If I Let You Go

“Daddy, Madison, hurry up with my cake!”

At the sound of Tilly’s voice, I tore my eyes away from Dominic’s and went to the fridge to get her birthday cake.

Probably a good thing Tilly interrupted. He thinks I look cute as a fairy, I think he looks gorgeous in his suit. That is exactly the kind of situation I plan to avoid.

I’d bought Tilly a cake in the shape of a monkey. It seemed a bit cruel to shove candles in a Mungo lookalike, but she loved it. We all gathered around the coffee table to sing Happy Birthday, but before she blew her candles out and made her wish, she looked at Dominic and me, smiling, happy to have her family together.

It was a little after nine when the girls had calmed down enough to settle in Tilly’s room with their sleeping bags. I knew for sure that, although they were tired from being so energetic all evening, it would be a while before they would allow themselves to fall asleep. Sleepovers were made for staying awake way past bedtime, but as long as they were quiet, it didn’t matter to me.

Once they were happily tucked in, Dominic and I treated ourselves to a small glass of wine each, and sat together on the sofa.

Dominic eyed the mess of fancy dress clothes, and the wrapping paper from Tilly’s presents which was still all over the living room floor. “Still sure you don’t want me to hire that cleaner?”

“I’m sure,” I laughed. “There are four little helpers pretending to sleep who can give us a hand in the morning.”

“You can’t just wave your magic wand, and make it all go away?” He grinned.

“No can do. My wings are off and the fairy dust has been used up. We’ll have to do it the old fashioned way, I’m afraid!”

“You did something really special here today. When did you get all this stuff?”

“I’ve been buying it for weeks. Just little bits here and there, because I knew the girls would love it.”

“Do you want me to pay you back for it?”

I shook my head. “No, I haven’t been keeping track of how much it costs anyway.”

I genuinely hadn’t. It had to be around sixty quid’s worth, but it didn’t matter to me. I’d had as much fun playing with it as the kids.

“You spent so much on her gift, though,” Dominic said. “You’re not supposed to spend all of your wages on her!”

“She deserves it,” I told him, looking over at the Sylvanian Families windmill, and four sets of animals I’d bought her. I knew Dominic had bought her the hotel for her birthday, so it made sense to add to her collection. The joy on Tilly’s face told me I’d made a good decision.

As I turned to look at Dominic again, our eyes met, and a small shiver rippled down my spine.

“Madison … there’s something I have to talk to you about.”

I shifted, moving away from him slightly. “Dom, if this is about-”

“It’s about New York.”

He set his wine glass down on the window ledge, and loosened his tie in that way that made me want to jump him. His face was serious, a huge change from the smile he’d given me a few minutes ago.

“What is it?” I asked.

He took a deep breath. “I talked to my boss when I got to New York on Monday. I told him I’m not sure about moving there.”

My heart stopped for a second. “What? But … you want to go.”

“I wanted to go. When I thought it was a good career move, and I thought it would be better for Tilly. But now … I don’t really believe that anymore.”

“Why not? You were pretty damn sure when you told me about it, and have been for the last couple of weeks.”

He nodded. “I was. Right up until you asked me about Serena.”

The mention of her name annoyed me, which was ridiculous. I’d never even met the woman.

“Serena? What does she have to do with anything?”