Page 40 of The Fake Husband Play
Not when the nurses at the ER still have our names and Mimi’s chart number memorized.
But thankfully, tonight, her skin is cool and her lids are already drifting closed.
“Your water is by the bed,” I whisper. “And remember,the bathroom is on the opposite side of the hall from what you’re used to, okay? Just in case you wake up in the night and need to go?”
“I be-member.” She’s drifting now, her fingers loosening around Miss Sparklehorn’s neck as her breathing slows. “This bed is so…comfy.”
It really is. The mattress is a cloud draped in petal-soft cotton sheets—completely luxe, just like the inch-thick carpet, heavy doors, and walls so solid a rat would be flat out of luck trying to gnaw a hole throughthatplaster.
Everything in Grammercy’s smaller guest room screams “I have money and taste,” from the neutral gray walls to the solid mission-style furniture. And yes, it’s a touch somber for a little girl’s room, but compared to the dingy paint, popcorn ceiling, andinfestationin our old place, this might as well be Versailles.
And I’m sure Grammercy won’t mind if I hang some of Mimi’s artwork when it arrives tomorrow to brighten things up a bit.
He’s been so cool about everything so far, a real-life knight in shining armor with an easy smile, who keeps his cool in a crisis. Exactly what Mimi and I both needed in the worst way.
Especially tonight.
God, if we’d had to sleep in the rat house…
I shudder, not even wanting to think about it. I was playing tough, but I was ready to scoop Mimi up and run for the elevator the second I realized what Katy was screaming about.
“Sweet dreams,” I whisper as I back toward the door. “I’ll have scrambled eggs ready when I wake you up for school.”
“Okay, Mama. Night-night. Tell Gee night-night, too.”
“I will,” I promise as I ease the door shut, leaving it cracked enough for the hallway light to creep in.
As I wander out down the hallway leading to the two guest bedrooms, the penthouse opens up around me, one giant living room and kitchen area that’s so big, there’s room for three couches andtwotelevisions in the lounging section. One big television claims the wall to my left, while a smaller one services a comfy couch in the far corner, where some kind of gaming system is set up.
Thank goodness Mimi hasn’t noticedthatyet.
I’ve done my best to keep her away from video games until she’s older. I’ve read too many articles about how bad screen time is for a kid’s brain development. But even if she spies the console, the pool is going to keep her entertained without screens for a long time to come.
The pool and the view…
Mimi loves a view as much as I do. Most kids don’t notice things like that, but my girl is an artist.
I glance toward the city skyline, glittering beneath a nearly full moon, to see Grammercy still out on the terrace. He’s closing the pool cover with the remote control he showed Mimi, the one that’s connected to an app on his phone, so he can close the cover from thousands of miles away or drop a pellet into the water while he’s at work if the chlorine levels drop too low.
He has a private pool that he maintains with cutting-edge technology.
I have a phone so old the company keeps sending warnings that it will soon be “incompatible with futureupdates,” and tonight is the first time I’ll be sleeping in a private room in three years.
I’m not just a fish out of water; I’m a fish riding a bicycle.
Backwards.
While learning to speak a foreign language.
The thought makes me pause a few feet from the sliding door, suddenly very aware that I’m wearing paint-splattered jeans and a faded Turkey Trot Fun Run T-shirt.
Not exactly penthouse chic.
I already know Grammercy well enough to know that he won’t care, butIcare. This may be my fake wedding night, but I still married this man today.
Kissed this man today…
And tonight, I would like for him to think I’m beautiful, even if we are just new friends hanging out before heading to ourseparatebeds.
