Page 74 of Power Play

“House tour!” Maya squeals excitedly, making Clay and me burst into laughter.

“Then so be it.” He extends his hand to her, and she takes it, wrapping her little fingers around his. Then he reaches for the bag and takes it from me. “Let’s put it in the kitchen, and then we can start our tour.”

I purposefully brush my fingers against his knuckles before taking a tiny step back. “Sounds great,” I tell him. The butterflies in my stomach put a smile on my face and make me feel like I’m levitating with how they flutter their wings.

Coming here was the best idea ever.

It’s beentwo hours since Maya and I got to Clay’s house, and honestly? I have no idea why I didn’t do it sooner. Everything about this place is like him: full of light, positive energy, and lots of smiles and laughter. Clay radiates warmth, drawing me to him as if he’s some kind of magnet. I can’t convince myself to stay away from him. If anything, right now, all I’m trying to do is not steal him away from my daughter.

Maya is the center of his attention…and it heals my bruised heart.

“Yeah, press here,” Clay instructs her as she sits between his legs on the couch. She holds a controller, his hands covering hers, guiding her where to press. “See? Skye jumps if you do that.”

“Yeah.” Maya nods, her ponytail bouncing up and down. The tip of her tongue peeks out the corner of her mouth, she’s so concentrated on the game. Her left eye is covered with an eye patch—which, may I add, she let Clay put on without even the tiniest resistance. Though maybe it’s because he put on the black eye patch we brought him. These two exist in a universe only they know, and I feel a little bit left out.

I check the time, noticing a missed call from Drake. With a deep exhale, I stand up from the couch. Clay glances at me.

“I need to make a call,” I tell him. “You have ten more minutes. She gets twenty minutes of screen time a day.”

“Of course.” He nods. “Don’t worry, I got this.”

I flash him a smile and walk out of the living room, heading to the backyard. With my phone pressed to my ear, I listen to it ring. I’m not entirely sure what I’m going to tell Drake because all my lies will be discovered if he starts asking Maya questions about what she’s been up to.

“Hey, Layla.”

“Hey. Sorry I missed your call. How are you?” I step into the backyard and close the door behind me.

“It’s fine. And I’m fine too,” Drake says, his voice calm and soothing. I shouldn’t hide the truth from him, but I don’t think I’m ready for that conversation yet. “I brought over cupcakes for Maya. Angie brought them from the shop, but you weren’t home.”

“Yeah, um, I forgot to tell you…a girl from Maya’s preschool had a birthday party, so we’re there.”

“Oh, that’s awesome. Are you on your way home? It’s almost nine.”

“Yeah, we’re leaving in twenty minutes.” I laugh curtly. God, I sound so fake. “Maya has school tomorrow.”

“Okay. Drive safe. See you tomorrow at the game?”

“Of course. We’d never miss a chance to see you play.”

“Thank you.” I hear the smile in his voice. “And I left the cupcakes in the fridge. I hope it’s okay that I let myself in.”

“Absolutely.” I fall quiet, not wanting to lie to him more than I already have. “Gotta go, Drake.”

“Night, Layla. Tell Maya I said hi.”

After I hang up, I hold the phone close to my chest and stand unmoving. This whole situation starts grating on my nerves. I hate lying to Drake. Hate hiding the truth from him. But the reality is, I’ve been doing it for years…since Clay and I reconnected at Ava and Colt’s wedding.

At the time, I figured it was no more than sex…but it’s always been so much more than that considering all the feelings involved. All the promises.

This is going to bite me in the ass so fucking hard when everyone finds out.

I shake my head, trying to get rid of all my troubling thoughts. It was so good before I saw Drake’s call; I should focus on that.

Returning to the living room, I no longer hear the sounds of thePaw Patrolgame that Clay bought for Maya—it’s Justin Bieber’s “Baby” blasting at a very high volume instead. What the hell is going on?

I step inside and freeze on the spot. My lips involuntarily stretch into a wide grin. I’m having heart palpitations from the sight in front of me. Clay and Maya are dancing in the middle of the room, yelling the lyrics at the top of their lungs. Maya’s hands are in the air as she tries to do some moves she recentlysaw on a kids’ dancing video. I press my palm to my mouth, my eyes filling with tears. I’m so fucking happy, I could cry.

Clay notices me first, the bright smile stretching over his lips making him even more handsome than usual. “Come here, Mama. Dance with us.”

---