Page 50 of The Fake Husband Play
Time to step in and put some protections in place.
“Donne-la de l’air, maman,” I warn in a gentle voice.
“She has room to breathe,” Beanie says, glancing Elly’s way. “Don’t you, sweetheart? You have all the room to breathe, and I want to help you have even more.” Back to me, she adds with a sniff, “And don’t talk French in front of people who don’t speak the language. It’s rude,mon bébé.”
I fight the urge to roll my eyes. This from the queen of speaking French in front of English speakers when it suitsheragenda.
“It’s fine,” Elly mouths from across the table.
A beat later, I feel her shoe rest gently on mine, a subtle sign that everything is okay that I appreciate.
The rest of the dessert passes with easy conversation and even easier eating. Mimi works her way throughhalf of each of our shared ice cream desserts with enthusiasm. But by the time my mama and I have fought for the check, Mimi is fighting to keep her eyes open.
Outside by the valet stand, she’s swaying on her feet until Beanie takes her hand, pointing toward the water feature bubbling in the restaurant’s front garden.
“Let’s go look at the big fancy fish,” Beanie says, leading her toward the glowing water. “The best way to stay awake until the car comes. We’ll see how many orange ones we can find. The orange ones are my favorite.”
Mimi goes willingly, groggy but still clearly a Beanie fan. “We should give them names. I bet they don’t have names.”
“Excellent idea,” Beanie says with her usual enthusiasm. “Let’s look for a big one to call Blue, after Grammercy’s big handsome teammate with the pretty blue eyes.”
I laugh, muttering to Elly as they wander toward the pond, “She has a shameless crush on Blue. Keeps calling him her boyfriend.”
Elly grins. “I love her. She’s the best.”
“And exhausting,” I add. “It’s okay, you can say it,chère. We roommates have to keep it real.”
She giggles as she leans closer, whispering, “Okay, fine, a little exhausting, but she’s great. I wish I had that much energy at twenty-three, let alone fifty-three.” She nods, her gaze warming as she watches Beanie and Mimi name the fish. “But yeah, she’s a force, Grammercy. And so kind. It’s so nice to meet someone so pure. And Mimi’s totally in love.”
“So is Beanie,” I say. “We’ll have to keep them in touch even if… Well, you know, when…”
And there it is. The elephant in the room. This deal. Arrangement. Whatever it is. This thing that feels less like a business transaction with every passing day.
Elly holds my gaze. “Yeah, we will. When…”
She says “when,” but I swear I hear “if” beneath it. And when I tip my head closer to hers to murmur my agreement, she doesn’t move away. No, she sways closer, her chin tipping up until her lips are a whisper away from mine, and the urge to kiss her is killing me.
Killing me and giving me life and growing so strong, I know we can’t put that conversation off much longer.
I have to tell her that I want more than roommates.
That I wanther, and I hope like hell she wants me, too.
“Twelve!” Mimi shouts, startling us apart. “There are twelve orange ones!”
“That’s great,” Elly calls back with a breathy laugh. “Did you find one big enough to be Blue?”
“Yeah, but not one bigandgood-looking,” Mimi says matter-of-factly. “We’re still looking for one that’s sexy.”
“My words, not hers,” Beanie adds quickly, mischief in her glittering eyes.
This time, Elly’s laugh is startled. “Oh yeah, is that right?”
“Mama, please,” I say, fighting a smile. “Behave.”
“Never,” she promises, blowing me a kiss.
The valet pulls up a moment later, saving us all from more talk of sexy fish or my “sexy” teammate. I drop Mama by her car near the arena, and then we’re on our way home to put the sleepy little girl in the backseat to bed.
