Page 120 of Play Fake
CHAPTER 52: Ainsley Bradley
Elementary Education
I tug on his hand. “Come in.”
He picks up the carrier, and I wave Ivy in, too. She gets out of the car and walks to the door, and her grin is wide on her face as she follows behind Dex.
The credits are rolling on the movie. I guess we missed the ending.
But this was worth it—wholly and totally.
I got the endingIwas hoping for, too. I once told him the only thing he could do to save our relationship was to give up the lounge, and two days later, he’s standing on my front porch to let me know he did exactly that.
If that doesn’t scream of his sincerity—of hislove—I’m not sure what would.
“Popcorn duty!” my mom yells to the boys, and they race to see who can pick up more popcorn. The loser has to do the winner’s chores tomorrow.
The adults sit in the kitchen around the worn table while the boys race, and I can’t help but stare at Dex.
I’m still in shock that he’s even here. It feels surreal, like this is some dream and not my reality.
We sit and chat with my parents a while longer, and my mom holds the baby.
“So if you’re his stepmom, does that make me his…” She trails off, and Dex fills in the answer.
“Grandma,” he says.
My mom looks at Dex, and then at me, and then at Jack, and she swipes away a tear that falls onto her cheek.
“Oh, my sweet baby,” she coos to Jack, and I feel myself getting a little emotional seeing her with the baby.
He’s not mine by blood, but it’s starting to feel like he’s mine anyway. And that’s pretty damn special.
We chat a little longer with my parents and Ivy, but it’s already getting late.
“Ivy, would you mind taking us to Madden’s?” Dex asks, and she agrees. Twenty minutes later, we’re pulling up to a lakefront tower and taking the elevator up to the penthouse.
These Bradley boys sure know how to pick places with views.
He shows me around the place, and we get Jack down to sleep in one of the guest rooms. We end up on the balcony overlooking Navy Pier as Dex reaches over and grabs my hand in his.
“I didn’t just tear up my father’s contract. I also revised ours. My lawyer sent it digitally if you’d like to take a look.”
Her brows dip a little. “Can you tell me what you changed?”
“A few things. I took out you being his nanny. I don’t want to pay you to nanny for him when you’re his stepmother. You were right about that, and if anything positive came out of the past few days, it’s knowing that I could do this. I want to strike a balance where you get your time and I get mine, but we also get family time. And since you’re my wife, you don’t need a paycheck. My lawyer is ordering credit cards linked to mine in your name.”
My jaw drops.
“I could see you getting bored at the penthouse, Ains. I want you to do whatever it is that’s going to make you happy, and I want you to be able to do it without limitations. If we need to hire a nanny so you can work somewhere else, so be it. If you want to farm butterflies on the balcony, I’m on board. If you want to open a kiosk at the mall where you write names on grains of rice, you have my support.”
“Farm butterflies?” I repeat with a giggle.
“What? It’s a thing. My point is that I want you to be happy, and I want to facilitate life in a way that allows you to do whatever you want.”
Tears heat behind my eyes. I’m not sure how I deserve all this, but it’s somehow mine anyway.
“I want to go back to school to get my degree in elementary education,” I blurt.
