Page 28 of Finding Forever

Unable to hide my disgust, I scoffed.

“Why the sudden concern?” I raised my brow. “Youchoseto be absent during a vacation you planned. You knew Maverick was around Mycah. Why are you only saying something now?” I had my suspicions but wanted to hear it directly from his mouth.

“Listen, blame me all you want and finger point all you want, but I’m serious about this.”

Of course, he would accuse me of pointing the finger when I was telling the truth. The man was unbelievable.

“Chris, I’m not having this conversation with you.”

“Fine, then just listen. Victoria told me all about Maverick’s anger issues. He can get violent, Gina, and I don’t want that kind of violence around my son.”

The irony in that statement was almost too good to pass up. But I resisted, more interested in his reasoning than pointing out his clear cognitive dissonance.

“I haven’t witnessed any of these anger issues you speak of. And until you have solid proof instead of hearsay from the woman you’re currently conning out of a paycheck, I don’t want to hear it.” I wondered. You could never truly know anyone. But I wouldn’t allow Chris to know that what he’d said was having any impact on me.

“Gina, I’m serious. If I find out you’re ignoring my wishes, then maybe we should let the courts settle it.”

“Chris, listen to yourself. You’ve given me no solid proof. You just sound mad that something isn’t going your way for once and now you want to control who I see.”

“I don’t care who you see. Just keep him away from my son.”

“He’s my son too, and Maverick has been nothing but kind to him. More than I can say about you!” I pointed out, growing heated.

“Gina—”

I’d never been happier to hear my phone ring. Pulling the device out of my bag, I immediately answered when I saw the caller’s name flash across the screen.

“Gina.” It was Maverick, and the panic dripping from his tone put me on edge.

Turning away from Chris, I walked a little way down the driveway back to my car.

“Hey, is everything okay?” I’d never heard his voice like this, and it had me on edge, even without the details.

“Did Penny and Mycah have a playdate I forgot about?”

“No. That’s not until tomorrow.”

He muttered something under his breath and said, “I don’t know where Penny is. Melinda—Penny’s nanny — went to pick her up from school and she wasn’t there.”

“What?” NowIwas panicked. I couldn’t think of a worse nightmare as a parent. “Aren’t you, Melinda, and Victoria the only ones authorized to pick her up?”

“Yes, but I can’t get a hold of Victoria. Maybe her driver will know where they are. Could you text me his number so that I can figure this out?” I could hear the strain in his voice through the phone.

It wasn’t until I heard Chris’s laugh that I realized he’d trailed me down the driveway.

“Penny went shopping with her mom. Where else would she be?” Chris provided.

He sounded so unbothered yet amused by our panic that it made me want to smack the smirk off of his face.

Keep your hands to yourself, Gina.

I relayed this piece of information to Maverick.

“What is with this woman?”

Loud and clear, his disappointment was audible over the line. He wasn’t yelling or swearing, but even over the phone, the tension emanating from him was thick enough to cut with a knife.

“I’ll call you back after I deal with this,” Maverick said, pushing out a heavy breath.

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