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“Okay… well, thanks for cheering Hailee up. You don’t know how hard it is for her to trust males she doesn’t know. Her father has a lot to answer for.”
“Her father is a dick of epic proportions, and she doesn’t need him in her life if he is going to treat her that way.”
I mean, he’s not wrong, but unfortunately, custody battles aren’t that cut and dry.
“Yeah…” is all I can reply.
“You deserve better, Zoey. You both do. Just think about that next time he threatens you and your daughter,” Blake says, then he turns and walks back toward the bar.
My stomach lurches into my throat with the realization.
I must get Kyle away from Hailee.
But I have no clue how in the hell I am going to do that.
He earns more than me with his booming construction business. He is in a relationship with a woman who’s bringing in another income. On paper, they can provide a better life for Hailee than I ever can. And that is what scares the hell out of me. If I tried to file for sole custody of Hailee, he could then counter-file, and the bastard could fucking win.
Andthatis the thing that keeps me up at night.
Because losing Hailee would be like losingeverydamn limb.
A gentle knock on the window behind me forces me to snap my head around. “Mom, are we going? I wanna get changed. My clothes are wet from the rain,” Hailee’s voice comes muffled through the window.
Smiling through my terror, I nod, race around the car for the driver’s side, and jump in. “Sorry, Starshine, let’s get you home. What happened anyway?”
She groans. “It came to the end of practice, and Dad didn’t turn up like you said he was going to. So I was standing on the curb in the rain waiting when coach saw me and figured out what was going on. He pulled over on his way out, and I said I was waiting for Dad, so coach rang him.”
Rolling my eyes, I start the car and begin pulling out. “So he forgot?”
“When he picked me up, he said that you never told him to pick me up, and it’s all your fault for going out partying. But Mom, I know you told him… I saw the messages.”
I glance into the rearview mirror and lock eyes with her. “I know, baby… sometimes he just forgets what we talk about and then likes to blame me for it, even though it’s his fault. He is who he is… unfortunately. I’m so sorry he wasn’t there. I should have gotten Pop to pick you up. It won’t happen again because I won’t be going out again. I willalwaysbe there for you, Hailee. That’s what a mother should do. I am sorry I let you down.”
Hailee sits forward, sticking her head through the seats, and she plants a kiss on my cheek. “Mom, you need to take that back.”
I quickly glance at her, then focus on the road. “Sorry, what?”
“Blake said you are a strong woman, don’t prove him wrong.”
I smirk. “I am strong, Hailee, but I also need to be there for you.”
“Mom, I love you, but Nan and Pop can look after me if you can’t. I want you to have a life too. When was the last time you went out on a date?”
I chuckle. “How do you even know what a date is?”
Hailee giggles. “I heard Nan talking about it with Pop, saying you need to go on one. I don’t know what it is, but you should go on one. It sounds like fun. You should get Blake to take you.”
Widening my eyes, an ache forms in the pit of my stomach. Going on a date with Blake, especially after how he treated Hailee, is so enticing.
But he’s seen me at my weakest.
Which is a shame—I like to keep the appearance of a strong, put-together woman at work, and in two point five seconds, the façade that took me so long to erect has been torn to shreds by my asshole ex.
I don’t belong in Blake’s world.
Plus, I work for Nash, and Blake is his co-CEO, which means technically, I work for Blake too.
And there’s that little disclaimer of…
