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Hannah shrugged. “Not to be rude, but Madeline’s always had an opinion on what you say or do. Did she or did she not help you pick out the ring you proposed to me with?”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“Her opinion obviously matters to you, so we would appreciate knowing that what you bring to the table at the meetings comes from you and your lawyer, not Madeline—”
“Madeline is my best friend—” I interrupted Hannah. “Not only that, but she's my girlfriend and she's there for my moral support. She has noinfluenceon what I say or what I want.” I kept my voice low, making sure Holly was preoccupied.
Hannah’s eyes widened. “You and Madeline?” She looked at me. “You’re dating her?”
“We’re taking things slow, but yes we’re dating.” I groaned, instantly regretting letting the word vomit fall in my moment of anger. I shook my head and brought my attention back to Hannah. “Madelinewillbe there. Shewillsit in the hall and read her book and wait for me to come out.”
Hannah heaved a sigh. “It’s not a good idea.”
I walked around to the driver's side of the truck. “None of this is a good idea, yet it’s happening.” I climbed in the truck and slammed the door shut, harder than I expected to. Holly jumped and looked up at me, her eyes hitting me in the rear-view mirror.
“Mom seems mad,” she mumbled.
“She’s not. She’s just…” I turned the engine on, trying to think of the exact word to describe Hannah. “She’s mad at me. Not you.”
Holly accepted my answer, returning to silence in the back seat. I looked at her in the rearview mirror. A small frown on her lips, her eyebrows slightly pinched and her eyes focused on the window. I wanted to know what was going through my girl's mind, how was this entire thing was affecting her. What did she want? When I looked at her, I normally saw hope and color; but today, all I saw was the unknown.
“Okay, the room is booked, and my dad is expecting us.” I closed my laptop on the counter and looked up at Madeline. I hadn’t told her I let it slip to Hannah we were dating, and I wasn’t sure how to drop that news bomb on her. “A little staycation is going to be nice.” I leaned back in the chair and locked my eyes to hers.
Madeline gave me a sweet grin, breaking eye contact, and turned to look at Holly out in the back yard with Niko. The blue Chuck-It was almost as long as Holly’s arms and when she would raise it to the air to toss the ball, Niko would jump, making him taller than Holly. I felt like I hadn't been to my apartment in forever. I had been staying at Madeline’s, and it was almost automatic to come here after picking up Holly. I knew I wouldn’t be staying here tonight, but just seeing Holly happy to run into Madeline’s house made all the anger from before melt away.
“It’s going to be just what we all need,” Madeline muttered under her breath. “And this Wednesday, right? Who’s staying with Holly?” She turned back to me.
“I’m dropping her off with Hannah’s mom before the meeting. She’ll spend the night there, and then I’ll get her Thursday morning.”
Madeline grabbed her phone from the table and swiped it open. “And you work Wednesday night?” she asked, the calendar on her phone open so she could make sure she had every detail written down.
I smiled at the attention she was giving me. It wasn’t the same as when Hannah was asking about the vacation. It was full of love instead of anger, and her emotions radiated through the room. I nodded at her, giving her a crooked grin.
“Are you going to be okay with her on Thursday? I can take her. I have that day off to pack and get ready before we leave on Friday.”
I averted my attention to Holly. “That may be a good idea. Let me sleep some before we head out.”
“Could I pick Holly up from Hannah’s mom?”
I sighed. As helpful as that would be…
“No, Hannah made it quite clear today that she doesn’t want you involved much.”
Madeline narrowed her eyes on me. “What does that mean?”
“She says you’re influencing me.”
“On what?” she snapped.
I shook my head, wanting this conversation to be over. “She’s just being difficult, but let's not give her more to complain about. Thank you for offering to get her, but I will. I’ll come here and crash in your couch, and Holly can play fetch with Niko.” I stood from the chair and walked around the island, making my way toward Madeline, slipping my arms around her waist. I still snuck in these little touches, wanting to be near her all the time. We hadn’t talked about us or our future and I hadn’t kissed her, but she still allowed me to hold her close and bring her body close to mine.
“I may have told her you were my girlfriend,” I finally said, clenching my teeth.
“Oh, that will be good.” Her eyes rolled as she ran her palms up my chest and linked her fingers on the nape of my neck. “That will give her something to talk about. But, you know, I was never officially your girlfriend,” she reminded me.
“You always were. You just never knew it.” I grinned, stopping myself from leaning down to kiss her.
“This ‘pause’ is working well, ain’t it?” She placed a hand on my cheek and then pulled away from my embrace, her warmth being filled with the cold air.
