Page 26 of Power Play

The hopefulness I felt slowly dies inside me. And here I thought I was an exception.

“But I don’t think I ever saw Maya be so affectionate with someone new. Come on, man, she came to you herself, without Layla or even Drake. She was sitting with you, talking to you about her mommy and her favorite toys.”

And about Bon-Bon, her imaginary friend. Maya still doesn’t know what she looks like. She hasn’t decided yet.

“I’ll give you a piece of advice—not that you need one, but still.” The tone of his voice becomes more serious, and I glance at him. “For Layla, there’s nothing more important than her little girl. The whole reason she agreed to move to Santa Clara is because she wanted Maya to be surrounded by people who love her; she wanted her to grow up with her uncle by her side. Everything she does is for her. And if you want a chance with Layla, Maya should always be your priority too. That’s the only way.”

“I know,” I admit. “Maya isn’t mine, but…I want her to be. That fucker never deserved to be her dad.”

Colton reaches over and claps me on my back. “You’re a great man, Rodgers.”

“I’m trying to be,” I say, and we continue our walk.

Chapter 10

We Will Be Fine

LAYLA

Now, August

“Maya, please stop.”I kneel in front of her and take her tiny fists away from her eyes, wrapping my fingers gently around her wrists. “Sweetie, haven’t we talked about this enough? Your eyes are already red.”

She pouts, looking guilty and irritated at the same time. “My eyes tired.”

“If your eyes are tired, we’ll go home now and you can take a nap.” I let go of her hands and glance at my car in the parking lot of Angie’s dessert shop.

“I don’t want sleep.”

I purse my lips, bottling up my annoyance. Nothing is going well today. There were tantrums about food, tears because I took away the toy she kept trying to put in her mouth for God knows what reason, more tears when I turned offPaw Patrolafter one episode. I have a feeling she woke up on the wrong side of the bed because that’s the only way I can explain what’s happening.

“Maya, I told you I agreed to meet with Ava and Meghan at Angie’s shop. You said you wanted to come. What’s going on? Is something bothering you? Maybe your tummy hurts?”

Maya shakes her head; her ponytail bounces up and down. Looking away from me, she watches an old lady passing us slowly with a little dog on a leash.Everything’s going to be all right, I tell myself as I wait for Maya’s answer. When she brings her eyes back to me, I notice unshed tears glimmering in the sunlight.

“Hey, sweetie, what’s wrong?”

“Bon-Bon don’t want to play.” She breaks down, sobbing. “I looked everywhere. Bon-Bon is gone.”

Overwhelming relief washes over me. I haul my little girl to my chest, holding her close. “Sweetie, I’m sure Bon-Bon is home. Maybe she’s hiding somewhere. If you want, we can look for her together once we get home.”

“How do you know Bon-Bon is a girl?” Maya sobs, leaning away.

“I-I don’t know for sure, but I have a feeling she is. Am I wrong?” I ask her. Pressing my palms to her face, I gently wipe away her tears.

The brightest little smile rises on her lips as she throws herself at me, wrapping her arms around my neck. “You’re right,” she whispers in my ear. “I wanna find her.”

“I’ll help you, I promise. As soon as we get back home.” I rear back, my eyes roaming over her face. “Deal?”

She nods eagerly and lets go of me. I stand up and extend my hand to her. “Let’s go inside. Ava is probably already here.”

“I want cupcake,” Maya tells me as we stroll into the dessert shop.

“Then you’ll get a cupcake. I’m sure Angie has your favorite—vanilla from the kids’ menu.” I open the door and let her in first. “Oh, look.” I point to my right. “They’re waiting for us.”

Maya giggles and runs toward Ava, who catches her and lifts her onto her lap. Meghan is sitting in the highchair with a cookie in one hand and a bottle in her other. She’s too busy trying to devour the cookie to pay attention to Maya or me. I walk closer and plant a kiss on her forehead.

“Hey, sunshine,” I say. She smiles at me; a droplet of drool slides down her chin. Shaking my head, I quickly wipe it away and then sit down at the table in front of Ava. “Hey.”

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