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When the ride was done, Jamey ran from the exit, his arms outstretched toward me as he cut through the sea of people. I picked him up as he got to me, settling him on my hip, and his smile was enough to break my heart in two. “Daddy, that was so fun.”
“Merry-go-rounds are definitely top-tier rides,” Sophie grinned as she saddled up to us.
“Well, I’m glad you two had fun.” I lifted Jamey higher, placing his legs on either side of my neck, his hips pressed to the back of my head. He loved being up on my shoulders. “I think some cotton candy is in order.”
“Cotton Candy!”
Sophie’s expression dropped as she looked at me. “You better pray they have cotton candy. This is the p-word all over again.”
————
Jamey had eaten the entirety of his cotton candy before begging us for ice cream. We’d got him a single scoop and taken him back to the park, away from the crowd of people and to the open field where he could run off every ounce of sugar he’d consumed so I wouldn’t be up all night with a sugared-up toddler.
He’d finished his scoop and gone back to herding the ducks, leaving me and Sophie alone as we sat under one of the biggest trees in the park, the view overlooking the entirety of the small green space in the heart of the city.
“I’ve been thinking about the fake engagement thing,” Sophie said quietly, almost as if she didn’t want Jamey to hear, but there was no way he could hear anything over the sound of his own excited shrieking.
“Yeah?”
“I’m thinking it might be worth it.” She looked up at me, her blue eyes latching onto mine like they had last night. For fucks sake, don’t think about that now.
“So does that mean you want to do it?”
Blush spread beneath her freckles as she playfully hit me in the chest. “Yes. But don’t say it like that.”
I laughed as I leaned back against the tree. Would this mean I needed to get her an engagement ring? I wondered to myself. Considering my background, I’d have to splurge and make it look convincing if her family decided to look me up. I couldn’t have them thinking I’d gone out and bought a ring from Walmart.
“I guess that means you’re my fiancée now.” I joked, bouncing my shoulder against hers. “We should probably start planning the wedding.”
“Oh shut up.” She giggled as she stood up, brushing the dirt and grass from her shorts. “What we should do is rescue those poor ducks from Jamey’s torment.”
Chapter 12
Sophie
Sunday
“Let me get this straight. You slept with your IVF doctor?”
I rolled my eyes as I shoveled a massive bite of avocado on toast into my mouth. “Don’t be so dramatic, Lisa. He’s my neighbor and I’m his son’s nanny.”
She blinked at me as her brows came together, her short blonde hair swishing about her jaw in the wind. “Please don’t tell me you think that makes it sound better.”
I didn’t answer her, cutting off another section of toast, making sure to get some of the poached egg on my fork.
“Oh my god, you do,” Lisa laughed, covering her mouth as she leaned back in her chair. “And you’re pretending to be engaged. Do you not think this could be, oh, I don’t know… problematic? For, like, everyone?”
“How?”
“Sophie. You catch feelings so damn easily.”
“I do not,” I said around a mouthful, the words muffled.
“You absolutely do. Remember Derek? You knew him for like two days and told me you were falling in love with him. You cried when he said he just wanted a hookup.”
The sound of my fork scraping against the plate made me cringe more than remembering Derek did. “This isn’t like that.”
Lisa’s lips pursed together as she leaned forward on the table, her elbows resting against the metal. “Babe. Come on. I love you, but you sound like you might already be falling for this guy?—”
