“See, I told you he wasn’t angry with her,” Tucker said.
Cheyenne propped a hand on her hip. ”You said he just wanted to talk to her in private. But clearly he wanted to do more than talk.”
“Can you blame me?” The deep timbre of Austin’s voice sent goosebumps down Debbie’s spine.
Austin released Debbie and stepped away.
She immediately missed the contact of his strong warm body against hers.
“Listen, Cheyenne, I can’t agree to let you just take the kids to Florida, but I do agree with Debbie that maybe you should meet the kids and spend a little time with them. Then maybe we can go from there.”
Debbie could sense the tension in Austin—as she had all evening. Facing his ex-wife and the man who stole her away and considering letting them back into his children’s lives must be horribly difficult for him.
Her heart swelled with pride in the man who was making such a monumental effort. As crazy as it sounded, she was glad he’d asked her to pretend to be his fiancé. This whole ordeal might break her heart, but she loved seeing how fiercely he cared for his kids and the lengths to which he would go to protect them.
“It’s a start, I guess.” Cheyenne gave a triumphant grin. “How about Tucker and I take the kids out to lunch tomorrow?”
“No!” Austin stepped forward. “I said you can meet them, I didn’t say you couldtakethem.”
Debbie slid her hand into Austin’s again. It seemed to be a good anchor for him this evening. “The boys have a soccer game tomorrow morning. Why don’t the two of you come watch the game then you can join us back here for lunch?”
Belated, Debbie remembered she and Savannah were supposed to go shopping for prom dresses tomorrow after the game. They would just have to postpone that for a couple hours.
Austin’s hand tightened on hers for a moment before he relaxed and nodded.
Tucker and Cheyenne looked at each other for a moment then finally Tucker nodded.
“Great! We’ll see you tomorrow.” Cheyenne offered her hand to Debbie. “Thank you so much for having us. Maybe tomorrow, you can give us a tour of your beautiful house.”
Debbie watched the muscle in Austin’s jaw twitch as he shook Tucker’s hand. Did Austin even say two words to the other man tonight?
She heaved a sigh of relief when Austin closed the door behind the other couple.
He pulled off his sports coat. “Can you believe the nerve of those people?”
Debbie let out a heavy sigh. “Unfortunately, I’ve met way too many people like them. Some even worse, if you can believe that.”
“I’ve known my share of people like them too, and I can’t say that I care for any of them.”
A grin spread across Debbie’s face.
“What?” he asked.
“Does this mean I’ve graduated?”
“What do you mean?”
“Instead of sayingpeople like you, meaning me, you saidpeople like them.” She pointed at the door. “Please tell me you don’t still consider me one of those kind of rich people.”
Austin smiled. “I was wrong to judge you by all the other rich people I’ve known. Forgive me?” She nodded, but his smile faded. “Seriously, thank you for pretending to be my fiancé and not making me face them alone.”
Debbie’s own smile faded.
Right.We’re only pretending.
That kiss felt so real it made her forget Austin didn’t mean any of this. His pride hadn’t suddenly disappeared. If anything, it was stronger than ever after Cheyenne practically accused him of making her live in poverty.
“You’re welcome.” She forced a smile as she changed the subject. “I’ll make sure the boys’ remote control trucks are charged for tomorrow.”
