Page 21 of Grumpy Ex's Secret Baby

“Are you going to use that in court?” she asked, crossing the room and getting in my personal space. She spat her words out as if they were venom.

“I just might. Get your shit together, Haley. Ask me for help if you need it. But don’t you dare judge me on having paparazzi following me when you’re dealing with a different version of the same thing.”

“It’s different.”

“It is not.” I sighed and opened the door wider. “You need to leave.”

She shook her head at me before brushing by me. I felt like I was on fire where our bodies touched. I wanted to apologize and ask her to come back in and talk about everything, but I was doing what was best for our daughter.

I would do whatever it took to help her, whether she wanted me in her life or not, but I wasn’t going to sit here and be told that I was the only person with issues that were concerning when raising a child.

If I had to deal with my shit, she had to deal with hers.

9

HALEY

Twodaysofturningover the last conversation Tyson and I had was only causing headaches. I had analyzed the conversation from every possible angle, wondering if there was more I could have said or not said to prevent getting myself kicked out.

I had gone there to make things better with him, and instead, I only made them worse.

He was right. I had a stalker, and Trinity was at risk because of it. I had spent the last two days—when not thinking about Tyson—calling the sheriff’s office and demanding more information on what they were doing to help my case. Nobody was able to tell me anything. They all insisted that they were doing their best, but there was only so much that could be done.

It was a weak excuse for being too lazy to do their jobs properly and not giving enough of a shit.

As I got off the phone for what had to be the tenth time, I looked down at Trinity. She was playing with her dolls and babbling to herself. I smiled, but I couldn’t help but picture another child playing with her. While I was forty and couldn’t imagine myself pregnant again, the idea of adopting a child—maybe a preteen—was lingering in the back of my mind.

When the doorbell rang, I stopped picturing the sibling I wanted for Trinity and prepared for whoever was going to ruin my relatively good day. With everything that had happened lately, I had a hard time believing that someone was coming to see me with good news.

“Hey,” Leigh said as she gave me a bright grin. “Can I come in?”

“Um, I guess?” I said, completely startled to see her there.

“Well…” Leigh said as she walked into my house, “…didn’t think that if you were trying to keep a baby hidden from my brother, you would move to the same street my parents used to live on, but everybody’s got to have something.”

I stared at her, open-mouthed, as she glanced at Trinity in the living room before heading into my kitchen. She perched herself on one of the barstools at the island and looked at me expectantly.

For once, I wished my house wasn’t open-concept, so I could have a minute to compose myself down a hallway before dealing with something completely unexpected. Leigh waltzing through my door like she owned the place was a surprise. Probably one of the biggest surprises of my life.

Hell, I only recognized her because I had been scrolling through Tyson’s social media, being nosier than I should have been.

“So,” Leigh said as I joined her in the kitchen. “I think you have some explaining to do about why my brother called me ranting and raving about the paparazzi being the same thing as stalkers.”

“I haven’t seen you since you were a child,” I said, trying to put off the conversation. “I hear you’re married now. Congratulations.”

“Thanks,” Leigh said, giving me a flat look. “Now, start spilling.”

“I don’t remember you being this bossy when you were younger.”

“And I don’t remember you being such a chicken shit.” Leigh gave me a bright smile and put her hand on my knee as I sat beside her. She gave it a light squeeze before drawing her hand back and putting it on her lap. “It’s going to be okay.”

“You have no idea how hard everything has been,” I said, needing to confide in someone.

“You’re a single mother and a businesswoman who’s worked hard to build her career and be present in her child’s life with no father in the picture,” Leigh said, her eyes warm as she looked at me. “That seems impossible to me.”

Once the tears started, they couldn’t stop. I held them in long enough to put on a movie for Trinity before leaning into Leigh’s shoulder and sobbing. Something about her made me feel like I could put my entire self on display and not be judged for it. She may not be pleased with how I treated her brother, but she knew that he wasn’t without his flaws, either.

“Here,” Leigh said as she got up and rounded the island. “I’ll make us some tea—maybe with a little bit of whiskey in it—and you can tell me everything that’s on your mind.”

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