Page 18 of Summer Fling (The Kingston Brothers #5)

I nearly groaned out loud at the thought. Instead of playing with Lilliana in her room like I'd planned, I took her to the playroom where the shelf I'd built had filled with canvases they'd painted throughout the week.

The ones that Lilliana did were mainly splashes of color, but I could see where Blake had taught her a few techniques with sponges and brushes. Whenever I thought about Blake leaving, my chest tightened.

She was good for Lilliana and me. She made me see that I could have a healthy relationship. That what I shared with Oakley was toxic and destructive. I wouldn't fall into a relationship like that again.

But I wasn't so sure I deserved someone as good as Blake. She had her whole life ahead of her.

I pulled out blocks, and Lilliana enjoyed stacking them and then knocking them down, over and over again. I couldn't help but think how nice it would be for her to have a sibling to play with. But that wasn't something that would happen any time soon.

No one would want to date a single dad whose ex caused so many issues. I had to get a handle on this situation with Oakley before I even thought about dating someone new.

I heard the water shut off and then the blow dryer turn on. Did she dry her hair naked? Now why was I thinking about that?

If she knew what I was imagining, she'd walk out of my life.

I snapped some photos of Lilliana, and then a video to send to my parents.

Oakley: You need to send pictures of Lilliana throughout the day or set up a shared photo album.

I'd just taken some pictures, and it wouldn't have been a big deal to send them to her too, but her attitude rubbed me the wrong way.

It was more like she was demanding that I send her the photos, and I didn't like how that felt.

It was a little too similar to how she usually dealt with visitation.

It was her way, or she'd do something about it that I wouldn't like.

I copied her message and forwarded it to Ashton, asking how I should respond. I felt like I should say something soon or she'd escalate the situation with threats.

"Is everything okay?"

I looked up to find Blake standing in the doorway to the playroom in a sun dress, her hair free around her shoulders. She looked effortlessly gorgeous, a true island girl even though she wasn't.

"Oakley wanted me to send her pictures."

She tipped her head to the side. "Okay."

I opened the messages app and showed her the text.

Her eyes widened. "She's not being nice about it."

"I'm not sure how I should respond. I forwarded it to my attorney to see what he thought. But in the past, if I didn't respond to something like this right away, she'd escalate the situation."

"If she does, we'll be prepared and document everything she says and does. Let's go to the fair and enjoy our day. Try to put it out of your mind."

I picked up Lilliana, knowing that was easier said than done. I parked at the community center and followed the crowd to the table where we could donate money before we checked out the vendors. I threw cash in the tin and walked toward the rows of tents and tables.

Blake stopped by each one, talking to the artists about their work.

It was nice to follow her around, but it was hard not to think about Oakley's message.

I didn't like that she had the power to affect my day.

But I was worried that she'd send threatening messages or show up at the fair to make more demands.

What if she asked for Lilliana in public? What would I do?

Blake’s hand landed on my forearm. "Relax. You didn't do anything wrong, and she's not going to take Lilliana from you."

I let out the breath I'd been holding, forcing my muscles to loosen one by one.

There was an arts-and-crafts table for kids under one tent, so Blake took Lilliana and sat next to her in one of the tiny chairs. Together they painted a flowerpot, and I was content to watch them.

Every once in a while, Blake would shoot me a concerned look, and I tried to look at ease, like I had everything in order. But inside, I was a mess. I hated that Oakley made me feel like this. I needed the court to put things in writing so I had the power of the law behind me.

The more I thought about it, I concluded that this was my time with Lilliana, and Oakley shouldn't be allowed to interrupt it with her demands.

We set the painted pot on paper so that it could dry while we perused the rest of the festival. When we reached the food trucks, we ordered tacos and sat on the picnic tables. I'd brought finger foods for Lilliana to eat.

"Are you feeling better?" Blake asked.

"Thanks for making me come out." If I didn't have Blake, I would have stayed home, freaking out about Oakley's message.

"Of course."

Elena appeared at the end of our table. "I didn't realize you guys were coming here today."

"It was a last-minute decision," I said as Elena sat next to Lilliana. "How's my favorite girl?"

Elena gushed over Lilliana as Hudson sat across from me.

"How are things?" Hudson asked, probably not realizing what he'd walked into.

I exchanged a look with Blake.

"What did she do now?" Hudson asked tightly.

"It's not that bad." I pushed my phone across the table to him, leaving Oakley's message on the screen.

Hudson grunted. "I don't like her tone."

"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?