It Starts with Us by Colleen Hoover

Her response makes my heart stutter. Did she just make us official? “Are
we? Together?” I smile and urge her closer to me, my pulse thrumming. “Are
me and you a thing, Lily Bloom?”
Her lips grin against mine. She’s nodding when she kisses me.
I think we both knew it was official long before last night, but if her
daughter weren’t asleep on my leg right now, I’d probably pick Lily up and
spin her around. I am that happy.
And that much more invested.
My quick burst of adrenaline begins to slow again, bringing me back to
my thoughts from before Lily declared us official.
Ryle. Custody. Immaturity.
Lily’s head is on my shoulder and her hand is on my chest, so she feels it
when I exhale all the air from my lungs. She lifts her head and looks at me
anxiously. “Just say it.”
“Say what?” I ask her.
“Your thoughts about my situation. Your eyebrows are all scrunched
together like you’re worrying about something.” She lifts her hand and uses
her thumb to smooth out my serious expression.
“Is it too late to tell the court he was a danger to you in the past? Maybe
that would help prevent him from getting overnights with her.”
“Once two people agree on a custody arrangement, you can’t use past
evidence to modify an arrangement. Unfortunately, I never reported him, so I
can’t use the abuse as a defense at this point.”
That is unfortunate. But I can understand her attempting to keep things
civil with him at the time. I’m just worried it might come back on her in a
negative way.
“He’s too busy to have her half the time, or even overnights, really. I
doubt he would ever try to get joint custody of her.”
I press my lips together and nod, hoping she’s right. I don’t know him like
she does, but from what I do know of him, he seems to hold grudges. And
people who hold grudges tend to need retaliation. Parents do this all the time.
They don’t like what another parent is doing, or who they’re seeing, so they
use their child as a weapon. And that worries me. I could absolutely see Ryle
making the decision to take her to court, simply to get back at her for being
with me. And he would likely get what he wants. He’s never hurt Emerson,
he’s never been reported for hurting Lily, he’s never been late on child
support. And he has a successful career. All these things are in his favor.