Krys had never felt such incredible happiness. She’d only been seeing Dex for three weeks, but her life was fuller, her heart soaring like it had when she’d first given birth to Amy. Everything about him was perfect, and though she could probably work herself into a frenzy thinking it was too perfect, she had no intention of doing so. One lesson she’d learned in her life was that time was short and precious, and you had to take things at face value to enjoy them while they lasted. Instead of dwelling on what-ifs, she’d turned to what-is, which had changed her entire attitude toward life.

She glanced at her watch as the train pulled up to her stop, and the weight of the bags in her hands made her smile. She’d taken a couple of hours to shop for Amy’s birthday, which was coming up this week. She’d planned a party for Saturday, and she’d done well with her gifts, which were already wrapped so there could be no peeking.

She walked at a fast clip toward Jordan’s place, only one concern on her mind – how she was going to break the news of her blooming affair with Dex to Jordan. The time had come to share it, considering that he and Kylie were coming to the birthday party and she’d invited Dex. If she didn’t explain things in advance, there would be a lot of drama and maybe even disaster that could ruin the entire day for their precious daughter.

She didn’t know why she felt guilty. Maybe she should never have bothered to hide this from Jordan in the first place, but she hadn’t seen the need to incur his wrath and concern until she knew there was merit and substance to what was growing between her and Dex. And honestly, it had taken him a little time to come clean about Kylie, as well. So, she would pull out the big guns and remind him that those who lived in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones, if she had to.

Ringing the doorbell, she took a deep breath, preparing herself. She could hear small footsteps pounding across the floor inside, and Amy greeted her with a giant smile. “What did you get me?”

Smiling, Krys rolled her eyes. “You’ll never get it out of me. You’ll find out on Saturday.” She stepped inside just as Jordan came out of the bedroom, wearing an old t-shirt and a pair of shorts that looked like they’d been to war. He’d always been comfortable in rags, no matter how much he could afford. It was one of his most endearing qualities. “Where’s Kylie?”

“She’s with Reesa, picking out flowers or something for the wedding.” He shrugged. “Power to them for not involving me.”

Krys had hoped Kylie would be around for moral support, but she could get through this alone. She just needed to distract Amy somehow. Looking down at her daughter, she asked, “Could you give us a few minutes? I need to talk to your dad about something.”

Amy’s shoulders slumped. “Can I at least borrow your phone to play a game?”

“Go in the bedroom and get the tablet. Close the door, too,” Jordan told her with a wink. She didn’t hesitate, bounding toward the other room. As the door slammed shut, Jordan tilted his head, considering her curiously. “Please tell me you don’t have some heavy horseshit to tell me right now.”

“Well, that depends on you.” His eyes clouded, and he glanced toward the couch. “Yeah, let’s sit down.” She needed all her strength to get through this, considering what she expected in return, and she couldn’t waste any of it on holding herself up. As he moved toward the seat, she set the bags on the coffee table and sat next to him.

“Okay, what’s the bad news?” he asked, only half joking.

“It’s not bad news,” she argued. And it wasn’t, even if Jordan had a problem with it. “It’s something I want to tell you face to face before you find out some other way.”

His troubled expression wasn’t lost on her. “You’re making me nervous, Krys. Just out with it already.”

She nodded. She supposed she should just rip the Band-Aid off. “I’ve started seeing someone. It’s going well, and he’s going to come to the birthday party.”

“That’s fantastic!” he breathed, relief and excitement clear in his body language. “Who’s the lucky man?”

Krys bit her lip and then charged forward. “It’s Dex.”

Jordan stared at her a moment, as if not comprehending what she’d said. Then, his eyes darkened, and his face clouded. “You can’t be serious.”

“I am serious, and he’s good for me. I’ve been happy these last few weeks, and you can’t tell me you haven’t been grateful for the extra time with Amy.”

“Don’t play that card with me. You’ve been dropping her off with us so you can go cavorting with Dex?” He shook his head in disdain. “I can’t believe you would be so selfish, and with someone who’s only going to hurt you if you let him get close.”

“You’re wrong about him, Jordan,” she said, her words clipped. The anger roiled inside her, getting worse by the second. “And how dare you talk to me about being selfish? I’ve been a single mother for almost nine years now, and I haven’t been out with anyone since Amy was born. Whether you approve of my company or not, you know it’s not fair to judge my actions as selfish or irresponsible. I’m anything but.”

He stood and started pacing. “You’re not thinking straight, Krys. You’re handing away the best thing that ever happened to you for a fling. Because that’s all Dexter Collier is good for. He’ll make a notch in his bedpost for you, and when he feels like it’s deep enough, he’ll toss you to the curb. And if you’re lucky, your relationship with your daughter won’t suffer in the meantime.”

Krys jumped to her feet. “How dare you suggest that I’m hurting Amy in any way?”

He scoffed. “It seems like you’ve put some asshole higher on your list of priorities, that’s all I’m saying.”

“Amy is always my first priority, and I don’t care if it pisses you off that I’m seeing Dex. You will not make presumptions or accuse me of neglect. And for the record, I don’t have to try to persuade you that he’s a good man. It’s enough that I know. Besides, did you expect me to be alone for the rest of my life, just because I wanted to have a family of my own before I met the right man?”

“Let’s be fair, Krys. You’re a horrible judge of character when it comes to men. Look at your past, the whole reason you wanted a donor.” His words cut deep, made her feel worthless. He’d never been so cold to her before, and tears stung her eyes. But she refused to cry and used the emotion to fuel her wrath.

“Piss off, Jordan. You have no right to decide my life or tell me who or what I am. You’re my brother by marriage and the father of my child in a test tube.” She saw how it hit him, and she instantly regretted her words, but she wasn’t going to back down. If he was going to play dirty, so would she.

He crossed his arms and shot daggers at her with his gaze. “Maybe I should pursue more of my rights from that angle, then. I don’t want Amy around Dex. I don’t trust him, and I don’t want her to get hurt when he bows out. I could exercise my right as a father, ask for dual custody. Hell, I could even get full custody from the courts, if I wanted to.”

“You wouldn’t dare!” Krys felt hollow, as if Jordan had just ripped her heart from her chest and taken her soul along with it.

“Get your shit together, and I won’t have to.” Jordan strode across the room to stand inches from her, glaring down and dropping his voice to a deadly low volume. “Dex is a user. He’s worse than I ever was about commitment. I can’t control you and what you choose, but I won’t sit by and watch my daughter get fucked over in the process.”

Defiantly, she jutted her chin out and narrowed her eyes. “You do whatever you think you have to do, Jordan. Take me to court and sue me for custody. No judge is going to see any merit to your case. They’ll see that I raised a daughter with a terminal illness by myself for most of her life, and that she’s incredibly healthy and well adjusted. They’ll see that I’m stable and that you travel and can’t be with her all the time.”

“I have Kylie, too.”

“And she didn’t sign up to take over my role as Amy’s mother.” She spoke through clenched teeth to keep her voice down. “Now, you can accept that I’m doing this, whether you like it or not, and you can be happy for me, or you can fight it the whole way. The choice is yours. But I will say this. If you miss your daughter’s party because you’re angry about this or you start some stupid male dominance shit while you’re there, you will face the consequences.”

Before he could respond, she called for Amy, darting around him to greet her as she came out of the bedroom. “Are we leaving now?” she asked. She glanced back and forth between Krys and Jordan, looking a little concerned, but not enough to have heard the conversation. She likely felt the tension, though, and Krys hated that she had to deal with it. Jordan needed to cool down and stop getting his panties twisted, or he would be the one to disturb the relationship with his daughter.

“Yes, love, we’re leaving. Give your dad a hug, and grab your things.” She gave Jordan a warning glance, not wanting him to show any aggression or anger while Amy was in the room, especially as he hugged her goodbye. Thankfully, he gave an imperceptible nod and smiled at Amy. The girl grabbed her backpack by the door and followed Krys to the elevator in silence.

She waited until they were closed inside and then cornered Krys. She should have known that would happen. “I know you and Dad are mad at each other. I don’t know why, but I hope he’s still coming to the party.”

"Oh, sweetheart, it doesn't matter if we're mad at each other. Your dad wouldn't miss something important to you, like your birthday." She could only hope it wasn't a lie. As long as she was trying to project a happy ending into the universe, she decided to go in for the kill. "Besides, your dad and I are too close to stay mad at each other for long. We'll fix it fast, you watch."

“Good.” That pacified Amy, and she started humming some tune to herself. It wasn’t one Krys recognized, and she assumed she’d been watching music videos with Jordan or Kylie. At least she was enjoying herself. If Jordan ever did gain custody, Amy would still be happy.

But the thought made her sick to her stomach, and she couldn’t let herself dwell on it. This would all blow over when Jordan saw she was going to dig her heels in and wouldn’t let him bully her into doing things his way. He had no ground to stand on here, and she would quickly remind him of that if he kept up this poor behavior.