I walk toward him and hold out my hand. “Dylan Wh—” I pause and clear my throat, catching myself before I blow our cover. “Excuse me, frog in my throat.”
He looks at my hand and shakes it reluctantly. “And you are?”
“Dylan is a good friend,” Dahlia says. “Is everything there?” She points at the suitcase.
“Oh, I can take that,” I say, reaching for the bag since I’m closer.
Christian looks pissed, but I ignore it, smiling easily.
“Thanks, man,” I say, taking the bag.
I move toward the front door and open it. Dahlia walks briskly toward it, whispering reassuring words to Chloe.
“We need to talk about this, Dahlia,” Christian says. “I can take you to court if I have to.”
I’ve just met the guy, but I already don’t like him. It’s the condescending tone and expression. The guy’s dripping in arrogance.
“Don’t threaten me, Christian,” Dahlia says evenly. “I can take you to court for back pay if you’re just dying to go to court. Despite you wanting nothing to do with”—she points at Chloe’s back to avoid saying her name out loud—“for the past two years, I haven’t kept you from seeing her. It’s not my fault that she doesn’t know you well enough to be comfortable here. It was my mistake to expect her to adjust easily. When I bring her back for New Year’s Eve, if she’s not comfortable when I’m ready to leave, she’s coming with me. You want to see her, you can come to Minnesota. We need to ease into this. That’s the way it’s going to go.”
Fuck. She’s hot when she lays it out like that.
We walk out of the house, and Chloe gasps when she sees Bill in the window.
“Puppy!” she says excitedly.
She giggles when she gets in the car, and Bill walks over to sniff her.
“That’s Bill. Isn’t he cute?” Dahlia says.
I watch as she buckles Chloe into her car seat.
She kisses her forehead, and Chloe holds on to Dahlia’s cheeks with both hands.
“Love you, my sweet girl,” Dahlia whispers.
“Yuh you, my sweet mama,” Chloe says.
The craziest thing happens. I get a lump in my throat, watching the two of them. I blink rapidly, feeling like I might goddamn cry of all things, and I hurriedly paste on a smile when Dahlia turns back to look at me.
“Baby doll, this is my friend Dylan.”
I wave at Chloe, my smile growing. “Hi.”
Chloe sniffles, still recovering from her tears.
I don’t know who’s most surprised when a small smile breaks out, and she waves back.
“Hi,” she says shyly.
Dahlia looks at me with wide eyes and grins.
Holy shit, I’m in double trouble.
CHAPTER TWELVE
A WHOLE NEW WORLD
DAHLIA
