Page 27 of The Six-Week Single Dad
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t start this again.”
“You seem to think you have all the answers, so what’s your solution to this?” Maddy demanded.
“I don’t. All I know is that I’ve spent the most perfect six weeks watching Hayden get to know his son better, playing with him, teaching him, and watching Alfie blossom along with all the other babies. It would be a shame to take that away from him, from both of them. I’m just asking you to think hard about how you see the future before making a snap decision.”
I could sense they were both listening to my speech and I knew I had to make it count. I went on.
“What if you and Robert don’t work out? Or you hate your job after a few months? Six weeks isn’t really long enough for you to find out.”
“I could say the same about you and Hayden,” said Maddy, snidely.
“This isn’t about me and Bea,” sighed Hayden. “And she has a point.”
“Any decision you make this afternoon is going to stick with you, maybe forever. So you have to make sure it’s the right one.” I desperately hoped that Maddy would make the right choice, at least not to take Alfie away tonight.
Maddy’s gaze went to the door of Alfie’s room, where all appeared quiet. She fixed her eyes on Hayden. “She’s right. I need to think more about how this could work. And you deserve to spend more time with Alfie. I’ll pop in and say goodnight, then I’ll go.”
She did exactly what she said she would and left shortly afterwards, with promises to talk more over the weekend.
The moment the door closed behind her, I collapsed on the sofa, the tears coming hard. As I sobbed, I felt Hayden sit down beside me, wrapping his arms around my shoulders and kissing the top of my head.
“You were fantastic.”
“I hope I haven’t made things worse.”
“It’s only going to be worse if she doesn’t budge from her decision. And I think you might have convinced her that she’s wrong.”
Hayden tilted my chin up towards him, so I had no choice but to look into his eyes. They were glistening with emotion.
“Whatever happens, Bea Hudson, I don’t think I could love you any more than I do right now.”
He kissed me and I dissolved again.
“I love you too.”
“Does that apply to Alfie as well?”
“Why would you doubt that? I love the little family we’ve created. Whatever Maddy decides, I want to make us work.”
Hayden grinned. “Me too. Now let’s make sure Alfie’s happy with that.”
We went into Alfie’s room. He stared up at us, his blue eyes inquisitive. Hayden swooped him out of his cot and pulled the three of us together in an embrace. The little boy laughed and smiled as we cradled him between us.
“I think we’ve got our answer.”
Epilogue
Six Months Later
We were at another birthday party. I’d lost track of exactly how many we’d been to over the past six months. Apparently when you have kids, it’s a lot.
I glanced over to where Hayden and Maddy were talking and smiled. After the horrible day when Maddy tried to take Alfie, things had finally been sorted.
Robert hadn’t been as keen on the idea of Alfie joining them in Paris as Maddy had been. In fact, he’d objected so strongly that Maddy had not only ended her relationship with him, she’d quit her job as well. She had, however, found a part-time job a few days a week.
The three of us had come to a co-parenting arrangement, whereby Alfie spent half the week with Maddy and the rest of it with Hayden and I. Hayden’s company had finally shown some flexibility and had agreed to him working from home two days a week. I was able to start my internship and they were impressed. It was working out pretty well, although once I’d told Hayden my news, I was certain it would change again.
When we’d told Tom and Laura we were in a relationship, they were both ecstatic. Laura wanted to know if she could be a bridesmaid and, after he’d gotten over the shock, Tom was fully supportive of us, saying he always knew we’d end up together. I wondered how he’d react to my next announcement.
