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I twirl around to face him and lace my fingers behind his neck. “I love you, and thank you for everything.”
I try to infuse all of my love and gratitude into our kiss. Oliver’s beaten himself up about all of this mess. He feels responsible for everything that’s happened to me, from the rejection of the program to the loss of my job. Yes, I was fired on the same day I met with a few of the Kincaides and their lawyers about the program. It was a hard loss but to be expected, and I will be okay. None of this is Oliver’s fault. This was all Dot’s doing, and I have to keep reminding myself of this as we get ready to rock her world.
Over the next half hour, people start to trickle in, and when we’re only minutes from go time, the silent guest of honor, although she doesn’t know it—Dot Malone—and her father, the mayor, and her mother slip into the back of the room.
But they aren’t here to be discreet and nosy. No, they want to upstage this gathering even if all they were told, like everyone else in the town, is that this is a launch party for the Bright Horizons program.
Dot holds her head high, stopping for a few hellos and pats on the hand from some in the crowd, as she makes her way to the front of the room. Her father walks stoically by her side as if her bodyguard, her mother in tow. I want to roll my eyes at how she acts—in fact they all do—as if this gathering is for them. Whatever.
I’m prepared for them to pull some kind of stunt but not in the least bit worried.
“You ready?” Oliver squeezes my arm and deliberately steps in front of me to block my view of the Malones.
“As I’ll ever be.”
“You got this.” He kisses me and then I’m walking onto the stage at the front of the room.
“Good morning, everyone.” I pause and wait for the room to settle, all eyes on me. “I want to thank you all for coming today. I’m going to keep this brief as we have a few things to get through.”
I’ve rehearsed my speech so much in the past twenty-four hours that I don’t look at my notes as I cover the high-level purpose of the program and how pleased I am to announce the launch. Then I introduce our sponsors, giving them each two minutes to say something about their involvement and why.
In addition to Canyon Spring Ranch, we were able to secure five more sponsorships and sign on seven more families to sponsor future foster kids coming into the program next year and beyond. As all of this is shared with the community, the Malones seethe, Dot especially.
Her perfectly made-up face gets redder and redder as each minute ticks by and applause for the program grows. It’s as if the community has been swayed to our side or forgotten just why they came here—to likely watch the demise, once more, of the program.
“Before I conclude my remarks, I wanted to thank you above everyone else, Oliver Winslow.” I glance at him and hold out my hand, urging him to join me on stage.
His smile shines bright as he strolls onto the stage. The crowd noise picks up in a growing whisper, all of which we anticipated.
“Without Oliver’s love and support, none of this would have been as enjoyable or frankly, perhaps even possible. I’ve been committed to this program from a young age, like I said earlier, but it’s Oliver’s unwavering belief in me and this program that’s made it bearable for me. He’s helped me withstand all the scrutiny and”—I pause to find the mayor, eyes locking with his—“rejection and never lose focus on what’s at the very center of this endeavor and most important of all. The foster kids. Thank you, my love.”
I lean over and plant a kiss on his cheek. There are a fewawwsfrom the crowd, but also as many, if not more, boos. Again, we’d counted on this and it feeds into our plan.
“Finally, if you’d like to show your support for the program, in any way, please see Serena Gold.” I point her out to the crowd at a small desk at the back of the room. “And she’d be happy to chat with you.”
Surprisingly, several people start toward Serena, and while it boosts my joy even further, that combined with Oliver’s presence at my side only triggers Dot. I didn’t know what would do it or when but fully anticipated it. I’m glad she waited until the end.
Dot marches toward the stage, hand on her belly. She wouldn’t want anyone to forget she’s pregnant. With a scathing glare at me, she snatches the microphone out of my hand.
Again, she’s playing into our plan. After all, both Oliver and I wanted Dot to be the one to unleash what she has coming. We’d counted on her to do her part.
“People, don’t be swayed by all of this. Have you forgotten what Wren and Oliver have done to me?”
I inwardly cringe, not loving that she’s tainting what should be a happy occasion. Thankfully, I’ve instructed Zoe not to capture any of this. As much as what’s about to happen is critical and needed, I don’t wish to relive it. Once all is said and done, I want Dot and her lies, and any memory of all of this, buried and behind me.
“About that.” Oliver also has a mic, and this shocks Dot speechless, mouth agape.
“Yes, we’d like to address those rumors.” I also have a mic and Dot doesn’t know it yet, but hers has been disabled.
She won’t be able to drown us out. She may be on the stage, but she’s a captive part of the audience.
I hold up a piece of paper. “We have a DNA test right here that states Oliver isn’t the father.”
Right on cue, Kellen saunters onto the stage. “That’s right. I’m the father. Dot and I were having an affair although we did nothing wrong. There was no cheating involved.” He curbs his devilish smile, clearly reading the room and offering a more repentant tone and demeanor.
For far too long, Kellen has been the town bad boy, but he can’t play that up right now. “As Oliver has stated, he and Dot had broken up nearly two years prior. Dot even told me so. She told me a lot of things…” He lets his innuendo hang in the air, the threat to tell all.
Dot clutches her stomach and grimaces. Guilt and worry pinch at my chest. Is the baby okay? But in the next breath, she forgets all pretenses of distress and lunges for Kellen, yelling obscenities.
