Page 26 of Because of Her

“But she will be there. With Maisie.”

I nod again.

“I’m not … I don’t … she needs …” Audrey tries. Her nose twitches.

“I’m not asking, I’m telling you. Out of courtesy. I wouldn’t do anything that could make things awkward, or harder for Maisie. But I’m allowed to have friends, I’m allowed to see people. That doesn’t stop when Maisie is with me. Just like it shouldn’t stop for you when she is here. I’m telling you, not to get your blessing or to ask for permission, but so you aren’t caughtoff guard.”

Pushing her chair back, Audrey folds her arms on the table, resting her head in the crevasse they make.

“Thank you for telling me,” she mumbles.

“I think I really like her,” I admit, although I’m not sure why.

“Okay, but will she like Maisie?”

“I hope so.”

“I can’t believe I agreed to cancel our park date for this.”

I push Isobel’s pram through the mall, loaded with all the clothes and toys Maisie chose. Isobel is holding Pavlova while Maisie lags behind, shuffling her feet. She’s had enough shopping, even though today was all about her and I said yes to everything she asked for. Well, almost everything. We did not get the $400 glitter dress or the teddy bear that was bigger than me.

“There’s a family coffee shop up here. We can let the girls play.” Isobel nudges me as she marches forward toward her caffeine.

We sit at a table next to the enclosed play area. Maisie helps her younger cousin up and down the tiny slide.

Isobel drinks most of her large latte in one long gulp. “At least I didn’t have both kids with me today.”

In another gulp, she finishes her drink. Scanning the code on the table, she orders another.

I don’t know how they do it. Isobel and her husband. Two kids sounds like a nightmare. Sure, it mustn’t bethatbad, considering how many families have more than one child. But after Maisie was born, I knew she was it for me. One round of sleepless nights. One round of baby led weaning and sleepregression and potty training. I don’t need to go through that again. Besides, Maisie is more than enough to fill my heart.

“I need your help.”

“Say that again so I can record it.” Isobel holds her phone toward my mouth.

I bat it away. “Ha. Ha. But I’m serious. I don’t know how to tell Cassidy about Maisie without scaring her off.”

Isobel turns in her chair to watch the girls as they play. The slide has been left behind as they build towers with the big foam blocks. I’ve never seen Maisie so patient with her younger cousin, but I’m not about to complain.

“How much does she know? How close are you?”

“I kissed her.”

Isobel slaps me across the head. “Fuck, Callum. How could you kiss her without telling her?”

“I didn’t mean it.” My elbows rest on the table and I drop my head into my hands, rubbing the sore spot.

I did though. I did mean it. That kiss with Cassidy was incredible, and I want more of them. But I got a little ahead of myself, and now I don’t know how to crawl back to the starting line.

“How do you think she will react?”

“Good, I hope. She always loved kids. But it’s different to just loving kids, right? To end up with a guy who already has a daughter, that has to be rough.”

But shit, I hope Cassidy is okay with it. I hope she is still willing to give this a proper try once she finds out about Maisie. I hope this is our chance to get things right.

“I think you need to be honest with her. Tell her how you feel, tell her about Audrey, first. Then Maisie. Then introduce them. But tell Audrey about that bit first.”

Already done, but my gut still pains when I think about how defeated Audrey looked. After everything, I still don’t want to hurt her.

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