Page 88 of The Grump I Got Stuck With

I gave him a flat look. What does it look like? I wanted to say. Your child is miserable.

“Come here, love.” Alistair reached out, trying to comfort her, but Kenna pushed his hand away.

“No,” she cried. “It’s your fault I can’t go to Uncle Weston’s to see Aisling. You won’t let me go anywhere.” She sobbed even harder, and Princess nudged at her knees, whining in sympathy.

“I know it’s hard to understand⁠—”

“Daddy’s being mean,” she wailed, throwing herself at me. I picked her up, holding her as she cried on my shoulder. Alistair wouldn’t look at me, but I could see the devastation on his face.

Locke exchanged an awkward look with Weston. “We should go,” he murmured.

Weston nodded, looked back at Alistair once, the air crackling with tension, then the two of them walked out, the sounds of Kenna’s sobs filling the kitchen.

I knew Kenna couldn’t grasp the complexity of this situation, but she knew Alistair was responsible for the new rules; therefore, her being stuck here, unable to go see her friend, was his fault. It was kid logic, but she wasn’t exactly wrong.

But who the hell was I to say anything?

Just the nanny.

Kenna cried for a long time. By the time her sobs had faded to hiccups, she was exhausted and didn’t even argue as I laid her down for a nap. As I sat there on the edge of her bed, stroking her hair, listening to her soft breathing, I mulled over what to do next.

I knew Alistair didn’t want to hear a thing I had to say. He’d made that perfectly clear. But this wasn’t about my feelings. This was about Kenna. And if he couldn’t see that…I shook my head, decision made, and got to my feet, heading to Alistair’s office.

I stopped at the door, my insides twisting. A couple of weeks ago, I would have strolled right in without knocking, and Alistair would have looked up from his desk, giving me that sexy half smile as he rolled back his seat to welcome me on his lap. But that was back when I thought we were building something together.

Things were different now. So I knocked, then waited in the hall like any other employee.

“Come in,” he called.

I popped the door open and stepped inside, biting the inside of my cheek to keep my emotions in check. I was here to talk about Kenna. That’s all that mattered.

“Did Kenna go down okay?”

“Yeah, crying really took it out of her.”

His expression grew tense at the mention of her crying, but he simply nodded. “Can I help you with something?”

“I wanted to…I think…” I swallowed hard, fighting to find the right words. Fighting to find words he’d actually listen to, struggling with how to begin. “Weston told me you guys had a disagreement.”

Alistair bristled in his chair. “I don’t need people coming in here, telling me how to live my life with the bloody press knocking down my door.”

“Right,” I said. “But maybe that wasn’t what they were doing. Maybe they’re just concerned about you because they’re your friends and they’re trying to find a way to help you through an impossible situation.”

“I presume this conversation has a point?” he asked, his voice as sharp as a blade.

“My point is, well…” I just needed to spit it out or I never would. “This is an impossible situation, and I’m not sure you’re giving enough thought to how it’s all impacting Kenna.”

“Enough thought?” He barked a sharp laugh. “It’s only just on my mind twenty-four seven.”

“No, you’re thinking about the press constantly. You’re not thinking about what it’s actually like to be four and be told that you can’t see your friends. That she can’t take Princess outside⁠—”

“I’m protecting her,” he snapped. “That’s my job.”

“Alistair, you don’t even want her looking out the damn windows!” I said, gesturing across the room. “You have her locked up in this place like Rapunzel.”

“And that’s my bloody prerogative,” he said, getting to his feet. “I thought I made it clear that I’m the one who’ll decide what is and isn’t safe for my daughter.”

“So chasing off her uncles is protecting her?”