"I don't either," Blake said.
Hudson pushed the phone back to me. "What are you going to do about it?"
"I haven't heard back from Ashton, but I think it's better not to respond right away anyway. It fuels her need for drama or whatever."
"I think so too," Hudson agreed.
"I might even ignore it. We're in the middle of returning to mediation, and we can discuss this thing there."
"You could say that. These requests should go through our attorneys until we have an agreement in place."
"I don't want her interrupting my time with Lilliana." Now that I'd distanced myself from Oakley, I recognized her patterns. I would pull away, and she would strike out harder, hoping to get me to fall in line. But I wasn't playing her game anymore. I didn't want to be upset when I was with my daughter because her mother was making unreasonable demands.
It wasn't even that she asked for photos, because I appreciated when Blake sent them to me. It was the demand in her tone that I didn't like.
"You need to distance yourself from her and her drama, and if you need to use your attorney to do it, then that's what you're paying him for."
"I'm feeling better about the situation. This morning, I let her get to me."
Blake touched my hand, and it didn't feel like a gesture she did to maintain our fake relationship status. It felt genuine. "Don't beat yourself up. These situations are hard."
"How are you enjoying the festival so far?" Elena asked, placing Lilliana in her lap.
"Lilliana painted a pot, and we saw a few of the vendors as you first walk in, but we haven't made it all the way around."
"Make sure you check out the jewelry. I got some good stuff." Elena touched her dangly earrings.
"I love those," Blake said, and they launched into a discussion on earrings.
"How are you really holding up?" Hudson asked me.
"Blake insisted that we get out of the house, and that really helped. I feel better having talked to you guys too."
He lowered his voice. "Blake's good for you."
I felt a pang of remorse because I was lying to my family, but it was for Lilliana. "I'm lucky to have her."
He inclined his head. "I feel the same way about Elena."
Blake and Elena were looking at something on Elena's phone, so I asked, "How did you know when she was the one?"
"I think it was earlier than I let myself acknowledge. It kind of sneaks up on you when you least expect it."
My entire body flushed because I knew exactly what he was talking about. Blake fit seamlessly into my life, and I wasn't ready to let her go. I might be feeling things, but I had no way of knowing if she did too.
"You think Blake is it for you?"
"I don't know. Maybe." That was part truth and part act because we were supposed to be getting engaged soon, preferably before any actual court hearing, if we had to resort to that. I needed to make the progression realistic, and this was part of that.
"It might not be the best time with your custody case. Don't you think that Oakley will make things more difficult if you're dating someone?"
"I was actually hoping for the opposite. But I'm done with Oakley controlling my life."
"I was wondering when you were going to stand up for yourself."
"I thought I was doing the right thing, but as Lilliana gets older, I see that I wasn't. It's time for me to take a stand on the custody stuff so I can move on with my life." The question was would I be moving on with Blake or going it alone?
Chapter Twelve
