He looked up and smiled. “It’s so good to see you. You look great.”
She wanted to yell at him, to tell him to get the hell out, but she’d never do that in front of the girls. They were smiling up at her in their Wonder Twins pajamas, looking like a happy family Christmas card. And Frank knew that. He always knew how to make her feel guilty—as if she were responsible for the failure of their business, the failure of their marriage, and for every failure they’d encountered since they’d met.
“Why are you here?” Teagan asked.
“Why were you not?” Frank countered.
In the past, that question would have made her feel like a bad mom, but she knew that wasn’t the truth. She was a good mom, and she was finally confident in that statement. Because of Harley and because of Colin, she was starting to realize that she did have that maternal Bianchi gene. Frank had just never allowed space for Teagan to explore that part of her personality. Their relationship had consisted of Teagan being the workhorse while Frank explored every whim and fancy that struck him.
He was a great dad, but he had an addiction that decimated everything in its path. So far, the girls didn’t realize that, and Teagan would do whatever it took to make sure they never did.
Teagan’s dad was a roadie who traveled three-hundred-plus days a year. For the most part, her mom had been okay with the arrangement. Minus the infidelity. Like Frank, Dale was an addict. But she didn’t want Frank’s problems to define his relationship with his kids, the way her parents’ divorce had torn Teagan and Harley’s security right out from under them.
“I was out.” And it was none of his damn business where.
He took in her post-sex appearance. Teagan tried to right herself to the best of her ability, but she knew her hair was frizzy, her makeup nonexistent, her bra lost somewhere in Colin’s house, and she had a glow that only three orgasms could create. “I can see that.”
Teagan was one judgy stare away from telling him toG-O. F-U-C-K. Y-O-U-R-S-E-L-Fwhen Poppy said, “Can Daddy stay?”
Teagan wanted to say hell no but the innocent hope in her daughter’s sleepy eyes hurt her heart. She didn’t want to be the one to disappoint the girls again. She wanted to be the mom who got to play hooky all day and read bedtime stories under blanket-forts at night.
“You know what, kiddo,” Frank began, and Teagan almost whispered a “thank you” to her ex for taking the initiative. “It’s up to your mom.”
“Are you kidding me?” Why even give him the benefit of the doubt when he always disappointed? There he sat on the couch Teagan had bought herself after the divorce, bouncing a kid on each knee, sharing a glass of bourbon with her sister, in the home that had always been her safe place.
Poppy looked up at her with those big blue eyes, her dad’s eyes, and said in her tiny girl voice, “But yous have to wet him stay. He gots eviscerated from his apartment and if he can’t stay here, the birtf’day card won’t find him. See.”
Poppy held up a handmade birtf’day invitation and Lily smiled. Teagan sent her irritating, idiotic, and immature ex a pointed glare.Fix this.
“Sorry.” He shrugged aWhat are you going to do about it?“It kind of slipped out when I was talking to Harley, and we were making plans for the girls’ birthday. These two superheroes must have used their super hearing.”
Teagan stared at Harley. “Really?”
Harley grimaced.
“Actually, Lily overheard and tolds me, so I tolds yous and why is your shirt inside out?”
Teagan ignored this question and looked at Frank. “For how long?”
“Good question,” someone said from behind her—a very set-to-alpha-mode someone.
Frank studied Colin, long and hard, and Colin studied him back. Teagan knew the exact moment Frank registered exactly who was standing behind Teagan, with a supportive hand on her shoulder.
Nonna used to love to talk about Colin, partly because she hated Frank, but mostly because of how much she’d loved Colin. Frank always got pissy whenever Colin was brought up. Now, Colin wasn’t just a footnote in her past, he was standing in Nonna’s living room, emitting a protective vibe that was a complete turn-on.
“We’ve got this,” Frank said, but possessive wasn’t a good look on him—it came off like Winnie-the-Pooh staring down a grizzly.
“You just tell me how I can help,” Colin said quietly enough for only her ears.
“Thank you,” was all she got out before Poppy was talking again.
“Just till he gets a new place. Right, Daddy? He’s moving close to be near us,” Poppy proclaimed as if it were the truth. She started clapping. Then Lily joined. “Can he stay, pwease, pwease, pretty pwease? It’s all we wants for our birf’hday. Daddy and a unicorn and Wonder Twins cupcakes and dat’s all, just Daddy and a unicorn and Wonder Twins cupcakes.”
There was no way Teagan could say no. She could have said no to Frank, but she couldn’t say no to Frank in front of her daughters with Frank egging them on.
Frank had left her only one choice. She turned to look at Colin, the man she’d just established an “us” with. He was staring at her silently, expressionless, giving her absolutely no clue as to what he was thinking.
And even though it killed her, she turned to her daughters and said, “We’ll see,” even as her whole mind and body were screaming no.
