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“You’re working for Carl. How did you even afford this?”
Was that what all of this was about? I wondered if I should let her know how solid my money situation was but decided against it. Things were sensitive, and I wanted to make sure everyone was coming together for the right reasons.
“I can afford it,” I said, shrugging. “If I couldn’t, I wouldn’t be here, right? That’s not all, though.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I know how hard it must have been for you as a single mother.”
“No, you really don’t,” Aspyn said, her tone turning icy.
Shit. Things were going south. I didn’t get how we even ended in this situation, but I had to salvage it.
“I want to give money for Kadie. Child support.”
Aspyn narrowed her eyes.
I held up my hand. “I know you said you didn’t want to get lawyers involved, and I’m fine with that. It doesn’t have to be official or anything.”
She stepped back, shaking her head, her eyes wide like I’d slapped her or something. I wasn’t sure how she’d react when I made the offer, but I was pretty damn sure she wouldn’t react like that.
“You can’t buy my daughter,” Aspyn snapped.
“What?” I wasn’t sure I’d heard her right.
“You can’t buy my daughter,” she repeated. “She’s not for sale. You can’t buy her love with some blocks and a big room.”
I stepped back, shaking my head, my heart now thundering. What the hell was going on? Why was she acting this way?
A fire lit in me, and to be honest, part of me wanted to ask if she’d prefer I not give her anything at all, given the way she was asking, but I needed to be the bigger man. I didn’t know what was going through her mind, so I couldn’t risk screwing things up.
“No,” I said. “This isn’t about buying her love. I want to help with diapers and toys and crap.” I let out an exasperated grunt. “Stuff that a dad should help with.”
Aspyn stared at me for a few seconds and then her eyes narrowed. I didn’t need to be a psychiatrist to know she was angry.
I scrubbed my face with my hand. “I don’t understand what you’re thinking. Obviously, I fucked up somewhere, but can you just tell me? I think we both know I’m not the greatest at understanding feelings.”
Aspyn glanced over her shoulder at Kadie in the other room, before taking a step forward and then leaning toward me.
“We’re not together,” she said, her voice low.
“Huh?”
“You don’t seem to get that.” She gestured around her. “We’re not a couple. We’re not dating. We’re not together just because we had sex, and I’m not moving in with you.”
It was like an MMA champion had kicked me in the stomach. I wasn’t deluded about how things were with us, but the contempt in her voice made me feel like a piece of a shit.
“Look, I get that,” I said.
“Do you, really? We sleep together, and now you have a house.”
I wasn’t going to stand there and let her say what she wanted. Sure, I’d made my mistakes, but I also knew I was trying to do right by my daughter.
“I’d already done that before we slept together,” I snapped. “So maybe you’re the one who doesn’t get it.”
Aspyn slapped her hands on her hips as her face flashed with anger. Yeah, I’d probably stepped in it, but I didn’t know if I cared at that point.
She glared at me, and I looked away.
