Page 30 of Fake it With Me

“Really?”

“Really.” Liza nodded. “Do you know what baby whales do when they get separated from their mothers?”

Daisie shook her head.

“They cry. They make these sad sounds, calling and calling for their mothers. And you know what? That’s perfectly natural. It’s how they express what they’re feeling. It doesn’t mean they’re bad whales or weak whales. It means they love their mothers, and they miss them when they’re apart.”

“Like me,” Daisie whispered.

“Like you. And it’s okay to let those feelings out. Cry when you need to cry. That’s how we process emotions and make room for new happy feelings to come in later.”

I watched Liza work her magic. Daisie’s breathing slowed as Liza kept talking in that gentle voice about whales and feelings and how it was brave to feel your emotions instead of hiding them.

Something in my chest cracked open. This was what Daisie needed. Not someone telling her to cheer up or think positive thoughts, but someone who validated her pain, who made her feel like her sadness was normal and acceptable.

Daisie really did need a maternal figure in her life. I’d been trying so hard to be both parents, but there were things I just couldn’t give her. Perspectives I didn’t have. A gentleness I struggled to access when I was busy being angry at Sasha for putting us in this position.

I would have happily brought Sasha back into Daisie’s life. But she’d gone for the jugular, trying to get custody. She wasn’t willing to share. She wanted to win.

It didn’t help that I was still so angry with her for leaving in the first place.

How dare she come back now and demand custody? How dare she act like she had any right to parent a child she’d willingly left behind?

I watched Liza with Daisie and felt a different kind of panic rising.

Oh shit. I can’t let Liza bond with Daisie like this.

This was fake. Our relationship was a business arrangement. In a few weeks, Liza would leave. If Daisie had bonded with her for real, losing her would devastate my daughter all over again.

11

LIZA

After Daisie finally fell asleep, Darek caught my eye across the bed. His expression was serious, almost stormy.

I had a feeling I was in trouble for interfering. I couldn’t help myself. I had been on my way to my suite when I heard the poor girl crying. I shouldn’t have butted in. I knew it but I did it anyway.

I was only here to pretend to be his girlfriend. There was nothing in the contract about playing stepmommy.

“We need to talk,” he said quietly.

Those four words were never good in my experience. Those words always preceded bad news. Whether it was getting dumped, fired, or lectured about screwing up an assignment, it always ended badly for the person being summoned to talk.

“Okay,” I said, following him out of Daisie’s room and down the stairs.

We ended up in the kitchen.

“Drink?” he asked.

I had a feeling I was going to need a drink to deal with whatever it was he was about to tell me. “Sure. Please.”

He pulled out two glasses and a bottle of bourbon, pouring us each a healthy measure. I took the glass and sat at the kitchen island, steadying myself for the worst.

He didn’t sit. Instead, he leaned against the counter across from me. I could see him considering his words. Another bad sign that I was about to kiss my future goodbye. Well, the money that would fund my future.

He took a long drink before speaking.

“What you did up there,” he started. “With Daisie. The way you talked to her about her feelings, about the whales and emotions. It was exactly what she needed.”