all about us. I figured since we went out last week, tonight we can stay in.” His dark eyes sparkle with a hidden secret, and my nerves get the better of me.

“Okay,” I mutter, trying not to get distracted by the fact that Dan’s still dripping from his shower andhalf naked.“That sounds nice.”

Itdoessound nice, but I still can’t get his mother’s voice out of my head. It doesn’t help when she appears behind me out of nowhere and scares the daylights out of me.

“Hayden.” She watches me coolly as she waits for Star to arrive. “We should speak for a moment.”

“I’ll go check on Star,” Dan says, giving my hand a comforting squeeze. “I’ll be right back.”

I beg him with my eyes not to leave me alone with her, but he’s either not paying attention or he’s denying my wishes.

What happened to promises of “I’ll grant all your wishes, Hayden” from the other night?

Greta hums to herself as her son departs. “I owe you an apology.” She fidgets with her shirtsleeves before meeting my eyes. “It’s not often that I’m wrong. And I was wrong about Daniel’s ex-wife. I thought staying with her was Daniel’s best option for Star. Just like how I thought leaving you was his best option.” She pauses and meets my eyes. “I didn’t want to be wrong about you, either, but I have to protect my family— even if that means breaking some hearts. You understand.”

Ido, a little, but that doesn’t excuse the way she spoke about me while I was standingright there.

“I understand wanting to keep them safe,” I admit slowly. “They mean a lot to me.”

“They mean a great deal to me, too,” Greta says softly. “So when I saw you with Star the other morning, I thought Daniel was being foolish and letting my granddaughter get attached to another woman who was going to leave.”

I open my mouth to argue, but she holds up her hand to stop me.

“You’re young, dear. You have your whole life ahead of you.Whyyou want to saddle yourself to a single father and his daughter is beyond me. They’regood, yes, but so are a lot of things in life. Especially to a young woman like yourself. Your desires are fickle. You don’t have responsibilities yet.”

“I have a responsibility to this family,” I say, my voice strong. “I love your son. I love your granddaughter. I would never abandon them.”

She regards me silently for a moment. “You could have run after I was so rude to you. Many would have. But you stayed.” She places her hand on my arm. “It takes guts to face opposition and stay strong. You’ve earned my respect.”

Star appears and hugs me quickly before heading toward the door. A chocolate-covered marshmallow on a stick is shoved in her mouth, so I’m wondering if Dan had to bribe her to get her to leave.

“Take care of him,” Greta says finally as she turns to leave. “He needs someone who will love just as fiercely as he does.”

As she walks away, I make a silent promise.I will.

No more letting other people get in the way about how I feel. I’m here to stay.

And if Grandma Greta can change her mind, so can the rest of the world if they’ve got a problem with us!

Dan reappears in a tank top and smiles as he approaches. “If you’d like to do something else, we can compromise. I just want to spend more time with you.”

“This is perfect,” I assure him, leaning up on my tiptoes to give him a quick kiss. “Thank you for setting this up.” Glancing at the massive pile of blankets and pillows - he must have gathered every spare piece of linen he owned— I can’t help but laugh. “I haven’t been in a fort in years. I’m gonna feel like a bird in her nest.”

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