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“Mommy?” Lola asked a few minutes into our drive.
“Mm?” I glanced at the rearview mirror to see her. Dolly was sitting on her lap, her knitted, blond hair tied together by a red ribbon that matched her dress.
“Is Zac nice?”
“I’ve never met him,” I said honestly, focusing on the road. “But, I’m sure he’s very friendly.”
“Hmm. I don’t know. He is a boy. I don’t trust them very much.”
“Why’s that?”
“Well, Anthony Parsons took Millie Bond’s favorite pens during class this week. He hid them, then promised he’d give them back, but he threw them all in the trash!”
“That’s why you don’t trust boys?”
“He took her pens, Mommy. He’s so mean! She cried and everything, so Mrs. Fonten made him say sorry.”
“Did he say sorry?”
“Yes, but he had his fingers crossed behind his back. He didn’t mean it at all,” she said earnestly, and when I glanced in the mirror again, I saw her wide eyes and righteous expression.
“Did you bring your pens in your bag?”
“No.”
“Then, I’m sure you have nothing to worry about, pumpkin. Your pens are perfectly safe.” I turned off the main road.
“What about Dolly?”
“I don’t think Zac will care about Dolly.”
“Hmmm.”
Another glance at her and she was looking out of the window.
“We’ll see,” she said, hugging Dolly a little tighter.
I bit the inside of my cheek to hide my smile and turned down the road where Adrian had said he lived. I slowed down so I could see the numbers on the houses, and just like he’d said in his text, there was a black BMW in the driveway, right next to a bright yellow, flowering bush.
Lola muttered to Dolly about the untrustworthiness of boys as I parked, making sure not to block in the driveway. I turned off the ignition and sat for a moment, blowing out a long breath. I wasn’t entirely comfortable with this, but that was no more than my own personal feelings toward this situation and the man I was about to spend yet another evening with.
I knew three things: my daughter would be safe, I would see her again within six hours, and this night was one night closer to my freedom from this agreement.
Optimism at its finest.
“Come on, Lo. Let’s go.” I got out of the car, leaving the bags inside so I could safely get her out, too.
With her safe on the sidewalk, I grabbed our bags and headed toward the house where the door was already opening.
A little boy the spitting image of Adrian, from the blue-green eyes to the dark hair and bright half-smile stuck his face between the door and the frame and looked at us.
“Are you Perrie and her daughter?”
Ah. Of course. I’d never actually said Lola’s name.
“That’s us,” I answered with a smile that said I was more confident than I felt. “You’re Zac, right?”
Zac nodded his head and looked at Lola. “What’s your name?”
Lola leaned into my leg and gripped the back of my shirt. “Lola,” she said shyly.
He looked at her. Not in a cruel or dismissive way, but in a way that said he was an eight-year-old kid sizing up another child and deciding whether or not this shy little girl invading his home was worthy of his attention or not.
I knew, behind the shyness, Lola was probably doing the same thing.
“You wanna come in?” Zac asked her.
Her. Not me.
Her.
I fought a smile.
Lola hesitated, but she nodded when I gently knocked my hip into her.
Zac opened the door wide for us both to come in, and we did.
“Zac, what are you—” Adrian appeared right behind him, wearing dark jeans and a white shirt. He rubbed a towel over his head until he noticed us and froze. “Zac. What did I tell you about opening the door?”
“Relax, Dad. I looked through the window.”
“The last time you looked through the window before opening the door was Halloween and you got egged because you made a bad choice.”
Lola grinned.
“Daaaaad!” Zac let go of the door like it was on fire.
Adrian smirked and dropped the towel from his head. “You know the deal. You give attitude in front of company, and I get to embarrass you.”
Huh. That seemed like a strangely effective plan…
He turned to me and smiled before crouching down in front of Lola. “Well, hey there, pretty girl. Who did you bring with you?” He touched a finger to Dolly’s nose.
I expected Lola to shrink away, because she was naturally shy with people she didn’t know, and nobody was allowed to touch Dolly.
Instead, she tilted her head to the side, summed Adrian up, and pointed to Dolly. “This is Dolly.” Then, she pointed to herself. “And I’m Lola.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Lola and Dolly. I’m Adrian.” He held out his hand, palm up, and waited for her to react to his offer.
Lola narrowed her eyes, but after a moment of staring at him, put her hand on top of his.
