As they began the day by getting Zach some skates of his own, Spencer was slightly embarrassed about how proud he felt just seeing Zach wearing hockey skates. Sure, his ankles bowed, but hopefully that would disappear in time. Almost all beginners needed to work on their ankle strength.
Maggie rented a pair and they all hit the ice together.
“Hey, you’re not half bad,” he called out to Maggie, who was making her way hesitantly forward.
She laughed. “Just be patient. I’m one hundred percent certain I’ll be on my butt sometime within the next half hour.”
Zach was clinging to the rail again so Spencer coaxed him away from the boards and repeated the lesson from before. It didn’t take long for him to regain his confidence.
“I’m going to go around by myself now, Spencer,” Zach declared.
“That’s what I’m talking about. Good boy!” Spencer said.
“You’re going to watch me, right?” Zach asked.
“Every second.”
The boy went off. He was definitely the slow car on the highway. Everyone else passed him by, but he seemed determined.
“Not bad, huh?” he asked Maggie as he skated over to her.
“A chip off the old block,” she said. “He’s a nice little boy.”
Spencer grinned. “He is. I’ll admit I was a little worried. Taylor was a real little… Well, let’s just say, neither of us acted like grown-ups back then, so I wasn’t sure…”
She smiled at him. “You thought he might be a spoiled, mean little brat.”
Spencer looked relieved. “Yes. But he’s not.”
“No. I like him,” she said again. “Taylor’s done a good job so far.”
“Now I just have to make sure I don’t screw him up.”
“Spencer, you won’t screw him up. From what I’ve seen so far, you’re doing fine.”
But later, at the burger place where they had lunch, Spencer did screw up.
“Just order me that bacon cheeseburger and a diet soda,” Maggie said. “I’m going to the bathroom.”
And everything seemed fine until the food came.
“Oh boy,” Zach said, digging in.
“Is that all he’s having?” Maggie asked. “Fries and a milkshake?”
“That’s what he wanted,” Spencer said, with a pained smile.
Maggie raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything more.
She didn’t say anything when they bought chocolate bars and kettle corn at Ghirardelli Square or the fried clams on Fisherman’s Wharf. He was especially grateful she didn’t say anything when Zach barfed on the corner of Beach Street and Hyde.
“I’m the worst dad ever,” Spencer confessed to Maggie much later.
They’d just dropped Zach off at the hotel an hour earlier. Taylor excitedly reported that the interview had gone very well and she was grateful to them for watching him, even though he’d gotten sick on Spencer’s watch. Taylor hadn’t chided him either, but she hadn’t needed to. Spencer was already beating himself up.
“You are not,” Maggie said. “You’re just inexperienced. Most dads get to ease into the situation with an infant who has very few needs and who can’t ask for things they should probably not eat all in one afternoon.”
“I just didn’t want to disappoint him. I wanted him to have a good time with me. That’s all.”
They were sitting on the sofa in the family room and she hugged him to her chest. Still feeling guilty, he reveled in the comfort and the softness of her breasts.
“Of course you did. It’s only natural that you want him to like you, but trust me on this. He wants you to set the limits. Children crave stability and boundaries. That’s why he did what he did today. He wanted to see where your limits were and unfortunately, you didn’t really have any.”
He laughed halfheartedly.
“All you have to do is establish the limits and stick to them. It’s that simple and that hard at the same time. It’ll involve using the word ‘no’ pretty liberally.”
Spencer sighed. “But all he has to do is give me that pleading look and I’ll cave.”
“You can’t cave. You’ll have to drum up some of that famous NHL player determination and stick to your guns. He won’t hate you. Well, he might hate you momentarily, but in the long run, he’ll respect you.”
“You’re a wise woman, Maggie Hudson. I’ll do my best.”
When Taylor got the job, Spencer was beside himself.
“You know what that means, right?” Spencer asked Maggie. “They’re going to move out here and I’ll get to see Zach eight hundred percent more than I was going to if they lived in Minnesota.”
Maggie hugged him. “I’m happy for you, Spencer.”
And she was, but with reservations—reservations that had nothing to do with Spencer and everything to do with her own insecurities. Huge changes were on the horizon and she found herself selfishly wishing sometimes that he’d never run into Taylor at that Walgreens. That way he and Maggie could have gone on as just the two of them.
And that line of thinking made her feel small. Against all odds, Spencer was getting the chance to see his son grow up, something she of all people should understand. And yet envy would surface every once in a while like a song she didn’t like on a playlist.
“They want her to start right away,” Spencer said, “so I told her she and Zach could stay with me. I have the room and this way I’ll get to see Zach every day. And get this. We have a five-game two-week home stand too.”
“It’s just temporary, right?” Maggie asked.
“Of course. Of course,” he said. “I just… I’m excited at the opportunity to spend so much time with Zach. I have a lot of catching up to do, you know?”
Again, Maggie put on a happy face for Spencer’s sake, but privately, she complained to Jade. She couldn’t hold it in anymore.
“Maggie, you need to go lingerie shopping again.”
“Why?”
“Why? Because this woman is moving in on your territory. She has his son. That’s huge. But you’re the one sleeping with him. That’s your secret weapon, girl.”
“I’m not using sex as a weapon,” Maggie declared.
“You can bet she’ll be using that little boy to her advantage,” Jade said, arms crossed. “Just wait and see.”
“She doesn’t have designs on Spencer,” Maggie said, even though she wasn’t so sure of that.
“Doesn’t she?” Jade asked. “I would if I were her. Spencer is an amazing guy. She’d be an idiot not to want him back.”
“They have a bad history,” Maggie pointed out.
“But from what you’ve told me, they’re getting along fine now. I’m telling you to watch out for her.”
“Besides, it’s going to be weird with them in the house. What if they hear us?”
Jade scoffed. “Better they should hear you. Well, her, at least. This is war. You need to defend your claim on the man and his home.” Jade held up her hand. “I know you’re not living there, but you almost are and if she hears you having sex, she’ll know on a molecular level that he’s your man.”
“You’re being ridiculous,” Maggie said with a heavy eye roll. “I’m changing the subject.”
“Fine,” Jade said. “But you know I’m right.”
Maggie found it difficult to pay attention in her evening class on education technology leadership. Her mind kept wandering. Taylor and Zach were moving in today so she kept imagining them setting up their temporary digs, putting their toothbrushes in the bathroom, their clothes in the closet...and Jade had been right. This did feel like her territory was being overtaken. It wasn’t her house, though, which made her feel even more stupid for feeling displaced.
After class, she headed to Spencer’s and when she walked in, she could hear laughter. “No fair!” Zach yelled.
Spencer, Taylor and Zach were playing a board game on the dining room table. Kirby came and greeted her with enthusiasm and she crouched down to give him some loving. “Hello, my precious dog. Did you miss me?” she asked in a low voice.
The dog just licked her face and wagged his tail.
“Are you calling me a cheater?” Spencer asked with exaggerated outrage.
“Yes!” Zach said.
“You’re going to regret that!” Spencer stood up abruptly and Zach, shrieking at what seemed to be the top of his lungs, started running toward the living room. Roaring, Spencer took off after him.
Taylor smiled at Maggie. “They do that every time Spencer rolls a high number. Are you hungry? We put some food aside for you. It’s on a plate in the fridge. Roast chicken, steamed veggies and some herbed couscous.”
“Sounds great,” Maggie said, setting down her purse. “Thanks.”
Having finished a lap around the living room, Spencer and Zach entered from the opposite side of the kitchen. Spencer had tossed Zach over his shoulder and the boy was laughing hysterically.
“Hey there, beautiful,” Spencer said, pausing to give her a kiss. “I didn’t see you come in. How was class?”
Maggie smiled at him. He looked gorgeous, as usual. Jeans and a T-shirt that stretched around his upper arms and chest.
“Same old, same old,” she said as she pulled out the plate of food. It actually looked pretty good. She popped it in to the microwave.
“Zach, it’s your turn,” Taylor said.
“Maggie, you take my place,” Spencer suggested.
“No, I’m going to eat dinner. You go finish your game,” Maggie said.
She sat at the breakfast counter and ate while they played and laughed. By the time she’d finished eating, the game was over. Spencer had won and was shamefully lording it over the other two.
“I didn’t know you liked board games,” Maggie said to him.
“It’s not my go-to activity, but Zach wanted to play.”
“Did you like the chicken?” Taylor asked Maggie. “It’s a recipe I saw on TV.”
“It was delicious,” Maggie admitted.
“I ate four pieces,” Spencer declared. “Best chicken I’ve had in a long time.”
Maggie turned to the sink, ostensibly to fill her water glass, but more because she didn’t want Spencer to see her reaction to his statement. Her eyes actually stung. Maggie made chicken for him all the time and he always seemed to like it, but he never raved about it like he had just now.
As she pulled herself together, Taylor announced it was bedtime.
“I want Spencer to read me a story,” Zach said.
“I don’t know how to read,” Spencer said.
“You do too!” Zach said.
“What’s the magic word?” Taylor and Spencer said at the same time.
They looked at each other and smiled.
“Please!”
“All right,” Spencer said.
As they headed upstairs, Maggie dithered about whether to follow, then decided not to. From the moment she’d come in, she’d felt like she’d be intruding.
Lulu chose that moment to whimper and Maggie went over to her.
“Hey, sweetheart, are you all right?”
Kirby came over and licked Lulu’s face and Lulu wagged her tail feebly. Concerned, Maggie put her hand on Lulu’s head, as if feeling for a fever on a child. It was pointless, but she did it anyway.
Maggie glanced at Lulu’s food bowl and it was empty, but…
“Kirby, did you eat Lulu’s food?”
Kirby just looked at her with his tongue lolling out.
When story time was over, she’d have to ask Spencer if he’d watched Lulu eat or not.
But half an hour later, Taylor and Spencer still had not emerged. How long did it take to read a bedtime story? She put her dishes in the dishwasher and heard another burst of laughter cascade down the stairwell.
That did it. She’d had enough.
She pulled out a pad of paper, intending to scribble a note to Spencer that she’d gone home. At her own apartment, yes, she’d be by herself, but she wouldn’t feel nearly as lonely as she did here. But she stopped mid-note and ended up going into the guest bathroom and calling Jade instead.
“What’s wrong?”
“Who said something’s wrong?” Maggie asked.
“You’re at Spencer’s. Today was moving day. Something must be wrong because you wouldn’t be calling me otherwise.”
Maggie quickly outlined what was going on. “I feel like a third wheel.”
“You are,” Jade said with her typical forthrightness. “But you have to change that, because she’s the third wheel. You and Spencer are a couple. She’s just the woman who gave birth to his child. That man is in love with you. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. Everything he does for you and with you proves it. Trust him and trust his feelings for you. And give him a stellar blow job tonight.”