Her eyes widen with mock surprise. “I’m here to pick up my daughter.” Rachel is speaking like this is what she does every week.
Before Hayden can say another word, Lily skips over to us.
“Here she is,” Rachel says brightly. “How lovely it is to see you after so many years. You’ve grown into such a beautiful girl.” Lily looks at Rachel then to her father with confusion. “And you have the same hair and eye color as me. Isn’t that wonderful?”
Hayden’s body is visibly trembling with anger. Before he explodes in front of Lily, I squat down next to her so I’m eye level. “Miss Lucia is in the storeroom. Can you please ask her to find the Gisele costume for me?”
Lily nods, a crease of confusion still on her brow. As she walks away, she turns back to look at the woman. Rachel waves. The murderous expression on Hayden’s face is one I never want to see again.
“You have two seconds to get the fuck out of here and away frommydaughter.” A vein ticks on the side of his clenched jaw.
Rachel crosses her arms over her chest. “I want to talk with Lily and get to know her.”
“Not happening.”
The parents who have arrived to pick up their children have sensed the tension and are looking over at us with curious expressions. I smile like all is fine and wave them goodbye.
“I have every right to talk to her. I’m her mother.”
Deathly still, Hayden’s face darkens. I’m surprised Rachel hasn’t burst into flames. “You are the woman who gave birth to her. You willneverbe her mother. The day you dumped her at my feet is the day you gave up all rights to her.”
“I’ve changed my mind. I want to be in her life.” She tilts her chin up.
Hayden’s hands clench into fists at his sides. I put a hand on his arm to sooth him before he does something he regrets. “Hayden, you and Rachel need to go somewhere private and talk. Lily can’t walk out and see this. She can stay with me while I teach the next class.”
The fierce expression doesn’t leave his face. Without taking his eyes off Rachel, he nods. “Tell Lily I won’t be long.” To Rachel, he says, “Let’s go.”
Thankfully she doesn’t argue, and she walks down the stairs. When she’s out of sight, his body deflates. My heart goes out to him. This is such a shock. How is he going to deal with the situation?
Scrubbing a hand over his face, he turns to me. “Please don’t say anything to Lily.”
I’m a little taken back that he’d think I would, but he’s had a major shock, so I let it slide. “I won’t. I’ll tell her you had an emergency at work.”
“Thank you.”
I put a hand on his arm. “Can Rachel see Lily if she wants?”
“Not if I can help it.” He blows out a harsh breath. “Why the fuck is she here? I know it really has nothing to do with Lily. She wants something.”
“You’d better go after her and find out.” Whatever it is, it can’t be good. Why now? Has she had a change of heart about giving up her baby? No. She wouldn’t turn up out of the blue at her dance class.
“I’ll be back as soon as possible,” he says.
I nod.
He dashes from the studio. Tonight, we were supposed to talk about our relationship. With Rachel showing up, reminding him of what she did, I pray that her appearance hasn’t reenforced Hayden’s belief and made this a whole lot worse for us.
Chapter Twenty-Five
HAYDEN
In a nearby coffee shop, I sit across the table from Rachel. She’s sipping her mocha latte looking as if she doesn’t have a care in the world. Like we’re old friends catching up. If she knew the murderous thoughts running rampant in my mind, she wouldn’t look so relaxed. My hands ball into fists on my lap.
The sooner I find out what her deal is the sooner I can get back to Lily and protect her from this evil bitch. “Tell me why the fuck you showed up at my daughter’s dance lesson. And how the hell did you know where to find her?” That’s the scariest part about this. How long has she been stalking Lily?
“You meanourdaughter,” she corrects.
I place my elbows on the timber table and lean forward, getting up into her face. “Mydaughter,” Icorrecther.
