Maybe, Probably

The sun was warm on my face as I stood on the balcony of my penthouse suite. My tea was still hot, and the noise of the city was slowly reaching me with each passing minute. It was rare that I had a few moments to spare, but they were well needed after a stressful week at work.

My 5-year-old daughter was still snoozing, and I was counting down the minutes until she stomped her way through the house, looking for me.

I smiled. Nova was my world. Everything I did was for her. Of course, I had to thank my parents for giving me a good life and a foot in the door. But I worked my ass off to get where I am today.

I wasn't given special treatment. I started at the bottom on an intern's wages and worked my way up. I appreciated everyone's hard work. I had a position in every part of the company, which included cleaning toilets and boardrooms. My parents never went easy on me. They wanted me to see how their company ran and to make me earn the position of CEO.

It was hard. Some days, I wanted to give up, but I couldn't. I wanted to have a good life, so when my daughter arrived, I worked even harder to make my parents proud. They were hands-on when it came to Nova, which meant I could go to work to earn money for Nova's future.

I stayed away from relationships. After having my heart ripped out and stomped on, I locked it away forever. I didn't go on dates, and I changed the subject when my mother asked if I was ready to date.

It wasn't important to me. I was happy without a man by my side.

Of course, I thought about Nova's father, but then anger bubbled inside me when I remembered the message he sent me after I told him I was pregnant.

"Mummy!" I heard Nova yell.

I looked over my shoulder to see my wild daughter stomping her way through the house like a dinosaur, and she roared when she saw me.

"Mummy, I had the craziest dream!" She stomped over to her little chair and grinned, "I was a dinosaur! I went stomping around, and I ate people."

"Which dinosaur were you this time?" I asked, sipping my tea. Nova had a strange obsession with dinosaurs. I'm not sure where it came from, but for a 5-year-old, she could pronounce their name better than I could as a 29-year-old woman.

"The T. rex," She said. "Oh! Are we going out today? Please, can we go out?"

I smiled. "I promised you we could go to the funfair. Nanny and Grandad need a break from you. They told me something interesting before they left last night,"

"Yeah?"

"Yup. They said you ate dinner like a dinosaur and had to scrub you in the bath. You had spaghetti in your hair and ears."

Nova giggled, "That's how dinosaurs eat, Mummy."

"I'm sure they do," I said, "But next time, maybe keep the dinosaur away from the table. You know how Nanny gets when it comes to bad table manners. She still tells me off for putting elbows on the table."

Nova pouted. "I'll be better next time."

"Should we go out for breakfast?" I asked. "There is a new breakfast cafe that I want to try. Melody said they had a pancake stack the size of a house!"

Nova's eyes lit up. "Yes, please!"

The word 'pancake' was a weakness of Nova's. If she saw a pancake or heard it, she'd go crazy. Thankfully, she was still learning to read, or I'd be in trouble every time we went past a place that had pancakes on the menu.

"Alright, get dressed, and we can head out for breakfast."

Nova roared and ran off like a T. rex.

God, I loved that little girl.

A few hours later, Nova was dragging me, ride to ride, at the funfair. She squealed in delight as the small rollercoaster went down and came to a stop.

Seeing Nova smile made my life full. Even after a stressful day at work, coming home to see this girl made it all disappear. I used to wish her father gave a crap about her, but we didn't need him. She knew her father wasn't in the picture, and she didn't ask about him.

"Can we get some popcorn, please?"

I nodded, and she pulled me to the popcorn stand, ordering the biggest bag she could. I sighed and paid the man before sitting down at a free table. Nova had a sweet tooth, and I didn't. I preferred salty food, so I could get away with having crisps at home because she would avoid them. If I fancied a chocolate bar, Nova would suddenly appear and beg me to share it.

My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I answered the call. "Melody,"

"Eleanor," She said, "How's it going?"

"Nova loves it and is now tucking into the biggest bag of popcorn ever," I laughed. "She reminds me of you when we were younger."

"But now I put on weight no matter how much I eat," She laughed. "Ellie, I know it's your day off, but...shit, I had an email come through, and I thought I'd let you know,"

"Who is it from?"

"Who do you think?"

"Block the email, Mel. If he sends another one, threaten him with the law," I muttered. "I don't understand why he suddenly wants back in my life."

"I know why. It's because you are successful, living the best life possible, and he fucked up by screwing Geri behind your back. The girl has no life goals and lives off her parents' money. I heard they cut her off when they found out what she did to you, and she's working 2 jobs to pay her rent," Mel scoffed. "Duncan was never good enough for you. He's lucky you only broke his nose."

"Hm,"

"Anyway, he doesn't get to beg for you back after 5 years and ask for forgiveness. The guy is a leech, just like his mother."

Margo was the bane of my life when I dated Duncan. I was never good enough, never earned enough money, and she dragged me down at every dinner they had together. Duncan's stepfather was one of the nicest men alive, apart from my father, who spoke to me properly. He always complimented me and asked about my parents and how business was going.

When he found out his stepson had screwed me over, he yelled at Duncan. Barrett never yelled, but I was happy I had him back me up. Margo blamed me for not being able to give her baby boy enough.

"I've heard that Barrett is cutting funds for Duncan's failed business and forcing him to work with his son," Mel said.

"Really? I didn't ever meet his stepbrother," I said, leaning over to wipe popcorn from Nova's eyebrows. "They hated each other, from what I heard."

"Damn right, they do. Barrett's son worked hard for his money and position. Duncan leeched off his dad's inheritance and his stepdad's money. I guess Barrett had had enough and wanted him to work for his money."

"I never understood how he married Margo. That woman is a pimple on the world's ass," I rolled my eyes. "Duncan gave me a way out when he got with Geri."

"They didn't stay together. Duncan realised he messed up,"

"It was 5 years ago. Nova, don't put that much food in your mouth," I said.

"God. I hate Duncan and Geri so much."

"Again, it was 5 years ago. I had a lucky escape," I said, "But...it is strange he keeps emailing. He must want something after so long."

"I've not read the email, but it was sent with high importance. I can skim through it if you want."

"Leave it until Monday. Enjoy your weekend and don't bother about work," I said, "Thanks for the heads up and we can gossip and bitch on Monday."

"The perfect start to the day, Ellie."

We said our goodbyes, and Nova wiped her face.

"Let's buy ice cream!"

I sighed. "We can get ice cream before we leave. You've just eaten the big bag of popcorn."

"But I need something cold after something hot."

"Then have a cold drink," I said, as we left the table. "Don't forget to put that in the bin, Nova."

Nova scrunched up the bag and ran to the bin. She bumped into someone and dropped onto her ass.

I jogged over, apologising and lifted Nova. "I am so sorry. She doesn't watch where she is going most of the time."

"It's okay."

Oh.

I looked up at the man, and his eyes widened in recognition. I knew that deep voice well. He was whispering dirty things in my ear the night I broke Duncan's nose.

"Maverick?" I whispered.

He nodded. "Ellie?"

"Shit, I, I have to go,"

"Wait!" He grabbed my wrist, "Is...is this your daughter?"

I snatched my arm away. "It is."

"She looks just like you," He said softly. "Ellie?"

"What?"

"Is..." He cleared his throat. "Is she mine?"

I hesitated and laughed. "Don't be silly. I have to go now. Nova, say sorry."

"Sorry for bumping into you." Nova smiled and held her hand out to shake his.

Maverick swallowed hard and took Nova's hand in his. "Don't worry about it. I sometimes get in people's way."

"Nova, let's go," I said quietly, my heart racing painfully in my chest.

"Ellie, can-"

"No," I cleared my throat, "No, you can't. We have to go."

Before he could say anything else, I pulled Nova behind me and out of the funfair. I ignored her complaints about us leaving, but promised she could watch her favourite dinosaur film when we got home. She soon stopped complaining.

I wasn't sure I was breathing until my lungs started to burn.

I sat behind the wheel of my car, trying not to hyperventilate. What damn luck.

I sent a quick SOS message to Melody, and she messaged back quickly, saying she'd bring wine and snacks to my house.

When I got home, I set Nova in front of the TV with healthy snacks and stood on the balcony, still breathing heavily. I heard the front door open, and my best friend came in roaring like a dinosaur, which set Nova off.

But I was too far gone to care.

"Okay. What is going on?" Mel asked, spinning me around to face her. "It looks like you've seen a ghost, and you are panting instead of breathing. Did you run a marathon or something?"

"Shit," I said, closing the door over, "I wish I had run a marathon, Mel,"

"What happened?"

"I panicked!" I exclaimed and grabbed my head. "I panicked, and I ran away like a coward!"

"If you had bumped into Duncan, you could report him for stalking."

"It wasn't Duncan," I said. "It...Mel, what do I do?"

"You aren't making any sense. Take a deep breath before you go off in the deep end," Mel said, grabbing my hands. "Look at me and take a deep breath."

I took a shaky breath and nodded. "I...I bumped into...shit, I bumped into Maverick,"

Mel's eyes widened, "Shut the fuck up,"

"Yeah,"

"Maverick as in the sexiest man you've ever met and the one that fucked you until you couldn't feel your legs, Maverick?"

I nodded.

"And the Maverick who got you pregnant and told you that he didn't-"

"Yes! That Maverick!"

"Well damn," She said, looking at the bottle of wine on the table, and she shook her head, "I should have bought Tequila."

A/N: Hey guys! This has been in my drafts for so long. It won't be updated regularly as I have other things to do (my family comes first), but when I get time, I will try to update it alongside my other stories.

This will have some drama, a little bit of spice, a golden retriever MMC, a best friend with no filter, a love for tequila and a cute and sassy 5-year-old.

The 5-year-old is loosely based on my 5-year-old son and a mixture of the kids I used to look after when I worked at a school.

Anyway, I hope you like it.

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