Kristin’s ex is something else, but that Jillian chick is a whole other level of fucked up.

She’s been back there with Finn for about ten minutes and I’m not sure what the hell to do but wait. I can hear the three of them going back and forth—Scott’s voice is loud but not loud enough to make out what they’re saying.

After a few minutes, the door swings open, and a little girl with big blue eyes that match her mother’s is looking right at me.

“Who are you?” the little girl, who I assume is Aubrey, asks.

“I’m Noah.” I smile and put my hand out. “I’m friends with your mom.”

Her tiny fingers wrap around mine, and she smiles. “I’m Aubrey Nicole McGee. I’m six, and I’ll be seven next because seven comes after, and then I’ll be eight. I can count to one hundred without stopping. I’m small, but Mommy says good things come in little packages. Do you know that I have a zoo?”

She’s also the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. She’s Kristin’s clone. “You do?”

“Yup. I have lions, elephants, giraffes, and lots of other animals in my room. Mommy said I can’t have a whole zoo, but I do. And then, I’ll get more and have two zoos.”

“Very cool.” I smile at her. Her voice is sugary sweet, and Aubrey has a faint lisp, which just makes her even more adorable. “I like the zoo.”

“Me, too.” She puts her hands behind her back and twists. “I wanted to get a snack, but Mommy and Daddy are talking to Finn. Do you think you could get me something?”

Umm. I’m not sure, but do I tell her she can’t eat? I can’t imagine that would go over well.

“Are you allowed to have a snack?” I try to get a little more information from her.

Aubrey shrugs. “If I promise to eat my dinner, I can.”

Sounds reasonable, and since it’s breakfast time, I don’t see a problem. “Do you promise?”

Her blue eyes grow bigger, and she nods quickly. “I promise. I would like some cookies.”

Is that normal? What are the rules with kids and cookies? She did promise to eat her dinner, so I doubt it matters, maybe. I look at her as she gives me the puppy-dog eyes.

Shit.

I decide to go with it and hope this is one of those get-out-of-jail-free moments if this is against the rules. “Are you allowed to have cookies this early?”

“Yes.” She smiles.

I would bet my ass I’m going to be in trouble, but she’s tilting her head and batting her eyelashes. There’s no way I can say no. I don’t think six-year-olds lie anyway. That comes later . . . I think. “Okay then.”

The way her entire face brightens makes me want to let her eat cookies all day. I find the package, get a cup of milk, and head to the table. I take the first cookie and dunk it, and she mimics me.

I try not to laugh when she double dips and sticks her entire hand into the milk. When Aubrey’s hand comes out, milk drips all over the table.

Yeah, I’m in trouble. This was definitely a bad idea.

“More?”

Might as well go big since I’m toast with Kristin.

“Yes, please.”

She continues to dip her hand into milk and eat cookies—a lot of cookies.

I look at the door, hoping Kristin is doing okay with Finn and they are working through it. The way her eyes filled with pain was impossible to ignore. She looked as if someone punched her in the gut. I’ve seen that look of sheer disappointment on my mother’s face many times.

Each birthday when she hoped he’d call. On Christmas when we spent another year without a word. Or their anniversary that went without notice. Years that he hurt her and never gave a shit.

Then there is Finn. You can’t fake that kind of hurt, and it brought it all back for me. I was a little younger than he is now the first time I lost it. I would scream at my mother, asking what was wrong with me.

No matter how powerful love is, anger is louder and can drown out all reason. It took my mother’s constant reassurance to finally believe that it was not my issues, but his.

Aubrey tugs on my sleeve and studies me. “Are you going to marry my mommy?”

If I was eating or drinking, I would’ve choked. “Why would you think that?”

She grabs another cookie. “Daddy is marrying Jillian.”

This is the absolute worst conversation I could be having. I’m definitely not the right person to talk to her. Hell, I’m feeding her cookies just to keep her happy and get her to like me.

I try to think of a safer topic. “You know that I’m friends with Eli?”

“You are?”

“He and I are good friends.”

“Do you know Aunt Heather?”

I nod.

“She’s the best.” Aubrey smiles. “Uncle Eli is on TV,” she tells me.

I smile. “I know. I was on the show with him.”

Her eyes go wide and her mouth falls open. “You were?”

“Yup.”

“Do you know Charlie?” she asks.

“Umm . . .” I know a lot of people named Charlie but no six-year-old would know those. “Charlie?”

She takes another cookie and nods. “From Good Luck Charlie. I love that show. Mommy says I can watch it if I behave. She’s the best person on TV! Do you know her?”

I have no freaking clue what show that is. I rack my brain but come up short. However, I really want her to like me. Where’s Kristin? She’d know what I should say.

“I’m sure I know someone who does,” I tell her.

She claps her hands together.

Aubrey opens her mouth to ask something else, but Kristin and Scott’s voices stop her. They’re hushed, but I hear the crack in her voice. The front door closes, and Aubrey hops down, wipes her hands on her shirt, and swipes her arm across her mouth.

There’s no hiding the cookies, she’s literally wearing them now.

A few seconds later, the door swings open.

Kristin’s eyes land on me, then the table, and then her chocolate-covered daughter.

Busted.

“Aubrey!” She puts her hands on her hips.

“Noah gave me cookies!”

“Hey!” I poke her in the side, and she giggles. “You promised.”

I was played. She realized I was a sucker and totally took me for a ride. She’s good, and I’m going to be in trouble with her mother. Kristin puts her hand to her head and mumbles under her breath about the death of her.

She tries to look angry but fails, clearly fighting a smile. “You know better than that.”

Aubrey’s eyes are soft, and that bottom lip pushes out. Man, she’s a damn pro. I’d give her anything she wanted with that pout. “Sorry, Mommy.”

Kristin doesn’t seem fazed at all. “No more snacks until after lunch, and the zoo needs to be cleaned.”

“Noah is on TV!” Aubrey tells her mother with a hint of satisfaction.

“I know. Remember that big article I told you about?” she asks as she wipes the cookie crumbs off her daughter’s arm and shirt. “He’s who I’m writing about,” Kristin whispers and points at me.

Aubrey walks over and throws her arms around my neck. “Thank you for the cookies. I like you.” She kisses my cheek, and I’m toast.

This little girl just stole my heart. Seems that this girl is more like her mother than I first thought.

Yup. I’d buy her anything she wants. A pony . . . done. I’ll get her an entire barn full. If she wants to meet this Charlie person, I’ll track them down and it’ll happen. And the zoo is happening, whatever her mother says, I’ll find a way around it.

She lets go and heads out.

“Is Finn okay?” I ask as Kristin leans against the counter.

“Not really. It was bad enough that his parents got divorced, but . . . this is too much. Marrying her? Pregnant. He just kept saying he hates us both.”

“He doesn’t hate you. He’s mad, and boys say stupid shit when they’re upset.”

If she knew the shit I said to my mother, she’d understand this is normal. I was a little bastard for a period of time. There wasn’t a rule I felt applied to me, but I learned.

“I don’t know. I can’t believe this. I mean . . .” Kristin’s head drops into her hands.

I step forward, pulling her against my chest. “It’ll be okay.”

She lifts her head and reveals the tears pooling on her lashes. “How? How is this okay? We haven’t been divorced more than a few weeks, and now he’s marrying his pregnant girlfriend? Then there’s the fact that he got her pregnant when I was still living in that fucking house with him.”

I’m doing my best to let her work through this in her head. Finding out something like this has to be difficult, and I’d be an asshole to push my own doubts on her. Knowing all that doesn’t stop my unease. She has a right to be pissed, but I’m still a guy.

“The situation isn’t okay, but your kids have you. My mom is the only reason I survived the shit with my dad. Trust me.”

She drops her head back onto my chest. I hold her because that’s all I can do. There’s nothing to make this better except be here.

“How are you not running for the hills?” she mumbles into my shirt. “I told you I’m a mess, and now you get to see it all.”

Kristin is the woman I want, and I’ll take everything that comes with her. “I told you before that I’m not going anywhere.”

A tear falls down her face. “You did.” She plays with the button on my shirt. “I just didn’t believe you because it was easier not to.”

“And now?”

“Mommy!” Aubrey yells, and we break apart, moving to opposite sides of the kitchen.

“What, honey?”

The door flies open, and Aubrey runs in, carrying her animals. “The zookeeper didn’t feed them!” Her lips are pursed, and she huffs.

Kristin bursts out laughing.

“It’s not funny,” Aubrey scolds.

“No, not funny. I’m sorry. We should get a new zookeeper.”

Aubrey looks at me and a smile forms. “You could do it, Noah. You could give them cookies and make sure they get two kisses each before bed.”

Oh, Lord. I look to Kristin, but she stands there, covering her mouth with her hand.

I squat so Aubrey and I are eye to eye. “I have to ask my agent if I can take the job, but if he says yes, I’m in.”

“Yay!” she yells and runs out.

I walk back to Kristin, who lets her laughter fly. “I needed that.”

“Hey, I’m her new favorite person,” I inform her.

“Yeah, you fed her cookies!”

But look what it got me . . . a new best friend who thinks I’m awesome. Sure, she knows she can totally bend me to her will, but that’s pretty much any woman.

“Whatever works. Now I’m the zookeeper since you were fired.”

Kristin shakes her head. “I’m sorry our day is ruined.”

“It’s not ruined. Why don’t we do something? Get the kids out of the house?” I suggest.

Kristin raises a brow. “You want to spend the day with me and the kids?”

“What did you think I was going to do?”

This is just one more reason I hate her ex. One minute, she’s brave, ready to take on the world, and then the next, she doubts everything.

“Honestly? I don’t know.”

“Do I lie to you?” I step closer.

“No.”

“Do I ever make you question what I want?”

She shakes her head slowly. “No.”

I take her hand in mine, remembering that some piece of shit spent years trying to break her. “Okay then, let’s take them somewhere. Do something they enjoy, any suggestions?”

Her smile grows slowly and now I’m scared. “I know the perfect place.”