Page 111 of Fake it With Me

Liza had fallen asleep in my bed, wearing one of my t-shirts and a pair of her sleep shorts. I held her and felt more at peace than I had in probably my entire life.

The past week had been hard on her too. I would always feel guilty for that. I should have been a better man. But it was a learning lesson. I believed in learning from my mistakes.

“How did you sleep?” I asked.

“Better than I have in days. Your bed is much more comfortable than that futon.”

“I still can’t believe you were living in that shack.”

“It wasn’t that bad. Katie was nice, and it was on the beach.”

“It was terrible. You were living in a glorified shed because I was too stupid to trust you.” I kissed her forehead. “I’m sorry.”

“You already apologized. Multiple times. We’re working through it, remember?”

“I know. But I’m going to keep apologizing until I feel like I’ve made up for it.”

She smiled and snuggled closer. “Well, you can start by telling me what I missed this past week.”

We lay there for a while, just being together, and I realized this was what I had been missing. Not just Liza, but the quiet intimacy of waking up next to someone you loved. It was all about the lazy morning conversations and the feeling of being completely comfortable with another person. Companionship. I didn’t even know I was missing it until Liza came into my life.

“Catch me up. What happened with Grant and the photo? Did you get him?”

“We got the original security footage. Sasha’s lawyer came through. They recovered it from the yacht club’s hard drives. It shows exactly what I told you. I had a hold of Daisie the entire time, the water wasn’t choppy, and she was never in danger. Grant doctored the photo, changed the background to make it look worse than it was.”

“That bastard.”

“Yeah. Aaron already filed a civil suit against him. We’re going after him for millions—fraud, defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress. Aaron thinks we’ll win easily, given that Grant literally admitted to altering the photo in open court.”

“Good. He deserves it.”

“The state is also pursuing criminal charges. Perjury, evidence tampering. By the time it’s all done, Grant will be finished. Bankrupt, probably facing jail time. The little snake can slither back under whatever rock he slid out from under.”

“And Sasha?” Liza asked carefully. “How’s she handling all of this?”

“Actually, she’s been… different. Better.” I shifted slightly so I could see her face. “She’s been helping with the evidence recovery. She called me a few days ago to talk about Daisie.”

I felt Liza tense slightly. “What about Daisie?”

“She’s not fighting for custody anymore. Realizes it would be too disruptive. She understands she’s basically a stranger to Daisie right now. But she wants to try to build a relationship again. Slowly. Baby steps. Supervised visits, just an hour or two at a time, whatever Daisie is comfortable with.”

“And what do you think about that?”

“I think it might be good for Daisie. She deserves to have the option of knowing her mother, if she wants it. Sasha seems genuinely committed to doing better this time. She’s in therapy, working through her issues. And she broke up with Grant immediately when she found out what he’d done. I don’t know that the true mother-daughter relationship will ever be fully healed, but I think it’s better for Daisie if there is something.”

“And you believe Sasha didn’t know about the photo?”

“No. She really didn’t. I believe that now.” I ran my hand along Liza’s arm, sliding over her smooth skin. “But I want to be clear about something. This is just about Daisie getting to know her mother. That’s it. Sasha and I? We’re done. Permanently. She doesn’t want me back and I would never take her back even if she did.”

“I wasn’t worried about that,” Liza said, but I could hear the relief in her voice.

“Good. Because you’re it for me. You’re the one I want. The one I love. The one I plan to spend the rest of my life with, if you’ll have me.”

“That sounds suspiciously like you’re planning something.”

“Not yet. But eventually.” I kissed her softly. “I’m not letting you get away again.”

“Good. Because I’m not going anywhere.”