Page 51 of Grumpy Ex's Secret Baby

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When I got home from the sheriff’s office, Tyson and Trinity were finishing their tea party. Trinity looked like she was ready for a nap, but she was fighting to keep her eyes open.

I stood in the doorway of her playroom, watching them together. Every time that Tyson looked at Trinity, it was with nothing but love.

Even though he had said that I was the love of his life, that wasn’t the truth. Trinity was the love of his life.

That was why he was willing to walk away when I asked him to.

My heart ached as he saw me standing in the doorway. The smile that had been on his face fell as he stood up and watched Trinity run over to me.

“Momma needs to talk to Tyson for a minute,” I said as she hugged my leg. “Why don’t you put your tea set away, and then we’ll have ice cream before dinner?”

Trinity squealed and took off to start cleaning while Tyson and I left the playroom. We walked into the living room but stood far apart. It felt like there was an entire ocean between us.

“Are you sure this is what you want?” he asked. He raked his fingers through his trimmed beard. “Haley, we’re going to figure this out.”

“Not right now, we aren’t. I saw the security team, Ty. I didn’t ask for that.”

“I don’t care,” he said, his jaw tensing. “Especially now that I’m being sent away from my family. They’re going to keep you safe. Please, Hales, just let me do this for you.”

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. I wanted to fight him on the security team. There was no way that I wanted an entire team of people watching me.

But they would keep Trinity safe, and I wasn’t going to turn away anything that would keep me safe.

“The head of my own personal security is here with them. They’ll keep you safe until I get back.”

“Where are you going?” I asked, panic flooding through my body.

When I told him he needed to back away from our lives, I hadn’t thought he would be leaving town.

“Yeah. I’ve been called back to Crestwood Capital for a few weeks. I’ll be back in a month, though.”

“And what if I tell you no to the security team?”

He smiled and shook his head, closing the distance to brush a strand of hair behind my ear. “It’s a good thing I pay them and not you, then. The team will be here, and they’ll be watching over you.”

“I don’t know how we’re going to make this work,” I said.

“I don’t know either,” he said as he stepped back. “But I love you, and I’ll be back in a month unless you call first.”

“I’m not going to call.”

Tyson rolled his eyes and kissed my forehead. “I’ll be back here sooner if you call. I love you, Hales.”

Before I could say anything else, he had disappeared back into the playroom to say goodbye to Trinity before leaving. When the door clicked behind him and the security system engaged, I sank to the couch and ran my hands down my face.

When did life get so messy?

20

TYSON

Drew’scallbeggingmeto come back to New York had come when Haley was at the sheriff’s office.

It hadn’t been an easy decision to go back for a month, but I trusted my team. They would protect Haley and Trinity at all costs, and would call me if anything happened that I needed to know about.

That was why, as I walked into the Crestwood Capital offices, I was only panicking a little bit. Being this far away from them felt wrong. I felt like I was supposed to be back at Haley’s house with them, making sure that a fire was lit under Corey’s ass.

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