The Rules of Dating(108)

My daughter’s eyes grew wide. “Can I, Daddy?”

“Of course, baby.”

Billie waited until they were out of earshot. “What the heck happened? You sounded unhinged on the phone.”

I took a deep breath. “I was unhinged. I thought Maya took Saylor.”

“Why would you think that?”

I explained everything—from talking to Maya in the stairwell to finding her room empty with the determination letter from Immigration on the bed.

“Why did she lie to you, only to bring her here?”

“I have no damn idea.”

Billie held up her pointer. “Here, she gave me this. Maybe whatever’s inside will make sense of it all.”

I stared at the envelope for a moment before ripping it open.



Dear Colby, The day I showed up at your door with Saylor, I was so worried I couldn’t give my little girl a good life. But it turned out I gave her the best life ever with you, where she belongs. I’m so thankful you’re her father. If I learned one thing from you over the last few months, it’s that words don’t mean anything—it’s actions. Your example has shown me what sacrifice, family, and love mean, and it’s about time I owned up to the mess I’ve made.

Today I mailed a sworn affidavit to Officer Weber at Immigration. In it, I detailed all of my actions, including blackmailing you into marrying me or risk sharing custody of a child with a woman who had nothing but bad intentions. I hope it clears you of any charges the officer decides to bring. I’ve also left pre-signed, no-fault divorce papers with my lawyer.

Tonight I’m flying back to Ecuador to accept accountability for my mistakes. I will participate in the open investigation of the drowning since I left before it could be completed. If I’m lucky enough that I’m allowed to keep my freedom, I hope to work on salvaging my relationship with my family.

Take care of our little girl.

Always,

Maya



I blinked a few times.

“What does it say?” Billie asked.

Still shell-shocked, I handed her the letter. She read and shook her head. “So that’s it? Maya’s gone?”

I shrugged. “I guess so.”

“What do we do now?”

I had no idea what was going to happen with Immigration or the divorce, but I absolutely knew what needed to be done in this moment. I wrapped my arms around Billie and pulled her to me.

“This.” I pressed my lips to hers. “This is what we do from now on…”





CHAPTER 32


Billie



Is it just me or is the sun shining brighter today?

Colby wanted me to spend the night at his place yesterday, but I insisted he take Saylor home alone and decompress. I’d promised we’d get together tonight instead. Giving him space, even if he didn’t want it, was the right call. What he’d been through—thinking Saylor had been kidnapped—was traumatic as hell. I wanted him to spend quality time with her and not worry about me. Because if I knew Colby, he would’ve spent last night trying to make up for lost time and apologizing for everything.

I was grateful that I’d only found out about the false alarm after the fact. Believing Saylor could have been in harm’s way would have given me a heart attack. I’d been so confused when Maya had dropped her off at my shop. I still couldn’t get over the fact that Colby had to spend those minutes thinking Maya had fled with his precious little girl.

But today was a new day.

With Maya headed back to Ecuador—not far enough, if you ask me—the worst seemed to be over. But I knew there was still a lot looming. We didn’t know whether Maya’s confession would clear Colby of wrongdoing. He was still responsible for trying to deceive the authorities, even if she had been holding a virtual gun to his head. So part of me was still holding my breath.

As I readied to leave the shop and head upstairs after my last client, Deek wished me well.

“Hey,” he said. “You finally made it to the other side of that freaking mess. So try to enjoy tonight, alright? Save the heavy discussions for another time. You guys deserve some peace. Just enjoy each other.”

“Thank you. I’m gonna try.”

“And I called your appointments tomorrow and personally let them know I’m gonna take care of them. Just enjoy the night and sleep in. Take the day off.”

Still on cloud nine, I agreed—which was so unlike me. “I’m not even gonna argue with you, Deek.”

He winked. “You’re learning.”

“Thank you, my friend.” I hugged him goodbye.

As I took the elevator up to have dinner with Colby and Saylor, I felt oddly jittery. It had been a while since I’d been at their apartment. And Saylor still didn’t know the true reason I’d been away. I’d gotten a vibe from her last night that she felt a bit cautious around me, as if she wasn’t sure to trust that I wouldn’t leave them again. She hadn’t been as excited to see me as I’d thought she might have been. It was understandable, but it sucked to have to earn her trust back. Was I supposed to act like nothing had happened? I felt like I owed her more of an explanation for why I’d been gone. But any explanation would be a lie, and I wasn’t comfortable with that, either. Maybe less would be more.