Page 81 of The Rules of Dating

The woman I knew only as Raven was the first to speak. “Hi, Colby.”

Still nothing. I didn’t know what to say. All I could think was, What the fuck is she doing here, and how the hell do I make her magically disappear before Billie catches on?

“Who the hell is she?” I heard Billie say. My eyes were still firmly on the woman standing at the door.

Remember when I was talking about how the other shoe always drops when things are going well? Well, the other fucking shoe had just landed at my door.

I finally managed the words to answer Billie’s question.

“This is Saylor’s egg donor.”

CHAPTER 17

Colby

Slam.

“Colby, what the hell?” Billie looked at my front door, horrified.

“Whatever she wants, I don’t want to hear it.” I walked back into the living room, filled my wine glass, and chugged half of it down.

“So you just slam the door in Saylor’s mother’s face? What does she even want?”

“First of all, she’s not Saylor’s mother. Biology doesn’t make you a damn parent. And second of all, I don’t give two shits what the hell she wants. Third of all—” My rant was cut short.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Billie and I both turned and looked at the door.

“You need to answer that,” she said.

I shook my head. “No, I don’t.”

My eyes locked with Billie’s, and we stared at each other. I hadn’t thought there was anything I could say no to this woman about, until this moment.

Fifteen seconds later, the knock on the door grew louder.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

Billie sighed. “Colby…”

I stayed rooted firmly in place while I lifted my wine to my lips and guzzled the remainder of the glass.

“Open the door, Colby! I need to talk to you!”

I felt anger rising inside my body. It started in my toes, traveled up through my legs and torso, and settled in to heat my face.

“Colby, she’s going to wake Saylor. And then what?”

I still hadn’t moved. Not until my daughter padded out from her bedroom, rubbing her eyes. “Billie, were you just yelling?”

Billie immediately walked over and bent down to Saylor. “No, sweetheart. There’s someone outside. Umm…a woman got locked out of her apartment, so Daddy is going to go outside and help her.” She turned and gave me a look. “Right, Colby?”

I still didn’t respond. Billie shook her head at me and frowned, then lifted Saylor to her hip. “How about if I tell you another story while Daddy goes out and helps the woman?” She glanced back at me. “I have another one about the witch who flies away on her broom because the handsome prince turned out to be a frog after all…”

My daughter smiled, none the wiser. “I want to hear about the frog!”

“Okay. Let’s go, girlfriend.” She carried Saylor to the bedroom, stopping once more to look back and motion with her head toward the door, silently telling me to go deal with things.