“When I grow up, I want to be a unicorn,” Lennon chirps happily in Jake’s arms, her chubby little hand touching his cheek.

It makes my heart squeeze, and then take off in double time. In just a matter of months, the two of them have bonded so spectacularly. And while I knew that we were taking things slow, and I didn’t want to have the “where are we going with this” discussion, Jake was insane if he thought he didn’t know how to handle kids.

“Well, you’ll need to work on growing your horn a little, but I think it’s a great dream.” He taps her forehead and she giggles.

Case in point, he was a natural.

“What if mommy wants you to be a doctor, or a lawyer? We got bills to pay here, squirt.” I ruffled her hair and moved over into Jake’s side.

His warmth as he wrapped his free arm around my shoulder was addicting. Looking up, I caught one beautiful green eye, and he winked.

The elevator doors slid open, and we walked out into the lobby of my building as a unit.

“That’s boring, Mommy! Maybe I be a farmer! I’ll have chickens, cows, pumpkins, peacocks …” My daughter trailed off, looking faraway and I knew she was imagining her future farm.

Jake leaned over to me. “I don’t know what kind of farm has peacocks, but I’m not going to dash the kid’s dreams.”

We both quietly laughed. We were halfway across the lobby when a scruffy voice caught my ear.

"Surprise!"

I turn, not expecting to see Derek, all six foot two tattooed feet of him, leaning against the check-in desk.

It had been months since I'd seen him, months since he'd seen his daughter, who was now resting comfortably in another man's arms.

I guess I was surprised when Lennon squirmed from Jake's arms and ran across the tile screaming, "Daddy!"

He scooped her up, giving her kisses all over her cheeks. Derek had never been cold with our daughter, but he was more fun uncle than father figure.

I saw his eyes meet Jake over the top of Lennon's head, his lips turning down in ... what? Disapproval? Annoyance? Jealousy?

“Hey, Sammy. Good to see you.” He walked over, our daughter still in his hands.

Inside, I’m weirdly relieved that I feel … nothing towards him. Part of me felt like putting an entire country between us would help lessen the feelings I thought I still had for him. But with Jake standing next to me, I realized that the love I’d felt for Derek had been different. It was first time kind of love; special in its own way, but after it burned out, I didn’t feel any of the embers still sparking.

And it made all of the emotions that had been up in the air about Jake, firmly plant in my chest. Suddenly, I was sure that I was in love with him, in the mature, adult kind of way that didn’t need to involve flowers, hearts and candy, but was just a fact.

“Hi, Derek … I didn’t realize you were coming into town. Jake, this is Lennon’s father, Derek. Derek, this is Jake, my boyfriend.” I didn’t hesitate to say it, and didn’t flinch when Derek’s nostrils flared.

I tried to keep my composure, to not burst out right there in a fit of tiger mommy and scorned ex. He was the one who hadn’t wanted us, who hadn’t bothered to fight for neither me nor his daughter. And now he showed up here, months later after he’d cancelled every single visit he was supposed to have with Lennon, and put on this facade of a loving father and jealous former flame? Bitch, I didn’t think so, hold my earrings.

My inner-badass was really raring for a fight, apparently.

Jake stuck out his hand. “Hey, man, nice to meet you. I’ve heard some great things from this one about her dad.”

Lennon smiled and stuck her fingers in Derek’s ear. “Daddy, take me to the park!”

Her innocence had me smiling, because thank God, she wasn’t traumatized from his absence.

“What do you say, Sammy, can I take her for the day? Or better yet, want to join us?” Something suspicious marked his tone.

I looked at Jake, silently trying to convey my apology for our day being ruined. Pumpkins and hayrides would have to wait. “Do you mind? We can all go along to the park?”

Jake kept his arm around me, his easy, comforting nature not being thrown off by this surprise arrival. “Not at all, Lennon has been wanting to feed the ducks anyway. She’s only been talking about it all week.”

He winked at Lennon, who giggled and screamed, “Ducks!”

“Then off we go, I guess. One big happy family.” Derek’s tone did not match his smirk, and in the pit of my stomach, a nauseous foreboding sense took flight.

* * *

Dark curls streamed through the crisp autumn air as my little girl shrieked and ran, throwing bread crumbs behind her to the ducks that now followed her path.

“I missed her a lot.” Derek doesn’t take his dark blue eyes off of her, his hand fisted in his beard.

He looks leaner than he did when I last saw him the night before we left Seattle, and there is something more grounded about him. It both scares me and makes me proud, because I had only spent a good decade of my life trying to get him to see his worth and potential. I guess that had been my downfall though, trying to change the man. Every story of dating gone wrong, movies, books or even TV shows, had taught women that you couldn’t change a man who didn’t want to change himself. So I guess I had made the right move in leaving, since clearly it wasn’t me he had wanted to be different for.

“She misses you too … but, Derek, what are you doing here?” I tried to make my tone as non-aggressive as possible.

His scowl tells me I don’t quite pull it off. “Am I not allowed to see my daughter, Sammy?”

I hated that nickname now. “Of course you are, but … we had so many trips planned for you to see her and you called them all off. I guess … I just don’t know why now, unplanned. I don’t … you know I never have a problem with you seeing her, I want you to be in her life. I just feel like this is out of left field.”

“Why, because you’re hiding your boyfriend on the other side of the country, playing house with him and our daughter?” His words are acid.

I face him, trying to find anything familiar in his face from the man I know. “Come on, Derek, you know it’s not like that. You were completely fine with me moving her here, we broke up and there were no hard feelings. I don’t have to tell you who I’m dating, and you don’t have to do me that courtesy either. Not that I’m hiding it, I’ll answer any questions you have about Jake.”

Jake runs to Lennon, scooping her up and flying her around like an airplane. I watch Derek watch them, his eyes becoming more fiery by the second. I’d forgotten that about him, his short temper. It wasn’t often that I saw it, but when I did, I knew to steer clear.

“You don’t have to do me the courtesy? Actually, since he seems to be spending nights at your place with our daughter in the next bedroom, I believe you do owe me that. Or at least, we could see what the court says about it.”

The malice in his tone makes my heart drop, and even though we’re sitting in a calm, serene park, I know Derek has the match to make my world go up in flames.

“We agreed that we wouldn’t take this to court …” I try not to let my voice crack.

We hadn’t been married, weren’t even engaged at any point. We were just two people who had a child together, and we’d agreed when I moved back to the East Coast that we would work any custody arrangements out between us. The word court struck fear in my body, made me want to go grab my daughter and run as far away as possible.

“Maybe we need to revisit that agreement then.” His hands were fisted, the tattoos on them staring angrily at me.

My mouth goes dry as sweat simultaneously coats my back. Even in the cool fall air, I feel like I’m going to combust. Everything I’ve built here, all the time I’ve spent getting Lennon to re-adjust, the time I spent healing my own heart.

“Don’t do this, Derek. Don’t do this to her.” My tone is pleading.

He stands and walks to where she’s playing, not giving me a backward glance. Desperation and survival course through my veins as I watch the man of my past, and the one in my future, play with my daughter.

I try to breathe, and keep the tears inside as she runs to me, bringing me one of the last summer flowers she could find in the grass.