Page 60 of Fourth Wall

Phew,I thought. I was still on her good side. I was amiss to know that I had a lot more to make up for, including a conversation I very much owed her.

But right now, we needed to face the obstacle before us. I slowly opened the door as Maeve walked down the last few steps.

Right before his face came into view, Maeve darted her eyes over to me.

“Please,” she practically begged in a low whisper. I knew what she was asking for immediately. She needed to make this look real for Tyler to keep her family.

I slid one hand on her waist as I plastered a smile on my face.

“Hey, Tyler. We were just having breakfast. Would you like to join us?” I asked in the nicest voice I could conjure.

“That would be great.” He was dressed in a full suit on one of the hottest days of the year, but hey, at least he was predictable.

We walked into the house as he grabbed the girls and lifted them into the air. I stayed in the kitchen while Maeve poured us some orange juice from the fridge. She kept darting her eyes back and forth between Tyler and me.

I walked over to her and leaned down, giving her the smallest kiss on her cheek while the girls were entertained by their dad.

“He’s not looking now. You don’t have to pretend now,” she hissed at me, and something was off with her. Nerves?

Instead of reacting right away like the therapist at the house in the foothills told me to do, I tried to acknowledge that this was very difficult for her, so I kissed her once more on the back of her head.

“It’s going to be okay. I’m so proud of you,” I praised her, and her cheeks immediately flushed. I chuckled softly, then went on to where Tyler was sitting.

“Daddy, did you know that Mommy and Christian were sleeping in the same room because Mommy couldn’t sleep and had some nightmares like I have sometimes?”

Tyler looked at us as Maeve attempted to laugh.

“I work late nights sometimes, so I sometimes sleep in the guest room. It was the first time the girls noticed.”

Tyler looked at Maeve, and I walked over to her and pulled her away from his gaze.

“Look at me,” I encouraged her, so Tyler was out of earshot.

“He’s on to us.”

“He isn’t. We have this story already figured out. Stick with it.” Since I travel for work with Julian, we had already come up with an excuse for why there were two primary bedrooms. It was part of the reason I added a door to my bathroom that connected to her room, but she didn’t know that.

“Hey, Tyler?” He looked over toward me as I grabbed Maeve’s hand. “Do you want to head outside while the girls finish their breakfast?”

Maeve walked over and turned on a show for them, and I immediately reached out to grab her hand again. I didn’t know if I was pretending anymore because I craved her touch. I wanted her to hold my hand. I wanted to smell her. I wanted to touch her. I wanted to taste her. This was real. It had to be.

We all walked outside, where we could still see the living room, and sat at the small picnic table out by the pool.

“I’m sorry about the introduction yesterday. I was surprised to see you here together without me present.” Tyler nodded. Arrogant bastard had nothing to say. “This has really been hard on Maeve. I want to do everything I possibly can to show you that we’re capable of caring for the girls.” I knew Maeve would kill me for what I was about to say, so I grabbed her hand under the table and squeezed it before the last few sentences came out.

“With that said, I have already discussed with the school that we will be contributing to the girls’ schooling. Since there are two of them, it seems fair that you can pay for half, and we will pay the other half. The school has already agreed, and I have added our account to the balance.”

Maeve quickly interjected. “Christian, I don’t…” I squeezed her hands again as she trailed off. She stared right into my eyes. Her blue orbs sent me daggers that I could feel, but I had already called the school when I drove home yesterday and established everything with them.

“That seems completely unnecessary. I’ve been paying for the schooling for years. I’m perfectly capable—” That was where I needed to interrupt him.

“You are capable, and now we are in a place where we can contribute,” I added for effect. “This is why you took her to court, isn’t it? Because you felt like her lifestyle wasn’t stable enough?”

Tyler practically coughed into his hand. How Maeve could even stand to be in the same room as him after what he dragged her through was beyond me.

“No. Well, yes, I suppose it was.” The big shot lawyer didn’t have the right words.

“Then it’s settled. I’m glad I was able to talk to you.” I leaned back in my chair, offering a small squeeze to Maeve’s thigh as her eyes remained on me.

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