Page 76 of Pretend for Me

“That’s true. I’ll make sure to have bottles of breast milk ready for her.”

“And I’ll make sure to assist you with expressing those if you need,” Rowan adds, his voice low and . . . ew, gross!

“K, throwing up now,” I say, almost gagging.

“Okay, I’m in!” Shay says cheerfully. “Can’t wait to see you!”

“Me, too!”

“Hey, so I forgot to tell you,” Rowan says, right as I’m about to hang up. “Dad reached out to me a couple of months ago . . .”

“Oh,” I respond, feeling that same vein throb in my temple. It hasn’t stopped since this morning when I saw the asshole. “What did he need?”

“Who the fuck knows? He asked me to meet him. Said he needed something, but I said no and that I had no reason to see him. Surprisingly, he never texted again. But one of my buddies living near San Francisco said he swears he saw him there—Dad’s still recognizable to hardcore hockey fans. Have you heard from him?”

My heart hammers right when I hear a knock on my door, likely Joshua bringing in my next client.

I’m not getting Rowan involved in this. Plus, I’ve already given Anthony the money he demanded. It is what it is at this point and not something I want to bring others into.

“Nope. Our sperm donor knows his and my relationship is long over.”

twenty-seven

dev

Hail Mary

My gaze scrolls down the woman standing on the other side of my bedroom’s threshold. She’s wearing a cropped, maroon tube top under denim overalls, showing off the sides of her smooth, toned torso. Her lashes are curled with a touch of mascara, her glossed lips are turned up in a bright smile, and her hair is set in waves down her back.

She’s so beautiful, I actually wonder if she’s real.

This nightly visit has become ritualistic over the past week. We’ve had phenomenal, earth-shattering sex where we’ve given each other multiple orgasms. Afterward, we either watch hockey replays of The Bolts game—where Piper watches with the enthusiasm of someone actually in the arena, yelling at the ref and cheering for her brother’s team—or solving a crossword puzzle together. As the night winds down, around ten PM because the woman is regimented about her sleep schedule, she retreats to her room, only to rinse and repeat the whole thing the next day.

Why? Because we’re abiding by her rules.

Rules that somehow make sense in her head but leave me wondering when she’s going to figure it out. That no amountof her enforcing her damn rules will stop this train; it’s already off the rails and going at the speed of infinity. I’ve already hopped aboard, and I’m just waiting for her to grab my hand so I can pull her in.

I work my way down her exposed arms, both extended in front of her and holding a large rabbit cage.

Wait.

What the hell?

She’s holding a rabbit cage again?

Both of her rabbits side-eye me, and I swear I can hear them thinking,“Dude, don’t ask us. We’re as confused as you are.”

My eyes flick back to her face, and I’m about to speak when she stops me. “Before you say anything, let me explain.”

I blink at her. “Yes. That would be a good start.”

“I’m taking Natalie and Kevin to the vet soon, but I figured this would be my Hail Mary,” she explains, as if that should clarify everything.

“I’m sorry?Whatwould be your Hail Mary?”

“Oh!” She takes a few steps forward, bypassing me and entering my room. “Us showing them how to fuck.”

The hell?

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