“No, this is definitely pregnancy and mother-to-a-toddler brain. Talk to me in about four years, and I’ll have a different take on things. Probably. Also, I get to be a bridesmaid if you ever have a real wedding, right?”
I’m so relieved, I could cry.
Who handles secret fake weddings like this?
And how do I deserve them as friends?
I hug her tight. “Of course. No question. Real weddings get best friends for bridesmaids.”
Davis shifts beside me. “Can we go talk to her mother now?”
The right answer isno.
That there’s nowe, there’sme.
Except he knows something, and I want to know what he knows.
“Would it be a total inconvenience to talk to your mama sometime soon?” I ask Annika.
“Are you sure you want him to go along?”
“I have to learn to pretend to be in love with him in person and not just in photoshopped pictures, and I have to do it in four days. Practice is probably good.”
“Don’t the ladies usually find you irresistible?” Grady says to Davis.
“No.” He looks at me. “Let’s go. Now’s good.”
At least he’s aware of the fact that he’s annoying. “I have this thing called work,” I say.
“When are you off?”
“Five.”
“I’ll pick you up.”
I look at Annika.
She’s grinning.
So is Grady.
Miles is drooping up on Grady’s shoulders, bent over Grady’s head like not napping is catching up with him.
“Is there anything you want to tell us about Thorny Rock’s treasure?” I ask Grady.
If I had any doubts that he was hiding something, the utter confusion wrinkling his face clears that up. “What’s with you talking about the treasure again? There isn’t a treasure.”
Davis gives a subtle headshake, which I interpret to meanthis guy’s dumb.
Or possiblythis guy’s hiding something.
Or maybe he’s used up all of his words for the day and doesn’t know what to do with himself now.
“We’re playing a game,” I tell Grady. “He fake-marries me, and I humor his insistence that the treasure is real and we have to find it.”
Grady slowly nods, making Miles tilt more precariously up there. “Well. Good luck with that.”
I nod back. “If you’re gonna be in a lose-lose situation, might as well do it right.”
