Page 25 of The Challenge

Naomi raised her voice. “How about this? As long as she’s living under your roof, you can count me out. It’s bad enough that your daughter doesn’t seem to like me. But now you’ve brought in some other woman to live with you both?”

“I didn’t create this situation intentionally,” I managed, unable to summon the energy to argue. “But I understand if you need to walk away.”

“I’ve offered you a solution, and you’re not taking it, so I have to wonder if there’s something I’m missing here.”

“You’re not missing anything.” I rubbed my temples, mentally exhausted from this conversation. I hadn’t had the bandwidth lately to work on my relationship with Naomi. Maybe this was the out I needed.

“If you feel it’s better for us to take a break, I understand,” I said, knowing full well it was shitty to put this on her. If the tables were turned, I would’ve been pissed, too.

“You’re not even gonna fight me on it?”

“Chloe is like family to me. Her parents took me in years ago when my mother was dying. I’m not going to tell her she has to leave when I’ve already told her she could stay. If you can’t accept that, what choice do I have?”

A heavy silence lingered for several seconds before she finally said, “Well, I hope you’re happy then.”

“Naomi, I’m really—”

She hung up before I could say anything else.

Well, shit. I hadn’t expected that. I stared into space, debating whether I’d made the right decision. Would Chloe have preferred her own space at Naomi’s? Why had I been so damn quick to shut that option down?

“Earth to Daddy!”

Effie had been dismissed from class, and I’d been so lost in my damn mind that I didn’t notice.

“Hey, baby.” I exhaled.

“I’m starving. Can we get Chick-fil-A on the way home?”

“Sure,” I said, still stuck in my head.

“Really?”

I nodded. Normally, Effie had to beg for takeout, and I typically didn’t budge. But today? I was spent. I might’ve burned dinner if I’d attempted to cook.

“We should get something for Chloe, too, because she might die if she forgets to eat again,” Effie added. “You should call her to see what she wants.”

“I don’t have her number, actually,” I told her as we headed out to the parking lot.

But when we got to the drive-thru, I ordered an extra meal in case Chloe hadn’t eaten anything since our bowls earlier, which I suspected she hadn’t.

When we walked in at home, Chloe was standing in the kitchen, biting her nails. I didn’t have to guess why she seemed nervous.

“Your girlfriend came by,” she announced.

“I know.” I dropped the bag of greasy food on the counter.

Effie’s eyes were like saucers. “Did you scare her away?”

Chloe’s jaw tightened. “Basically.”

“She called me,” I admitted.

“She wasn’t happy,” Chloe said.

“Yeah.” I opened the bag and took a waffle fry.

She placed her hands on her hips. “Why didn’t you tell her I was staying here?”