Her eyes went suspiciously soft, and she looked away.
For the next little while, the three of us ate and chatted, Dylan piping up with some happy squeals as I mashed up a strawberry for her. Addison and I cleaned off the table and sat back down with cups of decaf coffee while the baby played on the floor with a set of pots and pans. It was the most domestic evening of my life, and I was happier than a pig in shit. Who knew?
Now if we could just end this night on the perfect note . . .
“Dylan’s head is bobbing already, so if you want to put her to bed and then unwind while I do these dishes, that would be good.”
“You can’t be serious. You—”
I held up a hand. “Not negotiating.”
She looked down at the sink full of dishes and then at Dylan. “I’ll pay you back for this.”
“You will not,” I countered.
She picked up the baby and carried her from the room, allowing me to watch her hips as they swayed. Something buzzed in my pocket and I flinched in surprise. That would teach me for letting her body hypnotize me so completely.
I glanced down at the screen and saw a number I didn’t recognize.
“Probably some telemarketer,” I grumbled, but I answered just in case. “Hello?”
“Hey,” a familiar female voice said on the other end of the line, and I nearly dropped my phone.
“Jesus, Jenn? Where the hell are you?” Fury, panic, and frustration all filtered through my mind, but I couldn’t decide which one to pick.
“I’m around. I just wanted to see how you and Dylan are doing.”
“And you didn’t think to do that the day after you dropped her in my lap? Or maybe any of the days since?” I snapped.
Silence crackled over the line before she blew out an annoyed sigh. “Max, don’t—”
“No, you don’t. You don’t get to dump her off like a sack of flour and then call a week later and ask anything about my daughter.”
“Our daughter,” she said quietly, correcting me.
How was she so calm? It was like she was completely without feeling, reciting a speech she’d written long before this call.
“You brought her here and left. That makes her my daughter now, Jenn.”
There was a pause on the line, then she continued as if I’d never spoken. “Did you find the medicine I left in her diaper bag? She had some bad diaper rash and—”
“I’ve been taking care of her. The diaper rash is gone,” I snapped.
She breathed a sigh of relief. Relief. Like all her problems were solved. “That’s good to hear. Is she eating well? Asking for me?” she asked hopefully.
Asking for her? Like Jenn needed the validation of Dylan crying for her mother for her own selfish reasons. The thought sent a bolt of hot fury through me, and I gritted my teeth. “I’m hanging up.”
“I wish you wouldn’t. I don’t want to intrude; I just want to know how you’re all doing. Are you managing?”
I clicked the phone off and then stared at it, dumbfounded.
Where did she get off? I should have been the one asking questions. Why did you leave? Why did you keep her a secret?
And the one that made my heart squeeze with dread.
Are you going to come and take her back from me?
Instead, I had to carry on with my life wondering when the ax would drop, if it ever would. The thought made me sick. All I could do was hope that the fact that Jenn had stayed away this long meant she was happy with her choice and confident in the knowledge that I would do whatever it took to keep Dylan with me.
Upstairs, the pounding of the shower halted, and I focused back on the present. I couldn’t let Jenn take tonight away from me—she’d already taken too much, like the entire first year of my daughter’s life. Tonight had been a dream I didn’t even know I had. Life was too short, and there were too few moments like this to let fear of the unknown steal it away.
For now, my sole focus was Addison.
And I was going to make damn sure she knew it.
Chapter Fifteen
Addison
I stepped into the shower and breathed in the hot steam, hoping it might give me some clarity. I couldn’t lie—it was nice to have Max handle all the little details of dinner and the house so that I could relax, but . . .
How the hell was I supposed to relax?
I turned, allowing the rush of hot water to pound down my back as I closed my eyes. I’d had a full forty-eight hours to argue with myself about whether to go along with Max’s proposal, and I was still just as confused as I’d been when he’d propositioned me. I’d even nearly called Lara a few times for moral support, but every time I was on the brink of thumbing the Dial button, I put my phone down again and flopped back on my bed.