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“Being in a relationship isn’t a bad thing,” he mumbled.
“It’s not, but with it being so new, I’m worried that they may use it as leverage that it’s not a stable environment for Holly,” I spoke lightly, as if stepping on ice. Swallowing, I looked up at him, waiting for his response.
With a heavy sigh, he finally opened his eyes and leaned toward me. His lips met mine, and the kiss was sweet, crisp and perfect. He leaned his forehead against mine.
“As much as I hate to agree with you…”
Every nerve in my body relaxed, and I heaved another sigh, a long, relaxed sigh.
“You’re right. As much as I want to be with you one hundred percent and make this into what I desperately want it to be, I need to focus on Holly. Stability.”
I nodded, my forehead lifting from his ever so slightly. “I’ll be waiting. You’re not going to get rid of me that easily.”
“Thank. God.” He kissed me, his lips parting to take me in. I laced my fingers around his neck, remembering the way his hair felt in between them, the way he tasted and smelled—all of him. Even though I knew I would kiss him again one day, this felt like the last one for a long time, and I didn’t want it to end.
His breath was shaking when he pulled away, his eyes closed and more tears forming. I brushed them away with my thumb and pulled him as close to me as I could get. I heard a small yip from the backdoor—Niko wanting in on the cuddle fest. I began to pull away, but Milo kept me close.
“I love you, Madeline,” he whispered.
And my entire body melted.
Chapter Twenty-Two
-Milo-
It had only been a few days, but I already missed Madeline.
What she had said made sense, and she still promised she would be there. We were just going back to the way things were. No more sleeping over—even though those were some of the best nights of my life—and no more touching of any kind, and definitely no more kissing. I didn’t like it, but it made sense.
I had to focus on getting custody of Holly. I had to find a way to convince Hannah that Hollyneeded to stay in Portland. My new lawyer, Richard, had gone through the divorce papers and found our custody agreement. We never stated what we would do if one parent wanted to move out of state, only that the other needed to be in agreement. We never thought that would be a possibility.
Our agreement was simple. Fifty-fifty. She would have Holly one week, and I would have her the next, rotating the schedule and communicating if we needed to switch or take a vacation with Holly. I never had to use that power, seeing as I never went anywhere, but Hannah had taken advantage of switching weeks or taking two in a row. She’d said she wanted to tell me about the move so I could spend more time with Holly, but she also knew my work schedule wouldn’t really allow that.
Madeline agreed to pick her up when needed and watch her if I couldn’t, allowing a little bit of flexibility there, and my boss was on board for giving me a week's vacation. It was going to be during the weeks at home with Holly that I would have to communicate with the lawyers and set up mediation meetings. My extended time with my daughter didn’t end up beingextendedat all.
For the third time that week, I had taken personal leave to sit at Richard's desk, while he thumbed through the custody agreement for what seemed like the thousandth time. He was determined to find something, even though I was pretty sure it was cut and dry. There was nothing to find, nothing there that could help me in the slightest.
“The only thing I can think of is that she kept the information from you,” he groaned, sitting back into this chair, tossing a single sheet of paper on the desk.“She was literally withholding the information. That won’t look good in court.”
The paper fluttered close to the edge of the desk, close enough that I could see the words written on it with both Hannah’s and my signatures scribbled on the bottom.
“Do I need to take this to an actual court, or is a mediation going to be enough?” I asked, leaning forward to take the paper and glance it over.
“If we play our cards right, a mediation will be fine, but if Hannah fights back, and I can guarantee you she will, then a courtroom may be what’s needed.”
I rolled my eyes. I didn’t want a courtroom drama. My head instantly went toJudge Judywhere the bickering was there for dramatic effect, and the judge was yelling at me the entire time simply because I was the dad.
Just the image took my mind back to Madeline and how she was nervous Hannah would use her against the case. In my wildest dreams, I could see Hannah at the defendant’s stand talking about Madeline and her wild influence on Holly.
I rolled my eyes again and rubbed my palm over my forehead. I needed to get out of my head and think straight.
“By your records, you’ve been in a stable job, had a home for Holly, and you’ve been up-to-date on your child support payments. You don’t have any reason for a judge to think you don’t deserve to win this.” Richard leaned forward. “That’s saying we go to court.” He shrugged.
“Me being in a new relationship wouldn’t change this, would it?” I asked softly, bringing it to the table even though something inside me told me not to.
Richard frowned, puffing his bottom lip out and cocking his head to the side. “Depends on how new and if Hannah likes the girl or not.”
“From what I know, they get along. She was a bridesmaid at the wedding.”
