Christian will have Chloe for the next two weeks, and I have to return to Minnesota to work, while I hope and pray that he’ll be able to take care of our daughter without me.
I’ve repeated the plan to Chloe more times than I can count now, telling her she’s staying with her dad and that it’ll be just the two of them. That I’ll be back soon and we’ll talk on the phone a lot, etc. My girl is chattier than the kids we’ve met who are her age, and of course, I’m biased, but she’s pretty brilliant. Still, I’m not sure how much she understands about all of this.
I didn’t get any sleep last night at the hotel, worrying about my little girl.
He’s not the worst dad—absent a lot, yes—but Christian’s main flaw is that he’s deeply selfish. When he snaps out of his vanity for more than two seconds, he remembers he has a daughter he loves, and he tries to do the right thing. She’s stayed with him before; I just usually stay in a hotel nearby in case anything goes wrong. And yes, I’ve been needed during those visits.
This is such a bad idea. Can I just turn around and pretend that we weren’t able to get a flight out of Minnesota?
A girl I don’t recognize opens the door, smiling wide when she sees Chloe. She looks younger than me and is wearing a bikini top and a barely there skirt. She’s beautiful and exactly Christian’s type. A young, leggy brunette with big boobs. Like me, only maybe even younger, and I just turned twenty-two.
I’d thought I was special when the thirty-something salesguy at my dad’s company noticed me. It wasn’t until I got pregnant and he ghosted me that I found out I wasn’t the only one who thought she was special.
“Hi!” The girl’s voice is loud, and Chloe automatically buries her face in my neck. “Hi, Chloe! I’m Anastasia!”
She holds her arms out to take Chloe, and I look at her in confusion.
“Is Christian here?” I ask.
“He’s out back on a call,” Anastasia says, still smiling at Chloe.
She has yet to make eye contact with me.
“Can you let him know we’re here and that I need to make my flight? If he could?—”
“I can take her,” Anastasia says, reaching for Chloe again.
Over my dead body am I leaving my daughter with a stranger.
I move past her. “That’s okay. I need to see Christian, but you can grab her suitcases.”
She sputters something as she follows close behind. I step out onto the patio and Christian’s on the phone, his voice carrying loudly despite the waves competing with him from behind.
He gives me a cocky grin when he sees me standing there, and my teeth grind together. He never makes this easy for me.
“I need to get to the airport,” I tell him.
He holds up a finger, and I swallow back a wave of irritation, not only because he’s making me wait but because he isn’t rushing to love on the daughter he hasn’t seen for two months.
When he finally gets off the phone, his smile is grating as he walks toward us.
“Hi, Chloe,” he says. All charm.
She lifts her head off my shoulder and looks at him. She’smissing a nap right now, so this could go in many different directions.
“Come to Daddy,” he says, holding out his arms.
I kiss her cheek and hand her to him. She studies his face solemnly before turning to me and reaching back out for me to take her.
“I love you!” I say lightly. “You are gonna have so much fun with Daddy.”
Chloe’s face puckers up as she starts to cry. My eyes immediately well with tears, and I swallow them back. I can’t do this…cannot cry. I need to make this okay for her.
“You told her she was staying with me?” he asks. His voice rings with accusation.
“Yes, I did. We’ve talked about it a lot, but I’m not sure she knows what’s going on. She’s used to being with me all the time.”
“Well, not all the time. You do work,” he says, rolling his eyes.
