Page 85 of Falling for Love

“Don’t act like you didn’t notice,” I said, raising an eyebrow. “She practically gave you a full interrogation without saying a word.”

“She knows I’ve already…

“Already what?”

“Fallen hard.”

His words jolted me to life.

“Fallen hard?” I repeated softly.

“I thought it was obvious.”

I quickly turned back to the coffee, hoping he didn’t notice the faint blush creeping up my neck.

“So,” I said, clearing my throat. “About those cinnamon rolls…”

“Coming right up.”

As he walked away, I couldn’t help but smile. Maybe it was the magic of the Lodge, or maybe it was just Liam himself.

Either way, I wasn’t in any hurry to leave, but I had another appointment a town away, and that would hopefully give me some time to think.

And to believe that maybe this just might work.

Chapter Twenty

Evie

The babysitter had handed me an envelope before she left and mentioned something about it being delivered to the door. I didn’t think much of it because Larry, our postman, sometimes liked to just say hi.

I tore open the envelope, expecting something mundane—a bill, maybe a reminder for an appointment. But as I unfolded the papers inside, my heart sank. It wasn’t a card. It wasn’t anything close to mundane.

It was legal documents.

I’d been served.

And Tammi wouldn’t have known.

I scanned the top line, the words blurring together as if my brain refused to process them.

But there it was in bold, official lettering: Petition for Custody.

A cold sweat broke out along my hairline, and the room seemed to tilt on its axis. My fingers trembled as I flipped through the pages, each word cutting deeper, each paragraph ripping me apart.

The petitioner: Kyle Grayson.

Hayden’s father.

The man who had ripped so much away from me without so much as a backward glance when our son was born. The man who had made it abundantly clear that he enjoyed manipulating me more than loving me. The guy who wanted no part in Hayden’s life. And now, suddenly, inexplicably, he wanted custody?

I remember when our divorce was finally granted, he sent a message loud and clear. His cold eyes had locked on mine, and he told me he would take something from me that I cared about more than life itself.

And then I waited.

The first few years after Hayden was born, I’d readied myself for him wanting involvement. When that didn’t happen, secret relief trickled its way through me until I finally reached the point where I believed he just might leave us alone.

But there was always that worry.

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