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“Three books?”

“Two.”

“Mama.”

“Go.”

Theo shoots me a dramatic look before padding down the hall, and I bring the phone to my ear. For a second, neither of us says anything. The only sound is the low hum of the dishwasher and the faint rustle of Theo down the hall.

Simon clears his throat. “I’m guessing Theo told you about my fight with Veronica.”

I lean back against the counter and close my eyes, irritation already rising hot in my chest.

“Yeah,” I say. “He did.”

There’s a pause.

“What’s going on with that?” I ask, unable to keep the edge out of my voice.

Simon is quiet for a beat. “It’s not really your business—”

“Except it became my business the second she started making you miss phone calls and T-ball games,” I cut in, “and especially when she’s causing screaming matches in front of my son.”

“Our son,” Simon says immediately, his tone sharpening. “And I’m just as pissed about it as you are.”

Something about the way he says it only makes me more frustrated.

“I don’t think you are, Simon. If you actually saw it as a problem, you’d stop it,” I say. “But instead I’m getting secondhand reports from our three-year-old about how his dad and his girlfriend were yelling at each other in the driveway.”

“I’m handling it,” Simon says, but the words sound tired.

“Are you?” The question comes out sharper than I meant it to. “Because from where I’m standing, it doesn’t feel like you’re handling anything.”

For a second, neither of us says anything. The silence stretches, thick and uncomfortable, and my stomach twists tighter with every passing second. Anger simmers beneath it, but something sharper sits underneath—fear. Simon has always been a great dad, but he’s also been a completely single one. A few casual flings here and there, nothing that ever lasted long enough to matter. What if this is what it looks like when he finally gets serious with someone? What if Theo starts getting pushed aside every time Veronica decides she needs his attention?

“If this girlfriend is going to keep causing problems in our son’s life—” I start again, voice low.

“She won’t,” Simon interrupts, his tone steady but rough around the edges. “She won’t be a problem again, Blaire. I swear.”

I take a slow breath, pressing my palm flat against the counter. The words that come out next are easier than they should be. “You’re a good dad, Si.”

I hear his breath catch on the other end of the line.

“I’m glad you’ve found someone,” I add, and the lie tastes bitter on my tongue. “I just need to protect Theo. If this relationship is going to put him on the back burner—”

“It won’t,” he says, cutting me off again. “You don’t need to worry about Veronica anymore. I’ll get it handled.”

I nod even though he can’t see me, swallowing around the lump rising in my throat. “Alright. Have a good night.”

I end the call before he can respond and set the phone down on the counter. The second it leaves my hand, the tears come—hot, silent, and sudden. An incredibly selfish part of me hopes “handling it” means he’s finally done with her. But my gut already knows the truth. Even if he does walk away from Veronica, it won’t be because he wants me.

Chapter thirteen

Simon

Things with Blaire have been more awkward than ever. Well… maybe not ever. Things were pretty damn awkward right after she had Theo, when we could barely hold a conversation but suddenly had a whole person to raise together. Still, this feels different. Worse, somehow.

Whatever friendship we’d built over the years seems to have disappeared overnight. I guess it was inevitable. I’ve got a girlfriend and she’s seeing someone now too. Eventually we were always going to start drifting, with nothing but Theo keeping us in each other’s lives.