Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 77292 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77292 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Her boss had been giving her shit about everything lately, and though she tried to hide it from me, I could tell it upset her. That was why I’d told her to do her thing this afternoon and I’d take over with the kids. Tori was off today so it was just me, Annalise, and Benny.
“When is Thor coming over?” Annalise asked me as we headed downstairs.
“I don’t know,” I said. “Maybe we can call him later.”
“He said we could go to the park.”
I smiled to myself, wondering if Lars really enjoyed her company or if he was just going along with it because he didn’t know how to say no. At some point, I’d have to ask him because I didn’t want him to resent me for getting him into this situation where a four-year-old demanded a lot of his time. He was young and single, so being at Annalise’s beck and call probably cramped his style big-time. Although, it was hard to tell with Lars, since he kept his private life pretty private.
“Can I watch Doc McStuffins?” Annalise asked.
“Sure.” I reached for the remote and turned on her favorite show just as my phone started to ring. I had Benny bouncing on my hip and I pulled it out of my pocket to see who it was.
Crap.
The lawyer.
I answered and then walked into the kitchen so Annalise wouldn’t hear my conversation since she was nosy as hell and didn’t miss a trick. “Hello?”
“Hey, Wes, it’s Timothy Sutton.”
“Hey, Tim. What’s going on?”
“Ben’s parents have filed an emergency motion to get temporary custody and the judge has agreed to hear it. The hearing is on Monday.”
“Jesus Christ. What do you think? Are we in trouble?”
“I think you need to sit down.”
“I thought you said the will as ironclad?” My heart sank.
“It is, but the problem is that you and Hadley have had three months to decide which of you is raising the kids, and so far you haven’t, leaving the kids’ future in limbo. The grandparents have made a case for them to move into the house to give the kids some stability while the two of you work it out. I don’t know this judge, but I hear she’s a huge kids’ advocate, so it could go either way.” He paused. “Have you decided which of you is going to raise the kids?”
I swallowed. “No. We…well, we’ve got a really great routine going and decided not to mess with it for now. I didn’t think Patrick and Susan would do something like this. They’re really starting to piss me off.”
“Agreed, and with that in mind, I think we should meet. Are you and Hadley available tomorrow?”
“I am, and I’ll see what Hadley can do with her schedule. Our nanny comes tomorrow so it should be okay.”
“We could do it on the phone if need be, just let me know.”
“I will. Thanks.”
I disconnected and leaned against the island, nuzzling Benny’s neck until he giggled.
There was no way in hell I was letting these kids go after the last three months, but my gut told me it wouldn’t be easy to raise them without Hadley. The problem was that I didn’t want to let her go either, and I had no idea how she would feel about that. Hell, I didn’t even know how I felt about it.
We definitely had to find some time to talk.
Chapter Twenty
Hadley
“Sorry I’m late,” I said, glancing at the clock as I sat down behind Ben’s desk in his office and joined a Zoom meeting with Liz. “Benny spit up all over his clothes right as our nanny was getting here.”
It was exactly four minutes after nine in the morning, and our one-on-one meeting had been scheduled for nine sharp. It shouldn’t have been a big deal, but with Liz, there were no small deals.
“Jesus, Hadley, you look like shit.”
She cringed at my appearance, and I unconsciously reached up to smooth out my hair. I’d had just enough time to wash my face, moisturize while brushing my teeth, run a brush through my hair and pull it back in a ponytail. The days of blowing out my hair, putting on a full face of makeup and thinking about what I wore to the office were in the past. Yoga pants and a T-shirt were my work uniform these days.
“Yeah, the only video meeting I have today is this one,” I said to Liz, “so the natural look it is.”
She sighed softly and said, “Is beauty even part of your life anymore?”
My lips parted with surprise. “What do you mean?”
“Willow is a lifestyle magazine, Hadley. A huge part of our focus is beauty. You used to come in bright and early every Monday morning raving about the new facial mask or flat iron you’d tried over the weekend.”