Page 27 of Fake it With Me

“Yeah.”

Darek nodded and just kept driving. He looked troubled. Like something wasn’t quite right. I got it. We were both in trouble. Things had clicked with all of us so quickly and so naturally that it was easy to forget this was all make-believe.

We pulled into the estate, and Darek gently woke Daisie up, carrying her into the house while I grabbed the stuffed turtle and followed behind.

10

DAREK

While Daisie snoozed on the couch, Liza and I both settled in on opposites sides of the room. She was in the chair while I stretched out on the loveseat. The sugar and grease had caught up with me as well.

We both scrolled through our phones. It wasn’t awkward at all. I honestly thought Liza would have retreated to her room. She was under no obligation to hang out.

I liked it. That comfortable silence that couples had after spending years together. But we had only spent a couple of days together.

“So,” Liza said, breaking the silence. Her voice was carefully casual. “Any fallout from last night’s festivities?”

I knew exactly what she was asking. Had Sasha reached out? Had there been consequences from their little verbal sparring match?

“Nothing worth mentioning,” I said, keeping my own tone neutral. I glanced at Daisie to make sure she was still asleep. “The usual noise.”

“I feel bad about…” She trailed off, her eyes also darting to the couch. “You know. The way I handled things.”

“You handled things fine.”

“I could have been more diplomatic.”

“She wasn’t exactly diplomatic either.” I set my phone down. “Look, you defended yourself. That’s allowed. You’re not required to be a doormat just because she used to be married to me.”

Liza bit her lip, still looking troubled. “I just don’t want to make things harder for you. With the situation.”

The custody battle. All the things we couldn’t say out loud with Daisie in the room, even if she was sleeping.

“You’re not making anything harder,” I assured her. “Trust me, that ship sailed a long time ago. Nothing you said last night changed anything.”

“You’re sure?”

“I’m sure.”

Sasha had sent a couple of nasty texts, but I’d ignored her. She was pissed that I’d shown up with someone attractive and intelligent. That was her problem, not ours.

“Okay.” Liza seemed to relax slightly. “As long as I didn’t screw things up for you.”

“The only thing you screwed up was Mrs. Cavendish’s dress, and I’m sure she’s already forgotten about it.”

That got a small laugh out of her. “You’re just saying that to make me feel better.”

“I’m saying it because it’s true. She probably threw the champagne-soaked one in the trash and moved on with her life.”

“Rich people are weird.”

“You’re not wrong.” I picked my phone back up, scrolling through emails I didn’t really care about.

Daisie stirred on the couch, mumbling something about turtles in her sleep. We both went silent, waiting to see if she’d wake up. She didn’t, just rolled over and settled deeper into the cushions.

“She’s going to be out for a while,” I said.

“Poor thing. I feel it, too. We didn’t even do anything physically exhausting, but I’m wiped out.”