“I wanted to,” I said with a small smile. I didn’t like that she kept thanking me for little things. I wanted to do everything for her.
The doorbell rang, and I went to let Sarah in. A young woman in her twenties with a friendly smile and a backpack full of children’s books. I introduced her to Lily, who was fortunately in one of her charming moods, and went over the emergency numbers and bedtime routine.
Paige hovered, reluctant to leave her daughter even though we would only be gone a few hours. I watched her kiss Lily’s forehead, smooth down her onesie and whisper something.
“She’ll be fine,” I said in a soft voice. “Sarah knows what she’s doing.”
“I know. I’ve just... never left her with a stranger before.”
“We’ll come back soon,” I said, offering my arm. “Ready to become the most talked-about couple in the city?”
She took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and slipped her hand through my arm. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”
In the car, I pulled up the list of questions on my phone and handed it to her.
“We should rehearse,” I said, driving out of the garage. “Make sure our stories line up.”
“When did we start dating?” She asked, scrolling through the list.
“We reconnected when you came to me about the divorce,” I said. “Started talking more. Realized we had been denying our feelings for years, and life’s too short to play it safe.”
“Life’s too short to play it safe,” she repeated, and smiled. “That sounds really good.”
“It’s plausible. Fits the timeline. And it’s close enough to the truth that we won’t trip ourselves up.”
Too close to the truth, a voice in my head whispered. I had been denying my feelings for years. Decades, even.
“What about Jack?” Paige asked. “People will want to know about the divorce. About why I left.”
“We keep it vague. ‘Irreconcilable differences’ is the standard line. If anyone pushes, we say we’re not comfortable discussing your previous marriage out of respect for Lily.”
“And if Jack is there tonight?”
“He won’t be,” I said, my hands tightening on the steering wheel. “I checked the guest list. His firm wasn’t invited.”
I had made sure of that.
“You checked the guest list?”
“I told you. Thoroughness is my thing.” I glanced at her, and she was smiling. “What?”
“Nothing. Just... you really think of everything, don’t you?”
“I try.” I turned my attention back to the road, but I could feel her watching me. “Next question, how serious are things?”
“Very serious,” Paige said. “We’re taking it one day at a time, but we’re committed to seeing where this goes. I mean, you got me this huge-ass diamond ring.”
“That is true. And if anyone asks about marriage?—”
“It’s too soon to talk about that. We’re focused on the present. Despite the ring.”
“Perfect,” I said, steering the wheel. “You’re a natural at this.”
“Years of dealing with our lawyer friends,” she said. “I learned how to dodge invasive questions.”
We ran through a few more scenarios. What we would say if someone asked about our first date (the deli, which was technically true), our favorite thing about each other (I had a whole list prepared, she stumbled through something about my dedication), how we managed working together while dating (carefully with clear boundaries).
By the time we pulled up to the venue, a historic mansion lit up like something from a fairytale, we had our story down and we sounded like a genuine couple. We had both history and chemistry.
