A victorious smirk comes over me, and I clear my throat to play this cool. “Nice ring.”
She holds her hand up to examine it. “Not bad. Some guy lost his mind and decided to spend God knows what on this so I can wear it for a few hours.” She gives me a pointed look. “Only a few hours,” she warns.
I chuckle under my breath as I slowly stride to her. “Whatever you say.”
She points her finger at me. “No tricks, Ford.”
“I wouldn’t dare,” I lie.
Brielle pouts a sound before pivoting to head in the direction of the garage.
Step by step.
That’s how I will get her.
* * *
After drivinginto town in silence, I parked on Main Street so we could run into the florist. An overpriced bouquet of purple blooms later, we are walking down the sidewalk, and I’m carrying the flowers that I’m sure will soon make me sneeze.
Brielle touches my elbow to grab my attention. “There’s Piper.”
My eyes follow her line of sight, and I indeed see Piper holding baby Gracie as she closes the car door. Piper is married to Hudson, so she’s my neighbor too.
“Hey, Piper,” I call out.
She immediately looks up and smiles. “Hey, Ford.” She looks confused when she notices who is at my side. “Hey, Brielle, I didn’t know you would be here in Lake Spark this week, with Connor still at camp.”
Brielle gives me the side-eye. “Well, it seems everyone knew Connor would still be at camp except me.”
I can only give my temporary fake fiancée an innocent look.
“Oh.” Piper looks between us. “Will you two stop at April and Spencer’s later? He popped the big question last night, so we all, of course, need the play-by-play.”
“We’ll try,” I say.
Gracie fusses, and Piper bounces the near toddler against her hip. “This one has been keeping us busy. No rest for the wicked, right? I’m hoping the drugstore has something for her skin.”
“What’s wrong?” Brielle asks, concerned, and reaches out for Gracie’s little finger.
“She has a little eczema, and nothing seems to work.”
“Try pure chamomile oil. There is also this oat oil for the bath. It’s supposed to be for Chickenpox, but it works wonders in general. Connor had the same problem at Gracie’s age, kept me up for hours some nights because he was itchy,” Brielle explains as Gracie grips her fingers.
Piper seems grateful for the advice. “I will go grab those items right now.”
They’re both chatting about something, but I zone out. Mostly because guilt hits me. I missed a lot when Connor was a baby, and Brielle took the brunt of it all. The sleepless nights, teething, every fever and cold. Her mom helped, but I should have been there.
After we say our goodbyes, we walk to my car and get in, the flowers finding a home on the back seat of my Ferrari.
I start the engine but freeze, debating if I should bring this up now, but the thought wrestles in my brain. “You don’t resent me, right?” It falls off my tongue. My gaze leads me to Brielle who looks at me, unsure.
“What do you mean?”
“When Connor was a baby, you had it a hell of a lot harder than I did.”
“Did I?” I can’t read her.
I touch the top of her hands that are folded on her lap. “Don’t pretend. We both know you did.”
