Page 28 of Fake it With Me

I nodded. “Me too.”

“Do you guys do this every weekend?”

“Not every weekend, but as often as I can.”

She smiled again. “She had fun.”

Daisie woke up from her impromptu nap about thirty minutes later with her hair mussed and the friendship bracelets still on her wrist. She declared she was hungry about two minutes after she opened her eyes.

“We just ate corn dogs and fries a few hours ago,” I pointed out.

“But it’s Saturday,” she said, like that explained everything.

“She has a point,” Liza added, trying not to smile. “It is Saturday.”

“I’m being ganged up on,” I muttered.

“We should get pizza,” Daisie offered.

I groaned. “I’m going to have to spend an hour on the treadmill.”

Liza looked at me. Like really looked. I had to fight the urge to flex my biceps and pecs.

“Do you like pizza?” Daisie asked Liza.

“I do.”

I knew I had lost the battle at that point. I pulled up the number for the local pizza joint that we frequented.

“Pepperoni?” I asked.

“Extra cheese,” Daisie replied.

I looked at Liza. “I’m good with anything.”

I ordered two pizzas, breadsticks, and the cinnamon things for breakfast.

An hour later, we were sprawled across the couches in the living room, pizza boxes open on the coffee table, Moana playing on the oversized TV.

“You guys don’t watch TV in the media room?” Liza asked.

“Sometimes,” I replied. “But honestly, it’s way more comfortable stretching out on the couch.”

She started laughing.

“What?”

“Rich people problems make me laugh.”

“Sorry,” I muttered. “That sounded really pretentious.”

“No. It didn’t. It’s normal for you guys. It’s just funny. I have a twenty-inch TV. There is a line through the screen.”

I knew we were fortunate. I tried to teach Daisie to be humble. Her school was filled with rich kids. We lived in an exclusive community. She was used to nice things.

Daisie and I sat on one couch and Liza had moved to the one I had been on earlier. Liza seemed genuinely enthralled by the movie. She said she had never seen it before. I thought she was joking but clearly not.

I had a moment. This was what I had wanted for Daisie. My little girl had had a great day. No, a great day didn’t even cover it. She’d been glowing since we got home. We’d been to the arcade numerous times but today was different. I loved that Liza fit in seamlessly. I honestly thought Daisie would be her typical self. She didn’t warm up to people easily.