She lets me work in silence, giving me a moment to process. And when I finally look up again, she’s studying me.
“I can see why he was so enamored with you,” she confesses quietly.
“Because I turned him down,” I quip.
Her smile grows, and it helps to lessen some of my anxiety.
“Well, yeah. That’ll do it. Men like Rett don’t like to be told no.”
“If only I’d stood my ground.” Literally.
“Don’t feel bad. They’re really convincing. How do you think I ended up with this?” she says, waving her ring at me.
“At least you took your time to figure it out.”
“Ah, so you have done some research,” she teases.
“Of course, I’m just really bad with faces.”
“I thought you’d recognize me straight away.”
“I should have.”
“Yeah, considering I’m going to be your sister-in-law.”
I practically choke on my own saliva. “I’m sorry, what?”
Parker laughs as if this is nothing but exciting. “He’s never taken anyone on a date before, Bea. Never.”
“But…that…it wasn’t a…”
“That’s not what he said.”
“It’s fake,” I mutter.
She frowns. “What’s fake?”
“The date. Everett and me?—”
“The baby?” Parker asks, her gaze dropping to my stomach even though it’s hidden behind the table.
“Oh no, that is very real.”
“But…I don’t understand.”
“I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“Yes, you absolutely should have. What’s going on here, Bea?”
I sigh and place my brush down so I can focus on her.
“Hailee thinks we should start fake dating to help turn Everett’s reputation around and to stop him from getting traded again,” I say in a rush.
“B-but…” I wait for what’s to follow, but no words come.
“I haven’t agreed to anything. I just…shit.” I close my eyes for a moment, trying to gather my thoughts. “I didn’t ask for any of this. This place is my life. It’s everything I’ve ever wanted, and I was content with focusing on it for the foreseeable future. I didn’t want a man, a relationship— hell, I certainly didn’t have plans to have a baby anytime soon. And yet, here I am.” My tears come faster. “We did everything right. He…he wore a condom. I was on the pill. It never should have happened.”
“Or maybe it should,” she reasons.
