Then I made him a breakfast he could eat one handed while he played thumb wars with his kid and I banked their laughter for every lonely moment life had coming for me.
15
DECOY
Folk put green things in scrambled eggs. Green things I’d bought but couldn’t remember what they were or when I’d bought them.
I blamed it on the distraction of him moving around my kitchen, the sunlight hitting his golden skin just right.
Also on Ivy, who had every ounce of my attention that wasn’t his.
It was the nicest school morning we’d ever had. By the time I dashed upstairs to shower and throw some clothes on, I realised why. My phone. It flashed angrily with six missed calls and more messages than I could count.
Lauren:Seth, answer your phone. How dare you stop me talking to my daughter? You know she likes to speak with me before school.
Lies. Lauren’s regular morning phone calls were horrendous for me and Ivy both. Blanking her terrified me. I’d pay for it later, but the lightness of the morning we’d spent with Folk... man, it was worth it, if only for the few hours of peace it had brought me.
From downstairs, Folk’s gentle laugh filtered up, and it made me feel reckless. Crazy in the calmest, most peaceful way.
I turned my phone off and shoved it under my pillow. Sooner or later I’d have to face Lauren. I’d have to tell her Folk was living here and there was nothing she could do about it.
But right now, I was gonna kiss my fake boyfriend and take my kid to school, and I wasn’t gonna let her ruin it.
I chucked some clothes on and jogged downstairs.
Folk had Ivy on his lap, helping her tie her shoes. Last night’s fishtail braid hadn’t survived, but she had a wavy ponytail that seemed to make her happy.
We were running a little late. I rounded her up and herded her to the door. Folk followed, and it occurred to me that I hadn’t considered this bit.
He was still shirtless and dressed in the sweats he’d slept in—if he’d slept at all, but what about when I left? Would he leave too? Where would he go?
So many questions, but I asked him just one.
“Wait for me?”
Folk regarded me with his blue, blue eyes. “You’re coming back?”
Hadn’t planned on it. I wasn’t due in the yard till eleven, but I usually showed up early anyway. Anything to dodge kicking around an empty house. But leaving Folk... it felt wrong. I couldn’t explain the night we’d just lived through, and the sense of something undone made me feel so fuckingfrayed. “I—”
He silenced me with a kiss. “I’ll wait.”
I took Ivy and left. On the short drive to school, I braced myself for her to pepper me with questions, but she didn’t. She relaxed in her seat behind me and treated me to a featherlight monologue on what fruit she wanted to stuff in the blender when she got home—a kitchen appliance that until now I’d been fairly sure Rubi had gifted me as a joke.
At the classroom door, I retied the band in her wavy ponytail and kissed her forehead. “See after school, little bug.”
“Will Folk be there?”
“Maybe. Would you like that?”
Ivy grinned. “He’s fun, Daddy. Can he stay for tea?”
“I’ll ask him. But he might have to work, okay?”
“Okay.” Ivy spotted a friend in the classroom and drifted off.
I watched her settle, then rose from my crouch and walked away, my mind already meandering to what waited for me at home. In my peripheral, I saw Liliana with Mateo, and maybe Saint, but I didn’t turn my head.
With tunnel vision, I got in my car and drove home with shaky hands and a pounding heart.
