She started to stand, intending to leave the table, but McNeil stretched out his leg, blocking her path.
Victoria froze. If she tried to walk past, she’d have to squeeze right by him, and with just the slightest move from McNeil, she’d likely end up tumbling into his arms—or worse, right onto his lap.
“Daddy, Mommy, aren’t you going to eat?” Gwyneth had picked up on the tension between her parents.
McNeil peeled a shrimp and placed it on his daughter’s plate, though his gaze never left Victoria. “Go ahead and eat, Gwyn. Daddy and Mommy need to talk.”
Victoria’s appetite disappeared in an instant.
“I made plans to have dinner with my mother tonight. You and Gwyn should come with me.”
McNeil didn’t ask about Paul again, and Victoria wasn’t about to bring it up herself. She just felt a cold emptiness settle inside her.
“I don’t know your mother that well. Why don’t you take Gwyn yourself?”
Dinner at Madonna’s house? In six years of marriage, she’d never been invited to her mother-in-law’s place. Now, with divorce looming, she wasn’t about to tempt fate.
“We’re going to the amusement park this afternoon. It was my mother’s idea to invite you—and Paul.”
Victoria was stunned. He’d invited Paul to Madonna’s?
The rest of the afternoon, Victoria couldn’t focus on anything. Her mind kept circling back to Paul—Paul and Madonna. Both were from the same town, so what were they to each other? The thought left her with a throbbing headache.
Meanwhile, McNeil seemed utterly at ease, leading his wife and daughter through the park. Victoria, though, was miles away in her thoughts.
Gwyneth was having the time of her life but every now and then, she’d tug McNeil down to whisper in his ear.
“Daddy, why aren’t you taking me and Violet out anymore? Why is it just you and Mommy?”
McNeil ruffled her hair. “Just because.”
He didn’t elaborate. When he fell silent, Gwyneth shrugged it off. Being with Mommy was fun, too—no nagging, a playmate for every game, and nobody to stop her from eating what she wanted.
Violet had been super busy lately, so busy that Gwyneth hadn’t seen her in ages.
At the amusement park, McNeil and Victoria did their best to keep up with their energetic daughter.
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