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We even got through another impromptu visit from Mrs. Bible Friday night, and that one went better than the first, though she’s still clearly not impressed with us at all. No burnt cookies or fire alarms or sexy Layla coming home with her tits half hanging out. Mrs. Bible took a tour of the second floor, including Katy’s and Callan’s room, so it was a very good thing it was obvious Callan and I are both sleeping in there.
We played the role of a family, but for the first time, it didn’t feel like a role. It didn’t feel fake. And now Amelia and Stella are piling on top of that.
“What do you want me to say?” I snap, exasperated by everything. “I care about them, but that doesn’t make me the right woman to be in their lives for the long term.” I clear away any emotion that comes with it. “We have six more weeks left of me being his fake fiancée. After that, I’ll figure my life out.”
Stella snorts. “Uh, I fell in love with Delphine in like three weeks.”
“That’s you,” I counter, a touch—or maybe a lot—defensively. “This is me, and I have a plan.”
That’s already going to hell. I love Katy, and I care a lot about Callan, but you don’t casually get involved with a man like him. It’s simply not possible, and I’m in no place to settle down and play house and stepmom for real.
But…
I mentally shake my head. No buts. I quickly shove away the weird, twisted part of my mind that balks at that.
“Well, have fun sticking to the plan while he’s sticking his dick in you.”
“Oh my god!” Amelia smacks Stella’s arm. “Crude much?”
Stella raises her eyebrows expectantly at Amelia. “Tell me I’m wrong?”
Amelia gnaws on the corner of her lip and gives me a simultaneous hard look. “Yeah. Stella’s right. You’re fucked in a few ways, aren’t you?”
“Annnnd, I’m gone.” I throw them a wave and start to head into the Fritz compound. “But thanks for all that.”
“It’s what we’re here for,” Stella calls out to me. “Reality check and love.”
“Next time, I’ll take it from Octavia. She gives more love and less reality.”
I brought a bag of stuff so I could shower here, but now I’m wishing I hadn’t. Part of me wants to escape, wants to run and go home, only I don’t exactly have a home. Callan’s home isn’t my home, even if it’s starting to feel more like it every day.
Entering the Fritz compound through the back door, I take the stairs in the west wing up to the second floor and walk down the hall to the bedroom I used to have sleepovers in when Amelia and Oliver first got together. I quickly shower off the saltwater from the pool and sunscreen and change into white jeans and a pink crop top that’s lined so my barbells aren’t so noticeable in front of Katy. I go for a summer glow makeup look and blow out my hair into silky waves.
Forty minutes later, I’m unlocking the front door of the townhouse, sticking my head in, and calling out, “Hello?”
Katy and Callan told me I couldn’t come home until six tonight. Whatever they’re planning involves food, because I can smell something spicy and garlicky cooking.
“She’s here!” Katy screams from somewhere upstairs. “Uncle Cal, she’s here!”
“I heard.” He laughs, and then I hear wild, light footsteps flying down the stairs, followed by Callan’s slower, heavier ones.
I drop my bag on the floor and my keys in the small bowl on the entry table and then round the corner into the hallway. Katy hits me just as I reach the bottom of the stairs, but I don’t get a chance to react to the blow of her body against mine. She’s too busy grabbing my hand and changing directions, dragging me at a sprint back up the stairs.
Callan is coming down, and we nearly slam straight into him. He grabs hold of Katy’s shoulders, slowing her. “Easy, Ladybug.”
“What’s going on?” I ask, taking him in. He’s freshly showered. His thick, longish on top hair is wet and brushed back from his face, making his deep blue eyes somehow appear lighter. He’s wearing a white T-shirt—he knows they drive me crazy—and low-slung dark jeans.
Without missing a beat, he leans in and kisses my lips. Softly. A little sweet, but with a smile he can’t hide. “We have a surprise for you.”
“Upstairs?” I can’t stop the swell of butterflies that hit my chest.
His smile turns boyish, a little nervous, and he nods. “It’s this way.”
“Come on, come on, come on!” Katy is tugging on me like I’m made of string, and then she’s yanking me back up toward the second floor. “We did it ourselves.”
“Go on up, Ladybug. I want to talk to Layla for a minute.”
Katy huffs and puffs, not happy with that at all, but she’s too excited to contain herself and her little body—already bathed as well and wearingThe Little Mermaidpajamas—zips straight up, immediately going for the third floor.
