The sun had just dippedbeneath the Gulf, streaking the horizon with apricot and gold, when Meredith reached across the table at Pompano Joe’s to steal a hush puppy from Lacey’s plate.
“And youboththought faking a relationship would be a great idea?” Meredith asked, eyes wide.
Her cousin grinned, unbothered by the hush puppy theft. “It was his idea, technically. I just…couldn’t say no.”
They sat in the corner of the deck under an umbrella they didn’t need at sunset. Around them, the beach-front restaurant thrummed with a busy dinner hour, the sound of the surf competing with laughter, chatter, and some steel-drum music on the speakers.
Meredith shook her head with a bemused smile. “Lace. It’s not like you to lie to your mother. You tell Aunt Vivien everything.”
“Well, I couldn’t. I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone that Tessa had a baby. She confided in me and I…did some sleuthing, used the info I had, called the hospital, and boom…”
“There he is,” Meredith finished. “All six-foot-whatever of him, wanting to be your fake boyfriend. Ack, it’s so rom-com!”
“I know, right?” Lacey picked up her half-empty wine glass, then put it down again. “But it’s real,” she added on a whisper. “And I don’t even know how I feel about that.”
Meredith gazed across the table, feeling a surge of affection for her younger cousin. Blond, blue-eyed, and full of life, she was the closest thing Meredith would ever have to a sister.
However, dear Lacey had just admitted she was terrible at keeping secrets or promises, so Meredith knew this wasn’t going to be a spill-all dinner. But Lacey did know something about another topic that intrigued Meredith very much—adoption from the child’s standpoint.
She didn’t want to drag the conversation there yet. Lacey’s totally unconventional romance was too tempting to change the subject.
“So you decided pretending he was your boyfriend was a safe and smart way for him to meet Tessa without her knowing you did this.” Meredith raised an eyebrow. “Really?”
“All him,” she said. “He wanted to protect me and get to know Tessa without dropping a bomb. It was supposed to be a few days, tops. Then…”
“You caught feelings.”
“Hard,” Lacey confessed with a laugh. “Somewhere between pretending and pretending-not-to-be-pretending.”
Meredith slid her fingers up and down the condensation on her water glass, smiling at her cousin. “So what’s next? He’s in Jacksonville for a few weeks?”
She nodded. “He has to meet with his agent, do some medical stuff, some training video classes, sessions with the coaches.”
“Sounds…NFL-y.”
She laughed and shook her head. “I still can’t believe that, but anyway, I’m leaving tomorrow to meet him there. He wantsme to see his house, the town, meet some of the players, check out the stadium?—”
“Where you will sit in the VIP box with the other players’ wives, all Taylor Swift-like.”
“Puh-lease.”
“That’s where it’s going,” Meredith insisted.
Lacey lifted the glass to drink. “I don’t know where it’s going, but after that, we’re going down to Satellite Beach, which is a few hours south, to meet his parents.”
Meredith launched a brow. “Please don’t make me wear sage in your wedding. It’s my least favorite color.”
Lacey nearly choked on her sip. “Stop.”
“Why? You’re meeting the parents, Lace. That’s…big.”
“It’s a little more awkward than usual,” she said. “You know—I love and work for his birth mother.”
Meredith’s stomach gave a small, unexpected flutter. “What’s the dynamic there?” she asked, taking a sip of water and wondering if Lacey noticed she hadn’t touched the wine she’d ordered.
“The dynamic with Roman and his parents?” Lacey asked. “It’s pure love. He adores them. Could not be happier he landed in their arms and is deeply grateful to Tessa for making that decision.”
The water lodged in her throat, but she managed to swallow, looking across the table. “How does he…feel about being adopted?”
