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 afternoon.”
“Has Maisie never spent time with her al
one?” I knew that for a five-year-old like Maisie, transitions could be hard, especially one involving a mom she hadn’t seen for nearly a year. But Dylan was acting like Veronica had never visited Maisie.
“She’s always stayed in town. Here, usually.” He gulped the rest of his drink and poured another glass.
“Here?” I supposed for Maisie that was a good situation, but it seemed odd to me that his ex would stay with them in his house.
“I know how it sounds, but it was easy and I could keep an eye on Maisie.”
“That makes sense. I suppose it was like old times.”
He looked at me. “I won’t deny that Veronica and I sometimes shared a bed then—”
I flinched. I hadn’t meant that. It hadn’t even occurred to me, although now it made more sense why he wasn’t interested in getting involved with another woman. I wondered if seeing Veronica with Leo upset him beyond Maisie. Was Dylan secretly hoping to reconcile with his ex-wife?
“––But it was never like old times. We were never a family. Not really.” He sipped his glass and walked into the living room. “Let me get you your check.”
I nodded and watched as he went up the hall to his office. I let out a breath and sat on the couch to wait for him. I pulled out my phone to check on any messages my roommates or parents might have sent, but there were none. I opened my email, but there was only spam.