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Niko folds her little legs beneath her and stares at me. Her mouth moves while she signs, “Why is Dejonae not coming over anymore?”
“Because…” I glance around, at a loss for words, “she is busy.”
“Mom said you and Dejonae aren’t speaking.”
My jaw clenches. Why would Ashanti tell Niko that? Even if it is true, it is not her place to inform my daughter of my relationship troubles.
I reach out and smooth a hand over her shoulder. “Niko…”
“Why did you fight with her?” She gestures roughly.
“It is an adult matter. You don’t need to worry about it.”
Her hands sail through the air. “I want to see Dejonae. I want her there tonight. She helped me practice. I promised her that I would give her a ticket.”
“Even if we get a ticket to her, I don’t know if she will want to come,” I say honestly.
Niko’s eyes fill with tears. “You don’t want me to be happy. You are always trying to get rid of my moms.”
Her words cut me off at the knees.
Sharp knives burrow straight into my chest.
My daughter flings herself into bed, hiding her face from me as she cries.
My heart breaks.
I let my hand hover over Niko’s back. And then I pull her gently by the shoulders and give her a hug.
Niko’s tears soak my shirt. Her sobs are low and mournful.
It is almost painful to hear.
“I will fix it,” I promise her. “I will get Dejonae there.”
She looks up to read my lips.
A small, hopeful smile blooms.
I squeeze her back to me.
I was wrong to think that I was the only one being affected by Dejonae’s absence. As desperately as I was falling for her, my daughter was falling too.
CHAPTER21
THE STOLEN WINE GLASS
DEJONAE
“What are you doing?”Vanya gives me a panicked look. “Hurry up, Deej. What if we miss the kids’ performance?”
“Relax, babe.” Hadyn checks his watch. “We still got a couple minutes.”
“Wow. Now that you’ve told me to relax, I feel so much better.”
Hadyn laughs and rocks Baby Ollie in his arms.
Despite her heavy sarcasm, Vanya breaks out into a smile too.
