Chapter 3
Maeve's POV
Shit! I quickly slapped my hand over Wren's mouth and pulled her closer.
Too late. Seraphina had already spotted us and was waving. "Garrick, isn't that your colleague over there!"
I held Wren tight and whispered in her ear, "Remember what Mommy told you? We can't call him that in public."
Wren's little body went stiff. She mumbled guiltily, "Sorry... I forgot."
Garrick looked over, froze for a second, then walked toward us with Seraphina, his eyes darting everywhere but at us.
"Maeve? What a coincidence running into you here." Seraphina beamed. "Out for some weekend fun?"
I kept my voice steady. "Yeah, brought my daughter to play."
Seraphina crouched down curiously, studying Wren hiding behind me. "Wow, what a cute little one!" Her eyes suddenly lit up. "Garrick, look at this kid! Those eyes, that little nose—doesn't she look just like you?"
My stomach dropped.
Garrick froze, his eyes darting anywhere but at her. "Kids... kids all kinda look alike at that age..."
"She really does!" Seraphina looked puzzled, then turned to me. "By the way Maeve, where's the kid's dad? Such a sweet little angel—isn't her father here with you?"
"We split up." The words came out flat.
Garrick's jaw twitched hard.
Seraphina gasped. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry I brought that up! Men these days are SO unreliable. It must be tough raising her alone. I should set you up with some decent guys! Our entertainment company has tons of quality single men who know how to treat a woman right..."
As she rattled on with helpful suggestions, Garrick's face got darker and darker, his hands clenching into fists.
"Since we ran into each other, why don't we explore the park together!" Seraphina linked arms with Garrick. "More people, more fun!"
Garrick clearly didn't want to, but faced with Seraphina's insistence, he couldn't refuse.
He looked at me reluctantly. "How about... we go together? We got fast passes, so we can skip the lines."
I was about to say no when Wren spoke up politely. "Okay, Mr. Vance."
Garrick looked like I'd gut-punched him.
"You... why are you calling me that?" His voice shook.
Wren blinked up at him, confused. "What should I call you? Mommy says you're her boss, so I gotta be nice. Don't you like me calling you Mr. Vance?"
Garrick's face went chalk white.
We were stuck in this weird foursome from hell.
While waiting in line for the roller coaster, Seraphina dragged Wren off to buy cotton candy, leaving me and Garrick standing side by side. The crowd was loud as hell, but we might as well have been in a freezer.
"Maeve, we need to talk." The second Seraphina left, Garrick grabbed my wrist. "What did you mean telling Seraphina we split up? And teaching Wren to call me Mr. Vance?"
I yanked my hand free. "So what's the issue, Your Honor? Didn't we agree to act like strangers in public? We're doing exactly what YOU asked for. What's your problem?"
"You—"
"Besides," I smiled coldly, "isn't this what you always wanted? Us gone? Well congrats, asshole. You got what you wanted."
"What's that supposed to mean? Maeve, what the hell are you trying to say?"
Before he could figure it out, chaos erupted from the rest area.
My heart stopped. I bolted toward the noise.
"Wren! WREN!"
I shoved through the crowd and saw Wren collapsed on a bench, doubled over.
