“Okay.” Maisie patted his cheeks.
“Your mom came to see me today.”
Maisie’s little brows rose.
“She wants to see you this weekend.”
“Is she coming here?”
Dylan shook his head. “She wants you to visit her in New York.”
This time Maisie frowned. “Will you come too?”
Dylan smiled, but it was forced. “It will be just your mom and her new husband.”
Husband?
“They want to take you to a movie and I bet your mom will take you shopping.”
Maisie still didn’t look convinced. “What if I want to see you?”
He pulled a box from his pocket. “I got you a phone, just for this trip. I want you to use it only when you have to, like when you’re homesick or feel lonely or scared and your mom can’t help you call.”
A phone seemed like a lot for a five-year-old, but it was clear that Dylan was as uncomfortable about this trip as Maisie seemed to be.
“Is Mommy’s new husband my new daddy?” her voice was so soft I could barely hear her.
“No, baby.” He pulled her tight again. “I’ll always be your daddy. Nothing will ever change that, okay?”
Her little arms wrapped around his neck. “’Kay.”
“I know this is different from before, but you’re a big girl now and I know you’ll have lots of fun with your mom.”
I wondered how they’d done visits before.
“Can Tessa come?”
“No, but I know you’ll have fun. Why don’t we get your bag packed so you’ll be ready when she gets here?” Dylan set her down.
“Is there something else you need from me?” I asked as Maisie skipped off to her room.
“I need to pay you.” His eyes watched her as she rounded the corner.
“We can take care of that later.” I moved to the door. I didn’t need to be here when Veronica arrived.
“Stay,” he said, his voice rough.
I stopped. A million questions ran through my mind mostly about what was upsetting him so much. “Yeah, sure. I can make some coffee or something.”
“Maybe you could pack a snack for Maisie. It’s nearly two hours drive to New York and I’m not sure Veronica would have considered that.”
“I’ll get on it.” I smiled wanting to reassure him, but he was still tense when he walked off toward Maisie’s bedroom.
I washed out Maisie’s lunch box and began to put in some of her favorite snack foods. Grapes. Peanut butter cracker sandwiches. Juice box.
I heard a knock at the door, but didn’t go to answer it. Instead, I handed Maisie’s lunch box to Dylan as he passed by the kitchen on his way to the door. Then I leaned against the kitchen entry to watch.
Dylan opened the door, and Veronica—a woman I’d only seen in magazines, on TV, and in a picture on Maisie’s bedside table—walked in followed by a distinguished-looking man, who had to be ten or fifteen years older than her.
Maisie wrapped her arms around Dylan’s leg as she looked up at Veronica.
“Oh! My little princess. You’ve grown up so much.” Veronica bent down in front of Maisie.
“I’m five now,” Maisie said with one hand still wrapped around Dylan’s leg and the other one holding up five fingers.
“So big,” Veronica smiled, and it looked genuine. “Can I have a hug?”
Tentatively, Maisie unwrapped herself from Dylan and went to Veronica. They hugged and then Veronica stood.
“Maisie, this is Leo. He’s your new stepdad.”
Dylan flinched, but didn’t say anything.
Leo held out his hand. “Nice to meet you, Maisie.”
Maisie turned her head to look at Dylan who nodded, but had an expression like on the inside he was cracking.
Maisie took Leo’s hand for a little shake.
“We’re going to take you to our house in New York. We’ll go see a show and have so much fun Maisie,” Veronica said.
“What if I miss my Dad?” Maisie’s lip quivered.
“We’ll be having too much fun for you to miss him.”
Bitch.
Dylan’s eyes narrowed, and I saw the badass Mrs. Anderson had mentioned the last day of school.
“But if you do, you can call your dad,” Leo said, and I wondered if he understood how hard this was for Maisie and Dylan.
Dylan squatted down. “Maisie.”
Maisie rushed to him and wrapped her arms around him. “I don’t want to go, Daddy.”
“Now Maisie, I’m your mommy.”
Dylan cut Veronica a scathing glare. Then he turned his attention to Maisie. “I know this is new and sometimes new is scary. But you know your mom and she’ll take good care of you.” He looked at Veronica again as if to say, “you better take good care of her.”
“We’d better get going,” Leo said. “We don’t want to get back too late.”
“Come on, Maisie. I can’t wait to show you your new room.”
“I want to say goodbye to Tessa.”
“Tessa?” It was then Veronica looked up to where Maisie was pointing. Until then, I don’t think Veronica noticed I was there.
Maisie ran to me.
“Have fun with your mom and stepdad, Maisie,” I said, giving her a hug. “I want to hear all about your adventures in the city when you get home, okay?”
She nodded. “Okay.”
“I’ll walk them out to the car,” Dylan said to me as they headed through the door.
I nodded that I’d wait.
Fifteen minutes later, he returned. “They didn’t even have a car booster seat.” His eyes were dark, his jaw tight as he made his way to the kitchen.
“They can have mine—”
“I gave them mine.” He opened a cupboard over the refrigerator and pulled out a dark bottle. He took it with him to another cupboard where he pulled out a juice glass and poured a sizable shot. “Want some?”
I’d never seen him drink anything but water or coffee before, so it was a bit of a shock to see him drinking alcohol.
“No, thank you.”
“I can’t figure out what I’m feeling,” he said, downing half the drink.
“Nervous?”
He nodded. “Maisie is like a doll to Veronica. I worry about her getting bored … Veronica, not Maisie. I had no clue about Leo until she told me this
