Page 35 of Finding You
“I know. I like it here, a lot actually. I loved coming here as a kid. It always felt safe and welcoming, you know? Which is why my first thought was to come here when everything happened. And Havenport has not let me down. It’s been great. But I don’t have a job.”
Emily rolled her big blue eyes at me. “Oh please, Astrid, I know you don’t need money.” She wasn’t wrong. I was lucky. My parents paid for my education so I had no debt. And Burns & Glenn had compensated me very generously for my labor.
“I can’t retire at thirty-two, Emily.”
“Taking a few months off is not retiring. Plus you have your dad’s trust, right?”
“It technically became mine when I turned thirty. But I haven’t touched it.”
“So you have quite the safety net, sweetie. Most people would kill for a tenth of that.”
I knew I was lucky, and it made me feel ungrateful. The truth was that I didn’t have to worry about money at the moment. But I still wanted to earn and succeed on my own. Not because my mother was a judge and not because my father had made a few good investments in the nineties.
“So that’s it? You’re just going to leave? What about Declan?”
I shrugged and studied my cold feet. I really needed to buy some winter boots while I was here. I had never spent so much time outside in my life.
“Astrid. Don’t be a dumbass. He is really into you. And I’ve known him for almost my entire life and he was a confirmed bachelor. He is not the dating type. He especially isn’t the publicly dating and PDA type.” She took a big gulp of coffee and pinned me with her best mom look. “And you obviously like him too, or you wouldn’t be dating him.”
“It’s fake.” Dammit. I shouldn’t have said that.
She whipped her head around, dirty-blonde hair flying. “What now?”
Before I could respond, she put up her hand. “Wait, hold on.” She stood up and walked to the edge of the deck. “Ezra, put that down. We do not throw rocks at birds.” She turned back to me and continued, “I am actually worried he may be a sociopath. Hopefully the others will put me in a nice home with the good drugs so I don’t have to watch the TV coverage.”
I looked at the kids in the back of the yard. “Is Jacob riding his bike down the slide? Oh, shit. With no shoes and no helmet?”
Emily observed the situation and sat back down next to me. “He’s fine. Don’t judge me, Astrid. You have no idea. Every time I popped out one of these little shits I lost a little bit more of my mind. I am a shell of a woman these days.” She shuddered, and I kept an eye on the kids.
“So hold on,” Emily said. “Why are you fake dating Declan? It’s not like you couldn’t get a real boyfriend in a hot minute. And Declan? I’ve seen women stand in line just to talk to him and experience his smolder up close.”
That made me jealous. My eyes narrowed and I got antsy. “No, it’s not like that. Please, please don’t tell anyone. He would be devastated if anyone found out. And embarrassed. I can’t believe I spilled. I keep secrets for a living.”
“Oh sweetie,” she said, patting my hand, “I am just that persuasive. And your secret is safe, especially because I don’t think this will be fake for long. I give you a week before things get real and you forget this fake shit. But please explain to me why you need a fake boyfriend?”
“I have to go to that legal ball in March to accept an award.”
“And you couldn't find a date on Tinder?”
I rolled my eyes at her. “First of all, I was not on Tinder. And second, online dating is not for me. I tried and I failed, okay? Declan is my friend and I have to go to the gala.”
“Oh, right. Yes. You have to go. Fuck those fuckers.” I imagined the swear jar in her house must be overflowing at this point.
“I was going to skip it. But I realized that made me look guilty and ashamed, and I’m neither of those things. I am going to show up with my head held high.”
“And a smoking-hot date?”
“Precisely.”
“Good call. He will absolutely intimidate everyone, and he is so attractive all the wives and gay men will be drooling over him.”
I smiled. He really was that hot.
“Got it. So Declan can conveniently be your date. What about him? Why on earth does he need a fake girlfriend?”
“His mother.”
Emily nodded. “Ah. I can see that. She is relentless. We’re in the same meditation group and she seems all mellow and zen, but when it comes to her sons she is pretty fierce.”
