Make a budget. See if it’s even feasible for you to offer. And you might not want to hear it, but I’d
suggest discussing it with William, too. You guys are in a relationship, so it would be good to have
his insight.”
“The biggest issue is having someone to watch her,” I admitted. “I’d like to quit working at the
mall because the pay is crap, but I don’t want to give Lisa any ammunition against me if she finds out
about the club. And I can’t work there during the day since they’re not open, and it wouldn’t make
sense to pay a babysitter half my tips.”
“Someone to watch Willow can wait a minute,” she said, tapping her fingers on the counter. “The
ammunition comment concerns me more. First of all, she doesn’t have any right to say anything just
based on her actions today. I have to trust it’s not a common occurrence because you don’t seem like
the type of dad who would let that fly. But we’re not talking about that right now. So, is it the fact it’s
a gay club or kinky that worries you?”
“Both? I mean, I’ve never hidden the fact I’m attracted to guys, but I’ve also never had a
boyfriend or anything. If she starts putting the pieces together—”
“Then you tell her it’s none of her damn business.” The knife slipped, nearly taking off the tip of
my finger when Daddy’s voice boomed behind me. “Baby, something has to change. Today can’t ever
happen again. You’re not doing anything wrong, either by being with a man or by doing what makes
you happy. You’ve bent over backward to make sure you keep Willow away from anything we do.
That wouldn’t change.”
“I know. I’m sorry.” He swore it wasn’t an imposition, but I still felt bad for screwing up his
plans.
“You have nothing to apologize for. I was happy to help but you two need to communicate better
about who has Willow when.” Daddy massaged my neck as I continued trying to help Gen work on
dinner. I didn’t want to look at him when I was on the verge of tears. He had me second-guessing
what I could have done to stop today from happening. “This isn’t even the first time I know of that
she’s expected you to be able to put your life on hold for Willow. That’s not fair to you, to Willow, or
to those who have to cover for you because she is irresponsible.”
My hackles rose and my shoulders tensed. I pulled my phone out of my jeans and opened the
calendar app. “I’m not sure it can be any clearer. This is a shared calendar where both of us can put
any appointments so we can talk about things. It’s not my fault Lisa conveniently forgets to talk to me
