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The blood traveling to my dick has clearly not received the memo that we’re hashing out the details of our fake—very fake—relationship.
“Sounds nice.” I clear my throat, adjusting myself in my sweats. “Once this is over, I hope you get to do that with a person you want to kiss.”
She deserves it. Someone who likes her without pretending or arrangements. Just because she’s her.
“Maybe.” Molly glances away, peering at the garden outside.
“Okay, so, starting at On Cloud Nine, I can hold your hand and give you a hug,” I confirm. “Until you’d like me to stop.”
“Yes.” She nods.
“She’s pretty.” A whisper comes from the corner. Aaron hides at the foot of the staircase, his duckie footie pajamas peeking out from behind the wall.
How could I forget my nephew was here?
“Aaron, get over here, buddy,” I call out to him, and he timidly waddles over to us. I lift him up onto the couch. He hides behind my arm. “He’s not normally shy,” I tell Molly, whose nervous demeanor has dimmed. Instead, she’s grinning, waving over at my nephew.
“Hi there.” Her voice rises, friendly and sweet. “I’m Molly.” Aaron abandons the refuge behind my T-shirt and tries to hide his toothless smile as he waves back at her. “I like your pajamas a lot,” she says. “I think I have the same pair at home.”
My imagination enforces no self-control as an image of Molly in duckie pajamas—entirely the opposite kind of footie pajamas my nephew is wearing—flashes into my mind. No, these are incredibly inappropriate pajamas. The kind that would make even a grown man like me blush and giggle like a schoolboy. It’ll take more than my crossword puzzles to swipe that image from my mind.
My nephew cackles and sprints out of the living room, zooming around the kitchen island.
“He’s a sweet kid.” I get off the couch, keeping my attention between Molly and Aaron. “But he has the energy of a firecracker.”
Molly follows me into the kitchen as I try to wrestle my nephew into my arms. It’s no use. He darts around, dodging our legs.
“Kids are so cute.” She grins and takes a seat on the barstool at the island. “I’ve always wanted to be a fun aunt, but, you know. The whole no-sibling thing.”
My heart tramples over itself. Molly clearly said she wants to be an aunt, not a mom. The weight of insecurity from my past resurfaces. I can’t fixate on what she said. She’s only twenty-six. Kids are probably the furthest thing from her mind right now. But in a few years, that’ll change.
I swallow, pushing the thoughts away.
“It’s the best. You can spoil them rotten and then send them home when you want to sleep in.” I pull out sliced fruit from the fridge and set Aaron up with a tablet on the kitchen island.
The entire time, Bear and Molly observe each other with equal intensity. Man, it’s adorable.
I interrupt their telepathic exchange.“How are you feeling?”
Molly’s neck jerks back as though I’ve hit her with a frying pan. “Me?”
“Yeah. All of this must be really difficult for you.”
“I’m not sure I have the words to explain what this means to me.” She evades my question. “It feels like you’re my only shot of securing my trust without Lance being in my life.”
“Hey, Mol, look at me.” I walk around to her seat, positioning myself beside her. She peeks up at me from beneath darkened lashes, her eyes hiding so much she’s refusing to say. “We’re in this together. You’remybest shot at funding my project. The forests won’t be planted without you.”
“Forest!” Aaron yells from behind her, making her laugh.
“What should we tell everyone at ORO?” Molly is still looking up at me. “I was already thinking about leaving after I got my trust.”Her gears are spinning again.
“I think I’ll also be leaving ORO, after we get divorced.” I keep my voice low, motioning between us. “So we should just tell people that we’ve been an item for a while. It’ll be more convincing.”
“Okay,” she agrees. I drop my palm on the island beside her. “Well, then, what do you want me to call you? I mean, in the relationship sense.”
Right.“Um, what would you prefer?”
She considers me for a moment. “I guess until my parents approve our marriage, I—I’d be your girlfriend.”
