Page 50 of If You Love Me

Her eyes widened. “You aren’t gonna live here anymore?”

“No, baby.”

“But… but I just got you back.”

I covered her hand with mine when I saw the tears in her eyes. “Hey, now. Don’t cry. You still have me, baby. I’m not going anywhere, anytime soon.”

“But why are you moving?”

“Well, it’s a little awkward being here. Your father is getting married. I guess it’s not really fair to either of us to be here when he has a fiancée. I’m sure they want to spend time together as a couple, and it would just be weird with me here.”

“Ms. Iona is cool with you being here, right, Daddy?”

If only she knew the truth, I thought to myself.

“Your mother is right, Summer,” he said faintly.

“But I don’t want you to go!” Summer protested. “Daddy, do something! Make her stay!”

“She’s made up her mind, princess. But…” He sighed heavily as he looked over at me. “How would you feel about going with her for a little while?”

“You mean, live with Nana and Paw Paw?”

“Yes.”

“But what about you?”

“I’ll see you every day, baby. I’ll pick you up for school and bring you home. On the weekends, we can all go do something fun. Just me, you, and your mom. How about that?”

Summer’s gaze passed between us. “But who’s gonna make sure you get up in the morning?”

Tyrion chuckled. “I’ll make sure I don’t hit the snooze button.”

She smiled softly. “Well, I would miss you, Daddy. But I wanna spend more time with Mommy. I’m not used to her yet.”

“That’s perfectly okay, baby girl. Me and you are locked in for life.”

He reached across the table, and they did the cutest little dap up.

That night, he and I helped her pack up a few weeks’ worth of clothes before he took us to my parents. He looked so sad when we walked him to the door to say good night. He hugged her tightly before going outside. I stepped onto the porch and closed the door.

“I know you’ll take care of her, but I miss her already. I’m not used to having the house completely to myself for more than a weekend.”

“Well, make good use of the time you have alone. You have a lot to figure out.”

“I guess I do.” There was an awkward silence between us before he reached for me and pulled me into a hug. “I’m sorry, Evenie. I never wanted things to be like this.”

I pulled away from him. “I’m sure you didn’t, but it is what it is now. Good night, Tyrion.”

I’d left him standing there and gone back into the house. Since then, things hadn’t been any less awkward between us, and Summer was starting to notice it. We tried to save face in front of her, but there was obvious tension.

“Summer… Summer, baby, it’s time to get up,” I said, gently shaking her.

Her pretty eyes fluttered open, and she looked up at me. “Good morning, Mommy.”

“Good morning, baby. Did you sleep okay?”

“Yes. You woke me up in the middle of a good dream.”

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