Page 35

“Kind of.”

“Can I come visit?”

I hesitate. According to the Waves game schedule saved to my phone, Shane travels for long stretches of time. Surely, there’s no harm in having Piper over when he’s gone.

“Sure. Maybe we can even have a sleepover.”

“Really?” she asks, bouncing a little.

When she gets excited like this, Piper looks exactly like her mom.

I boop her on the nose. “Really.”

“Mama! I get to have a sleepover in a castle.”

I wince as my honorary niece shouts directly in my ear.

“Glad to hear Willow has come to her senses,” Delilah calls back.

Piper wrinkles her nose, the colorful light from the screen splashing across her cheek. I’ve often thought that she’d be a perfect candidate for a painting, with Adam’s unruly curls and dark eyes contrasting with Delilah’s delicate facial features.

“What does she mean?”

“Who knows?” I throw my palms up with an exasperated eye roll.

My niece blows out a noisy breath, shaking her head. “Mama’s crazy.”

“She is,” I say, tucking Piper against me again. “But in the best possible way.”

Now, I just need to decide if I’m going to hop on the crazy train and go through with this fake marriage or give all this up. My heart seizes at the idea of leaving the life I’ve built on my own, of walking away from the people that made me part of their family without hesitation.

When Piper squeezes me back, I realize there was never really a decision to make.

A zing of giddy nervousness blooms in my belly.

Looks like I’m wifey material after all.

Chapter 12

Shane

With the amount of noise coming from behind Willow’s apartment door two days later, it sounds like she’s having a rousing house party, not getting ready for a fake wedding. Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” is competing with a replay of last night’s Waves game. I glance down the hall, double-checking I have the right apartment: 6G. All the doors have the same orange eviction notices, but Willow’s also has a fake floral wreath with a hand-painted placard that says Misfits Welcome.

I knock, but it’s clear it wasn’t heard.

A voice I’ve come to recognize as Delilah’s starts singing about rings at top volume, making me wince at her off-key rendition. Willow mentioned at yesterday morning’s rushed prenup signing at my lawyer’s office that Delilah was going to help her get ready for today.

My hands brace the doorframe as my forehead rests on the door with a clunk. I’d hoped, by showing up two hours early, I’d beat Delilah here.

It’s important that I speak to Willow alone.

Pressing my eyes closed, I mentally regroup. Then the door swings open so suddenly I don’t have time to move.

“Shane?”

Willow’s gaze sweeps my three-piece suit as I glance at her—what is that thing? It looks like a robe, but the satiny fabric cascades all the way to the floor, the hem and oversized sleeves trimmed with faux fur. With her hair curled and pinned and her makeup flawless, the ensemble makes Willow look like an Old Hollywood movie star.

“What are you wearing?”