"You didn’t come home on time last night."

  "Good morning to you too." Eddie got up earlier and is playing with Theo. The little one’s used to waking up early and going to bed early, which makes things easier for them. The night before, Eddie got home late and found them asleep. He slipped into bed quietly beside them. Theo slept between him and Maisie all night. When Eddie woke up, he saw Theo awake and took him along. It sounds a bit wrong, but if Maisie’s mad at him, she’s unlikely to yell in front of the kid.

  Theo chases little metal toy cars around the room while Eddie, sitting on the floor, races them, pushing them forward with all his might. Sometimes playing with kids feels a lot like playing with a dog. Naturally, he doesn’t say that to anyone, because Maisie, at the very least, would get mad.

  "Where were you? Did you have late reservations?"

  "No. Everything went fine at the restaurant. I even left earlier."

  He has no intention of hiding anything. Maybe if Maisie doesn’t ask, he’ll pretend he forgot about the meeting with Rex, but since she’s asking, he’ll come clean. He hates keeping things from her. But first, he’ll tease her a bit.

  "The restaurant closes at ten. If everything went normally…"

  "Cork let me go ten minutes early."

  Eddie pushes the cars again, watching Theo’s little legs scamper after them to catch up. He doesn’t look up at Maisie because he can already feel her fuming. He wonders how much further he can push before she sits next to him and starts pinching him until he talks.

  "You got home at midnight, Eddie. Midnight. Where were you?" She’s never made a fuss if he’s late. But it’s not surprising she’s doing it now. Eddie knows exactly what Maisie’s thinking. She thinks he met with Rex. It’d be more fun if she suspected he was cheating, but she knows he’d never do that. She’s grilling him for something else.

  Little Theo comes back with the cars and hands them to him, making a strange baby sound. Eddie lines them up again, as if Maisie isn’t in the room, and pushes them forward.

  "What did Rex say to you?" Maisie’s getting more direct.

  "Rex picked me up from the restaurant and took me to his place."

  "Honestly, Eddie, I’d rather you said you were with some whore."

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  He knows Maisie so well he can tell exactly what’s on her mind.

  "Well, sadly, it wasn’t a whore."

  Maisie beats Theo to the cars, grabs them, and hurls them at Eddie. Eddie shields himself with his arm and bursts out laughing. Theo startles but doesn’t know how to react. They both notice him and glance over. The little one grimaces like he’s about to cry, then sees them laughing and smiles. But only briefly. In the end, he starts crying. For now, it saves him.

  Maisie picks Theo up, and now they’re both staring at Eddie like he’s the bad guy in the room.

  Eddie smiles. It warms his heart—not because Theo’s crying, but because he’s looking at his two favorite people. He waits for Maisie to sit on the couch with Theo, and once the little one calms down with his cars, Eddie starts talking on his own:

  "Rex picked me up from work. He wanted to talk. That’s it."

  "Didn’t you turn him down?"

  "I did, Maisie. But he wanted to show me his house." That’s not a lie.

  "And how’s his house?"

  "Huge and empty."

  "Anything else?" Maisie isn’t really interested in the house. "I’m not pulling words out of you one by one. Talk, Eddie."

  "Rex upped the offer to fifteen thousand."

  Maisie doesn’t respond right away. It’s a big sum, and it’s normal even for her to hesitate. But Eddie knows her well. He knows her stubbornness too.

  "Don’t you ever wonder why, Eddie?" She’s calmer now. "Why you? Why so much money? Why not… Stanley, for example?"

  "Rex said I’d do the job best."

  "Are you sure this is about a boxing match? You’re starting to sound like you’re about to pull off some drug deal and only you can handle it."

  "When it comes to Rex, I trust him completely. He’s proven himself, not just in Brantley."

  "Listening to you, it sounds like you’ve already decided. And my opinion doesn’t matter."

  Eddie gets up and goes to her. Theo’s back on the floor, playing with the cars by himself. He’s long forgotten he had to cry.

  "I could quit work for two months, Maisie. Two months for fifteen thousand dollars. Then, if everything’s fine, I go back to Cork. Cork’s understanding. And he’s friends with Rex. I don’t see what could go wrong."

  Eddie sees tears in her eyes. He knows they’re not from anything else but stubbornness. She’s used to him listening to her about everything, and it’s never bothered Eddie to do what she wants. He loves spoiling her. But sometimes he needs to think about himself too. Which hasn’t happened in a long time.

  Eddie slides a hand around her slim waist and pulls her close. They both watch Theo, who doesn’t have a single one of their problems. He picks up the cars, inspects them, then tries to push them like his dad does but fails and tosses them forward instead.

  "I haven’t changed my mind, Eddie. If you take this fight, Theo and I are leaving."