Top Dog

“There is. But it’s a hefty favor,” I said.

“From what you’ve told me about her biological father, if there’s anything I can do to keep her out of his hands, I’ll do it.”

There was a sternness to her features that caught me off guard. Her eyes were fiery and lit with anger, but they were glazed over. Almost like some sort of memory had temporarily taken over her body.

“Anything,” she said breathlessly. “Just name it.”

“I need you to pretend to be my wife.”

I watched her mouth drop open as her hand went limp within mine.

“We’d have to make it legal, but we could file for an annulment later on. It would only be until I’ve blocked this man out of Lanie’s life for good. But if a married man is better than a single one, then that’s how you can help.”

Her eyes danced between mine as she pulled away from me. I knew I was asking a lot, but I was hoping that the protective fire that had reared its head moments before, was still in her gut.

“That’s—wow,” she said.

“I know. I know it’s insane, and if you don’t want to do it… if you can’t… I get it. One hundred percent.”

“I didn’t say that,” she said. “Can you give me some time to think about it?”

“Whatever you need.”

That answer was better than the slap in the face I thought I would get, and hope started to blossom in the back of my mind.

“Lanie fell asleep right before you came in, so she’ll be out for a little while,” Amanda said.

“Thank you again for watching her. How much do I owe you?” I asked.

“Nothing. I’m sorry I forgot to text you. Lanie had me running around right after breakfast.”

“Don’t worry about it. Take my number with you. Give me a call once you’ve taken the time you need to think,” I said.

I watched her get up from the bed and walk out of my room. I followed her, watching her wander aimlessly throughout my home. She grabbed my number off the fridge and stuffed it into her pocket, then she walked back over to the couch. Her eyes descended onto a sleeping Lanie, and I swore I saw them glisten with tears.

She bent over and kissed Lanie on the top of the head, then she made quick work of getting out my front door.

CHAPTER 15

AMANDA

I knew I needed to take his offer. Lanie’s father sounded like a grade-A douchebag. Brian told me all about the encounter with him. How he reeked of alcohol and was hazed over with drugs. I knew what that was like. I watched that shit with my own mother. I listened as my mother stumbled in at two o’clock in the morning. I remembered watching her car drive off from my grandmother’s, so she could go party. I remembered dance recitals and piano lessons falling into the background, her drugs and her parties being prioritized over me.

I could also remember the nasty custody battle my grandmother went through to prove she was fit as an elderly woman to care for a child.

It ran me through the ringer. As a child, it almost broke me. My mother got nasty, and my grandmother was beaten to the ground. And the only person that paid the price, in the end, was me. My grandmother might’ve won custody of me, but not before it destroyed me—heart, mind, and soul.

If I could keep Lanie from experiencing that, I would.

But I was nervous. Fake or not, marriage was a significant thing. It was obvious that we were already attracted to each other. But faking a marriage meant moving in with him. It meant lying to Lanie. It meant thrusting her into another situation that would eventually crumble once Brian accomplished what he needed. I knew Brian was trying to keep Lanie out from underneath all of this, and I admired him for it, but bringing a woman into the home and then her leaving a short time later would do a different sort of damage to Lanie.

I needed Sarah’s advice. And I needed it now.

I grabbed my purse and my keys and started for my car. I sent Sarah a text, telling her I was coming over. I picked us up some food before I arrived at her hotel room, and the moment she opened the door I launched myself into the tirade I’d rehearsed in my head.

“Wait, wait, wait. He wants to marry you?” she asked.

“Not actually marry me. A fake marriage in order to paint his home to be a better one for Lanie.”