The bitch wished.Conor continued staring at me, his eyes not flicking away for even a millisecond. “What did she tell you?”“Nothing that would bother me.”“Liar.”“Says who?”“Says your bright red cheeks. You always were a shit liar.”I snapped my eyes to him and grabbed my milk shake from the end of the table. “She tried to make me believe you two were . . . intimate . . . after I left.”Conor laughed, choking on his soda, and thumped his chest. “She told you what?”“Don’t make me say it again.” I screwed my face up and swirled my straw around my glass.“I wouldn’t fuck Tina with a ten-foot pole. No, ignore that. I wouldn’t touch her with a fifty-foot one, let alone fuck her with it.”“I don’t care.” I sipped slowly.“You should get your cheeks looked at. It can’t be good for them to be that red all the time.”“Screw you.”“You wish.”“You’re such a child.”“You bring it out in me. What can I say? I can’t help it.”“This is ridiculous. Did you really bring me to lunch so we could b

No matter how angry I was at her for saying she wished she’d never come back, she didn’t deserve what I said.Because she was justified. She was only trying to protect Milka. She was doing what came naturally to her. What should come naturally to me.Only I didn’t protect her. I did the exact opposite. I threatened her.“Fuck!”I rested my forearms against the nearest tree and leaned in. I stared at the ground and knocked the bark repeatedly with the end of my fists. My eyes burnt with guilty tears. For both Chloe and Milka.Neither of them deserved this. Not for a single fuckin’ second.“Well, you were on fire there.” Jane’s voice traveled across the yard.“If you’re out here to give me a piece of your mind, don’t bother. I already got it in my own head.”“Nah, she already gave you what you deserve, you jerk.”“Gee, thanks for the support.” I pushed off the tree and headed back into the house. “I don’t need you to remind me I fucked up. My daughter being here without her mother will

“Milka? Milka, baby, please take your fingers out of your nose.” I sighed and reached forward to dislodge them.She screamed and smacked the sofa. “No!” She immediately shoved them back up.“Milka hudson!” I pulled them out. “Do it again and you’re on the naughty step!”She stared at me defiantly and shoved two fingers of her other hand back in her nose.“That’s it. On the step.” I removed her fingers for the hundredth time today and lifted her by her armpits.I deposited her on the step and set the timer. I left it on the counter and went back into the front room, dropping to the sofa with a heavy sigh and rubbing my temples.Three days of this back-and-forth thing with Conor was driving me mad. Not only did I miss him ridiculously, Milka did, too, and she was making it known with bad behavior. Three hours of sleep last night had left my patience paper-thin, and I was ready to leave her in her crib and let her scream it out.She was screaming on the step, so it was not like there’ll

“Respect and forgiveness don’t always go hand in hand. I understand.” I covered his hand with mine. “I wouldn’t forgive me or respect me, you know?”“But I do.” He tightened his grip on me slightly. “I do respect you. Shit, how many times have you done a night like that since she was born? How many times have you held her while she cried or taught her a new word? How many times has she screamed your name because she needed you, huh?”I shrugged a shoulder and averted my eyes.“Milka is amazing—strong-willed, yes, but amazing—and that’s because of you.” He tugged my face so I had to look at him again. “You. It doesn’t matter what you did, because what you’ve done since makes me respect you.”“Then at least hate me. C’mon, you gotta give me somethin’ I want.”“Never.” He lowered his face to mine and brushed his nose along mine. “I can’t hate you, Chloe. I tried. I tried so fucking hard, but I love you too damn much.”“It would be easier if you didn’t.”“Oh, yeah.” He pulled back, runnin

And now, looking at Chloe, watching her stare out of the window to where Milka was playing with Dad on the beach, I wondered if there was going to be a romance to go along with that scandal at all.************** ******************* *************** *******************Chloe’s head poped up in the tree house. She gave me a weak smile and climbed up, then sat next to me. She stared out of the window to where Milka was playing on the beach.Our daughter was running circles around my family on the sand. Bray already had to go change clothes because he underestimated the splash power of a toddler in the shallows.At least that put a smile on Chloe’s face. She had been stone-faced since that morning, her stare scarily intense. I didn’t blame her. I could practically taste the fear radiating off her. I could see the uncertainty whenever she moved, because her hands trembled, like she was freezing and couldn’t warm up.I rested my arm over her shoulders and snatched up her hand. Her fingers s