Page 124

"That's where we're staying."

"Why?"

"Because Mama's there."

"So?"

"So she moved her entire life down here to help me with Charlie. I'm not going to suddenly abandon her because you decided you want us sleeping under your roof," I tell him. But it's a lie, and deep down I know it.

"I'm not asking you to abandon her."

"It sounds an awful lot like you are."

He shakes his head and looks away, but I see the hurt before he can hide it.

My anger eases. "Jagger."

He points at the ground. "I want my daughter in my house, Lainey."

My chest tightens. "I know."

"I want you there too."

"I know that."

"Do you?" He peers closer.

"Yes," I say, my insides shaking.

He adds, "Every time I bring it up, there's another reason you can't."

"That's not true."

"Your mom needs time. Charlie needs time. We're moving too fast. You need your independence." He ticks each one off on his fingers. "Now, we fight, and once again, you're going back to the Butterfly House."

"Because that's where Charlie is!"

"She's my daughter too! And my house is less than a minute's walk away!"

Frustration surges through me again. "What do you want me to do, Jagger? Wake up my eight-week-old baby, carry her through the snow, and move into your house in the middle of the night just to prove something to you?"

"You mean our baby, Lainey. Ours. Not just yours." He stares at me, breathing hard. The hurt on his face expands.

Then he finally says the thing I realize has been sitting underneath every argument we've had tonight. "You're never going to let my daughter stay in my home, are you? And it's because you don't want to stay with me. Isn't it?"

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Jagger

The words hang between us.

Lainey stares at me like I slapped her.

Part of me wants to take them back. The bigger part is relieved I finally said what's been eating at me all damn week.

"That's not fair," she says.

"Isn't it?"