Page 44 of Fake It True

My mom was busy introducing Leo to Nathaniel, my dad, and Nathaniel’s parents. I could feel the tension hovering in the air. With my emotions rioting inside, I was fighting tears combined with fury. I didn’t understand what Nathaniel thought he could get out of this.

I was beyond relieved Leo was here. The comfort of his strength and protectiveness was the only thing that got me through these moments. After they all left, Leo leaned close, his arm still around my waist. “It’s gonna be okay. I need you to trust me.”

I looked up at him. His steady gaze held mine, and my anxiety slowed. “Okay,” I whispered. “You don’t have to do this, Leo.”

“Maybe now isn’t the time to say this, but I love you, Casey. This isn’t about what I have to do, it’s about what I want to do.”

My heart thrashed in my chest as I stared at him, while joy rose through the clamor of other emotions crowding inside. “I love you too,” I whispered.

The moment was snapped when Dora’s voice broke through. “Daddy!” She was standing across the counter as we both turned to look at her.

Leo smiled. “Yes?”

“Luna says I can taste-test a donut, but I have to ask you if I can go in the back,” Dora explained.

“Of course you can,” he replied.

Luna’s smile was reassuring when her eyes met mine. She held Dora’s hand, leading her around the counter and into the kitchen in the back.

Customers started to pile up behind the counter, so Janet hopped into motion while Leo turned me to face him again. “I’ll pick you up.”

“Okay. Just pick me up here.”

I didn’t want there to be any opportunity for Nathaniel to catch me alone, so I planned to stay here all day.

“You got it.”

He dipped his head to give me a quick kiss. After he left, I held onto those moments with him like a raft in choppy waters.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

LEO

That evening, I sat beside Casey at dinner at Fireweed Winery. I had to give it to Nathaniel. The man could bullshit with the best of them.

He was smooth with sweet talking his parents and Casey’s. He even had the nerve to lament what a mess it was that he had accidentally been swept up in this criminal case just because he happened to know some of the people involved.

If I’d been more of an asshole, I would’ve brought up Casey’s sister, but I couldn’t bring myself to do so, not with her and her parents here.

His parents started droning on about how unfair it was and how they just couldnoteven believe they had to get permission for him to travel. At that point, Casey’s parents jumped on that bandwagon. I was plain furious.

I held Casey’s hand under the table, and I could feel the tension vibrating through her. She was sad and angry, but she was holding it together. I wanted to slay every dragon she faced. At the moment, that happened to be a table full of people who claimed to love her.

I couldn’t figure out how Nathaniel thought he could implicate Casey’s father in this and how he would stop Caseyfrom testifying. I felt like I was missing something. When Nathaniel and his dad walked up to the bar together, I decided to be nosy.

After I squeezed Casey’s hand, I cast a bland smile around the table. “I’ll be right back. I’m gonna say hello to my friend who’s bartending tonight.”

I gave Casey a kiss on her cheek, leaning close enough to whisper, “Just checking on something. I promise it’ll be okay.”

I looped around to the back hallway and slipped into the storage area behind the bar, silently shouting a hallelujah when I encountered Delilah Blake. I hadn’t been lying that my friend was working here tonight.

“Hey there,” I said when her brows hitched up when she saw me.

Delilah’s husband was a good friend. We’d grown up together, and I saw him often these days as he was an aviation mechanic and handled all the maintenance on the planes and helicopters that transported us out to fires.

“Hey, Leo,” Delilah returned, a smile teasing at the corners of her mouth.

“I’m sure you’re wondering why the hell I’m back here, so let me cut to the chase. There are two men at the bar waiting to be served.” I quickly gave her Nathaniel’s description. “I need you to eavesdrop for me and report back.”

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