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“I told her we’re sticking to our original agreement. She’s welcome to come here, but that if she wants to visit with her alone, I need to supervise things at first. We’ll start slow, one hour alone together, and increase it if Maggie is comfortable.”
“Felicia was okay with that?”
“She doesn’t have a choice.”
“What if she goes for custody? What if the video gets out?”
I wiped a tear from her cheek. “Jace took advantage of you. That wasn’t on you.”
“I don’t want to ruin things for you.”
“You’re not. I was afraid to express my opinion before, but it’s not just me and Maggie anymore. You’re a part of our family too. And I realized that I was bending over backward to accommodate a woman who hasn’t spent much time with Maggie. In this situation, Maggie matters. What I want matters. I wanted to support you, and I couldn’t. I’ll never let her control our lives like that again.”
Alice sucked in a breath. “What did she say?”
“Something about working more shifts and living in Maryland with her new boyfriend. I don’t think she wants to fight this. It didn’t even sound like she’d be taking advantage of her visitation schedule. She doesn’t want to be flying back and forth across the country.”
Alice’s eyes widened. “Nothing’s going to change for her?”
“I expect it will be more of the same. It sucks for Maggie, but I’ve learned I can’t control other people. I can only do what’s right for me and my family.”
“And you include me in that?” Alice asked carefully.
“If that’s what you want. You get a say.”
She smiled tremulously. “I want that more than anything. I love you too.”
Feeling tender, I moved closer to her, brushing her hair out of her face while I kissed her softly. I wasn’t sure if she’d forgiven me.
Her lips were pliable under mine, her hand on my forearm.
I rested my forehead on hers. “I wish we were alone.”
She laughed, and my heart ached with how much I’d missed her. “Soon.”
“Not soon enough.” My voice was gravelly.
I stood and held out my hand to bring her to her feet. “I missed you. It’s not the same around here without you.”
Alice wrapped her arms around my waist. “I missed you and Maggie too.”
She felt good in my arms.
Alice smiled. “You’ll never believe what happened today.”
“What’s that?” I asked, hoping I already knew the answer.
“The owner of the new B&B called. Natalie, I think she said her name was. She said someone mentioned I was looking for space for a store.”
I tipped my head to the side. “What did you tell her?”
She tipped her head to the side. “Are you the one who talked to her?”
“Possibly.”
Her lips twitched. “She wants me to come look at it. She said she’s been through my social media pages, and she’d like to purchase items to decorate the rooms.”
“Did you talk about how it would work?” I asked her, pleased she was excited about the idea.
