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Chapter Twenty-Nine
Hadley
“Why are you wearing a dress?” Lucy blinked up at me as I fiddled with the straps of my yellow sundress.
I glanced down at her before checking my reflection again. “Is something wrong with a dress?”
“You never wear one,” she said and mortification set in.
Oh, fudge. If my four-year-old took notice of my change of clothes after getting off work and thought it was weird, would Elijah think so too? I wanted to look pretty, but I didn’t want it to be obvious. I was already self-conscious about my breasts. I couldn’t wear a bra with the dress and since breastfeeding, I’d felt oddly off-balance, considering my breasts were larger than the rest of my body.
“Are we not going to Elijah’s now?” she asked with a frown.
“Yes, we’re still going over to Elijah’s.” I fussed with the hem. “You’re right. It would be silly to wear this when it’s getting dark.”
Lucy bounced up and down with a grin. “No, it’s pretty. You’re pretty, Mommy! I think Elijah will like it.”
My eyes widened like saucers. Whoa. Where did that come from? My daughter scared me. I wondered if maybe she listened in on a lot more to Olivia and my conversations than I realized.
“Why would Elijah like it?” I asked her cautiously, wanting to know my daughter’s train of thought.
“Mamaw said he likes you.”
“Did she now?”
A firm nod. “Said he likes me and Eli too, that’s why he spends time with us. Is that why we don’t hang out with Daddy anymore because you don’t like him no more?”
My heart fell to the floor as I bent down. “Lucy, you can see your dad anytime you want to. Mommy and Daddy just can’t be together, anymore. It’s too hard, and it makes me sad. I’ll explain this to you when you’re older.”
“Daddy makes you cry a lot. I don’t want you to cry, anymore.” Tears pricked at my eyes, so I wrapped my arms around Lucy and held her. “Mom?”
“Yeah, Lucy?”
“Daddy said Elijah wouldn’t be our friend one day. Why?”
“I hope that never happens,” I murmured.
“Me too. I don’t want him to stop bringing me stuff.”
I chuckled. “Lucy!”
“I want to bring my chocolate milk to share with Elijah.” She pushed away from me, and I smiled.
“Okay. That’s fine.”
“Can I bring my pony coloring book to show him?”
“Yeah.”
“Can I ask him to buy me another car?”
“No.”
_______
“You’re wearing a dress,” Elijah stated the second he opened his door. He ogled me for a moment before stepping to the side so we could enter. As we walked past him, his hot gaze seared into me.
“Mommy looks pretty, doesn’t she?” Lucy said, carrying the diaper bag. As soon as she crossed the threshold, she dropped it in the hallway with a huff like her work was done. “I should wear one, too!”
