Page 26 of Mr. Almost

“I’ll have it waiting for her when you get out,” he promises.

And he did.

Ever since that night, he’s shown up. He helps me in the morning get her ready for day care. We drop her off, then he drops me off at work while he goes home to change or do whatever he needs to do. After we’re both done for the day, we leave together, pick up our girl, and head back here to my place and go through our nighttime routine. Only for us to repeat it all over again the next day.

It’s been…nice.

No, nice doesn’t even cover how it’s been.

When I texted Chloe and told her about it, she said it was about time that he started pulling his weight.

“Hey, are you okay?” he asks, pulling me out of my head.

“Huh?”

Mason smirks. “You were off in la-la land. You good?”

“I’m fine. Sorry, I was just thinking about work,” I lie.

“Sure…” he teases.

I roll my eyes.

“Watch out, Mommy, if you keep rolling your eyes that hard, they may get stuck.”

Ari giggles. “You’re silly, Daddy. Your eyes can’t get stuck.”

Mason gasps. “Are you sure?”

“Positive,” Ari tells him confidently.

“Well then, I’ll have to take your word forit.”

Our daughter smiles and turns back to the TV.

“Hey, Livvy…”

“Yeah?”

Mason runs a hand through his hair. “Do you think once she goes to bed, you and I can talk?”

My heart skips a beat.

No. God no. Every day, I’ve been waiting for him to say he wanted to talk.

He’s going to try and take her from me.

Mason must see something on my face, because he quickly adds, “Hey, nothing like that. I just have some questions, is all.”

“Okay,” I choke out.

He reaches out and squeezes my hand. “You have nothing, and I mean nothing to worry about, got it?”

I smile weakly and turn back to the TV as my mind races.

What could he possibly want to talk about?

Is he going to want to take her from me? I wouldn’t blame him. I’m sure his place is so much nicer than mine.

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