Chapter 6

After several days of the dreaded stomach bug, the three of us are jammed together on my small couch as we watch Beauty and the Beast. Ari is lying on her side between Mason and me, with her head in his lap and her feet in mine. While they are engrossed in the movie, I can't help but stare at them.

I always knew my little girl had her dad's dark hair, but I thought that was where it ended. Only now do I see that they are more alike than I thought. From their matching chin dimple, one that I wasn't even aware that he had thanks to his facial hair, to their little mannerisms.

They run their hands through their hair the same. Their noses twitch when they don't like something, and so much more.

It's almost as if I hit copy and paste without trying.

He looks down and smiles at her while he runs his fingers through her hair, and my mind drifts back to the other night.

"Mommy! Daddy!" Ari wails.

We both sit up with a start. Jumping up, I try to go to my daughter but get tangled up in the blanket. "Dammit!"

Mason brushes by, getting to our daughter first.

It should be me who gets to her first, I think to myself as I get free from the blanket.

"It's okay…" he coos.

I stop in the doorway and take in the scene before me. Mason is holding Ari as she cries, trying his best to console her.

She must sense me because she looks up at me. "Mommy, I threw up. I'm sorry."

"Hey, none of that," I say lightly as I move across the room. I crouch next to Mason and rub our girl's back. "Accidents happen, you know that."

"I think it got in her hair too," Mason murmurs.

I cringe. Gross. "Okay, let's get you in the shower. It will make you feel better."

Arianna reluctantly removes herself from her father's hold and takes my hand. I lead her into the bathroom, and we get to work. She throws up one more time before finishing her shower.

"I'll be right back, okay? I'm going to go grab you some pj's," I tell her when I realize we didn't bring any into the bathroom with us.

"Okay, Mommy."

I leave the bathroom and stop short when I see Mason remaking her bed.

"What are you doing?"

He looks over his shoulder at me and raises a brow. "I'm making her bed."

"But why?"

"Surely you didn't expect her to sleep in her vomit."

I roll my eyes at his sarcasm. "Of course not. I just wasn't expecting you to help."

A look I can't quite decipher crosses his face as he stands, giving me his full attention. "I know you've done this all by yourself for years, but you don't have to do it alone anymore. I want to help, Livvy. Hell, I want it more than anything. So expect it, okay?"

"I-I…" I struggle to find words.

"You've done a great job with our daughter, but it's time we do it together. Okay?"

Reluctantly, I nod.

Mason smiles. "Good, now how about you get those pj's so we can get her back to bed?"

"She needs another dose of Tylenol," I tell him as I move to her dresser.

"I'll have it waiting for her when you get out," he promises.

And he did.

Ever since that night, he's shown up. He helps me in the morning get her ready for day care. We drop her off, then he drops me off at work while he goes home to change or do whatever he needs to do. After we're both done for the day, we leave together, pick up our girl, and head back here to my place and go through our nighttime routine. Only for us to repeat it all over again the next day.

It's been…nice.

No, nice doesn't even cover how it's been.

When I texted Chloe and told her about it, she said it was about time that he started pulling his weight.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asks, pulling me out of my head.

"Huh?"

Mason smirks. "You were off in la-la land. You good?"

"I'm fine. Sorry, I was just thinking about work," I lie.

"Sure…" he teases.

I roll my eyes.

"Watch out, Mommy, if you keep rolling your eyes that hard, they may get stuck."

Ari giggles. "You're silly, Daddy. Your eyes can't get stuck."

Mason gasps. "Are you sure?"

"Positive," Ari tells him confidently.

"Well then, I'll have to take your word for it."

Our daughter smiles and turns back to the TV.

"Hey, Livvy…"

"Yeah?"

Mason runs a hand through his hair. "Do you think once she goes to bed, you and I can talk?"

My heart skips a beat.

No. God no. Every day, I've been waiting for him to say he wanted to talk.

He's going to try and take her from me.

Mason must see something on my face, because he quickly adds, "Hey, nothing like that. I just have some questions, is all."

"Okay," I choke out.

He reaches out and squeezes my hand. "You have nothing, and I mean nothing to worry about, got it?"

I smile weakly and turn back to the TV as my mind races.

What could he possibly want to talk about?

Is he going to want to take her from me? I wouldn't blame him. I'm sure his place is so much nicer than mine.

His place might be nicer, but he still chooses to sleep here every night.

Only because Ari's here.

Hell, since he found out about her, he hasn't pushed me to go on a date or even flirted with me. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy he finally listened, but at the same time, it's a hit to the ego.

He doesn't want me anymore, knowing that I pushed out a child.

"Stop it. You're getting worked up for nothing," he hisses, squeezing my hand.

I nod, swallowing hard.

Surely he wouldn't still be holding my hand, offering me comfort if he were about to rip the rug out from under me…right?

* * *

"Do you think once she goes to bed, you and I can talk?"

As soon as the words left my mouth, I regretted them. Livvy's face instantly dropped, and I knew she took it the wrong way. She probably thinks I want to take her to court and get custody of Ari, when that couldn't be further from the truth. All I want to do is check in with her.

I want to know how she's handling the change of me being present in their lives.

And there's been so much change.

I already liked the Livvy I knew from before, but now I like her so much more.

Am I still mad that I missed out on years of Ari's life? Hell yes, and I have a feeling I will always be a little bitter about it. My anger, though, isn't aimed at Livvy. I believe that she tried to tell me. There is no faking that kind of pain.

No, the person I blame is my mother. She didn't like Livvy the night we met, based on her appearance. So it's really not shocking that she inserted herself into a situation that didn't involve her.

I missed out on years of my daughter's life. First time sitting up. First time standing. First time walking. First time talking and everything in between.

So many firsts.

Now that I know about Arianna, I can't bear to be away from her. I want to spend every minute of every day with her and her mom.

Livvy has tried like hell to provide for our daughter, and as far as I'm concerned, she's succeeded. Her apartment is the size of my closet, and the heat is finicky, but it's still a roof over their heads, and she has a warm meal on the table every night. You can feel love bouncing off the drafty walls, which is a lot more than the mansion I grew up in.

"She's asleep," Livvy says as she walks back into the room.

God, she's gorgeous. I thought she was beautiful four years ago, but she's only gotten better with age.

She crosses her arms defensively over her chest. "You said you wanted to talk."

"Sit, please."

"I'd rather stand."

I sigh. "Livvy, please."

"No, if you're going to tell me something I'm not going to like, I'd rather be as far away from you as possible."

I run a hand over my face. "It's not what you're thinking. I promise. Please sit, so I don't have to look up at you."

Livvy huffs and sits on the arm of the couch.

Better than nothing, I guess.

"How are you?"

Confusion fills her face. "I'm fine. Why?"

I nod. "I realized today that since I learned about Ari the other day, I haven't really left. The last thing I want to do is leave either of you, but at the same time, I don't want to outstay my welcome."

Livvy's face softens as she slides off the arm and onto the couch.

"You're always welcome here," she says softly.

"Thank you." I clear my throat when I feel myself getting choked up. "That means more to me than you know. Truly."

"You're welcome."

"There's two things I would like to talk to you about."

She nods. "Go on."

"I would like to start paying you child support."

Before I can even finish my sentence, she starts shaking her head. "What else?"

"I was thinking…" I see Livvy tense again, but I keep going. "That maybe you two could spend some time at my place."

"Why would we do that?" she asks harshly.

"Change of scenery. More room for all of us."

Livvy chokes out a laugh as she shakes her head. "No, thank you."

I frown. "You won't even think about it?"

"Ari and I are doing just fine right here. I know this place isn't much, but it's our home. If you don't like it, there's the door." She points to the door.

"Livvy, you can't be mad at me for wanting all of us to sleep in beds. That's not possible here," I plead.

"Then you are more than welcome to go back to your place."

"I don't understand what the big deal is. The way I look at it, if you two like my place, you guys can move in. You can let this place go and then save however much this place is on rent."

Livvy scoffs. "We aren't moving in with you, and I'm not taking money from you, Mason. I'm sorry."

"Why not?" I ask slightly higher than I mean to.

"First off, keep your goddamn voice down. The last thing we need is to wake Ari up right now. To answer your question, the reason that isn't going to happen is because then I would be proving your mother right."

"I don't see how you moving in would prove my mother right."

"She thought I was after your money then, and if I take child support from you or we move in now, she would think the same thing. I would be taking advantage of you, and I hate to break it to you, Mason, I don't want your money. I don't want you for your fancy house, or your driver, or whatever else you come up with. The only thing I want from you is a little bit of attention, and I don't even want that for myself. Ari deserves a father, and that's you."

"Livvy, I know you don't want me for my bank account, and I don't give a damn what my mother thinks. I just want the three of us under the same roof."

"And we are, Mason." She looks up at the ceiling and back at me, raising a brow.

"That's not what I meant." I sigh. "I just want to take care of you, both of you. Is that so bad? Besides, what's the point of having money if I can't spend it on people I care about?"

"It's not happening. I'm sorry. I just can't risk it."

"Risk what?"

"You changing your mind and then kicking us out. It's all fun and games staying with us, but in a month from now, you might change your mind. You wouldn't be able to bring a woman home if you wanted to or have friends over or whatever it is you do."

"The only woman I want in my house is right in front of me."

"It's not happening."

"You won't even think about it…"

She shakes her head. "No, it's not up for debate."

We fall silent for a moment.

"Well then, I guess we need to get an air mattress."

Surprise flashes through her pretty eyes. "I guess so."

I get it. Livvy has been merely surviving the last few years, and now that I'm back in the picture, she's waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Only it won't.

I'm here to stay.

I just have to prove it to her.