I shook my head of that idea. Tessa was a hell of a woman, but not for me.
“Counting your pennies?”
Startled, I looked up from the papers on my desk to see Veronica standing in the office doorway.
“Veronica.” I stood and went to her, giving her a hug as I always did. She still smelled like expensive French perfume. Her dark hair was down looking tousled but in a purposeful way. Like she’d paid hundreds of dollars for a slightly messy look that Tessa got naturally.
“Surprise,” she said, kissing me on the cheek. It wasn’t unusual for her to sweep in unannounced. Normally she breezed in like she owned the world. Today, there was something off. Like she was nervous.
“Do you want coffee or water or something?” I motioned for her to sit in one of the chairs near my desk.
“No, thank you.”
I pulled the other chair near her. “How long are you in town?”
“For a while, actually. I got married,” she blurted with a sheepish smile as she held up her left hand to flash a sizable rock. My gut clenched, but not at the idea that the woman I once thought I’d spend forever with was married to another man. No, I was bothered by the idea of Maisie having a stepfather.
“Congratulations,” I said without much effect. I estimated that the engagement ring alone was five carats, which told me her new husband had money.
“He’s really great, Dyl. I want you to meet him.”
“Of course.” If she thought I was going to let Maisie go with her without meeting him, she had another thing coming.
“The thing is, I plan to be around more, which means I’ll be able to spend more time with Maisie.”
I supposed it was better late than never. My brain told me it was good for Maisie to be able to see her mother more often, but I didn’t like the idea of sharing Maisie more. “She’ll be glad to hear that. She just finished kindergarten last week.”
“What? How can she possibly be that old?” She said it the way most parents did, lamenting on how quickly their kids grew up.
There was an awkward silence for a moment. “Leo is out in the gym now. I wanted to talk to you first. I was hoping we could have lunch together and then we could take Maisie back to New York City for the weekend.”
I inhaled a quick breath. It seemed like I’d need more than a lunch to vet Maisie’s new stepdad. At the same time, I had to give Veronica props for knowing that I needed meet her new man. As vain and shallow as she could be, she did seem to understand and respect me where Maisie was concerned.
“Let’s start with lunch and see where it goes.”
She nodded, “I know you’ll like him, Dylan. He’s good to me.”
I was good to you, I thought but didn’t say. Of course, “good” was relative. I treated her well, but didn’t spend all my money on her. Chances were, this guy was rich and good to her financially.
As it turned out, we were both right. Leo Dalton was at least fifteen years older than Veronica, and while I was financially well-off, he was clearly a one-percenter. With that said, he presented well. Friendly. Attentive. Interested. My only concern was that Veronica was his third wife, and he had no children. I wondered if I could send Tessa with them to watch over Maisie.
After lunch, we drank coffee and talked.
“We’d really like to bring Maisie back to the city. I’d like to take her to a show and have her get to know Leo,” Veronica said, putting her hand over Leo’s. When we first gotten together in college, she was all over me, but by the time we married, the only time she displayed affection was when we were fucking. The fact that she was openly connecting with Leo suggested their marriage was genuine. I had no doubt she married him for his money, but that apparently wasn’t the only reason.
I couldn’t think of a good reason to tell her no to the visit. I had full physical custody of Maisie, but Veronica had legal and visitation rights.
Reluctantly, I nodded.
“I can see this is difficult for you,” Leo said.
“It’s not you … I just …”
“Maisie is Dylan’s whole life,” Veronica said. It was true, but her tone made it sound pathetic.
“Well, now you can have some time to yourself. Get out and live a little.”
I frowned at Leo. “My life is just fine.”
Veronica patted Leo’s hand again, probably to tell him to shut up. “It’s been nearly a year since I’ve seen—”
“That’s not my fault.” I was getting agitated, which I hated. I needed to stay in control here.
“I know. I was working hard over the last year. And I loved it, but now I want to slow down some. And I want to see Maisie now that she’s becoming her own person.”
What the fuck did that mean? She didn’t want to be with her own daughter until she could hold a conversation?
“I’ll call home and have Tessa pack her a bag.” My gut burned at the idea of letting Maisie go. Not that I worried they hurt her, but I didn’t like being away from Maisie. I was her father, dammit. It was my job to keep her safe and happy.
“Tessa? Is she—?”
“She’s Maisie’s … nanny.” Babysitter didn’t sound as professional or rich. I scoffed at myself for getting sucked up in a money contest with Leo. I had more money than I needed, but I’d lose if I went up against Leo financially.
“Does she live in?” Veronica asked. Why the hell did she care?
“Next door. She and a few of her friends rent
