all I want is to go home and have a night with my two favorite girls. Topher, my fiancé, has a flight booked for right after I get home. Some business thing he needs to go to. But that's what I get for dating one of Hollywood's favorite actors.
Fame and fortune has never really been my thing, but while I was working in New York, Topher and I met at a party for work. If I'm honest, I didn't even know who he was until my best friend, Maddie, told me the next day.
We tried the long distance thing for a few months, but it was hard, especially with the relationship being so fresh. It all came to a head when we both agreed we didn't want to do it anymore. However, instead of breaking up, he asked me to move with him to California instead.
It wasn't an easy decision, to leave my family behind and uproot my daughter, but Maddie agreed to come with me, and that made it a little better. I had to find a new job, but with Topher's connections, getting a job out here was effortless. That was a little over a year ago, and while I'm still getting used to the West Coast, everything is great.
As soon as it's time to leave, I pack my things and head for the door. My Lexus sits in the parking lot and reminds me of how Topher spoils me. I keep telling him not to, that I'm in no way with him for the money, but he says that no woman of his is going to have anything but the best. Maddie said it's creepy, but I think it's understandable. He has a certain image to uphold, after all.
THE OUTSIDE OF THE elementary school is filled with judgmental mothers who love to give me dirty looks. Maddie says they're just jealous, though that doesn't make it any less uncomfortable. I considered enrolling my daughter in the private school Topher recommended, but I've always envisioned her having a normal childhood, like I had. Not one filled with the children of celebrities and all the expensive things in the world.
“Mommy!” a little voice calls out, and a grin spreads across my face.
“Hi, baby!”
Brenna runs across the grass and jumps into my arms, looking like she just had the best day. “Can we have ice cream for dinner?”
I chuckle and tickle her side. “What kind of dinner is that?”
She shrugs. “Aunt Maddie lets me.”
“Oh, does she now?” I smile at the way she just got ratted out. “Well, I'm going to need to have a talk with Aunt Maddie.”
“Did I say Aunt Maddie? I meant that old lady babysitter you got that one time. Gladys, that's it.”
I open her door and buckle her into the car seat. “Mm-hm.”
The whole way home, Brenna rambles about what she did in school today, and it makes me smile. I love how much she's been enjoying it. I was afraid she wouldn't adjust well, not having the same friends she went to daycare with since she was a toddler, but she's blossomed here. All her teachers say she's a joy to have in class, and she has more friends than I can name. She's a little social butterfly.
I pull into the driveway and turn off the car. The suitcase sitting on the porch tells me I made it home in time to see Topher before he leaves. I get Brenna out, and the two of us go inside.
“Babe?” I call out. “You home?”
My fiancé comes around the corner, holding his phone to his ear and his finger to his mouth. Great. I can already tell he's in a bad mood. So much for spending some time together before he jets off for a couple days.
“Why don't you go get changed, and I'll start dinner,” I tell Brenna, and she scampers off for her room.
Honestly, it's just an excuse to get her upstairs until he finishes his phone call. The last time she was loud while he was on the phone with someone important, he got really mad. From that point on, I've made it a point to keep her away from him when he's working.
I go into the kitchen and pull out the ingredients for pancakes. Breakfast for dinner happens to be Maddie's favorite, which means it's Brenna's favorite, too. Anything to be like her favorite person.
She comes down a few minutes later and wraps her arms around my waist. “Can I help you