Say It's Not Fake

“Mr. Struthers definitely caught on that I had no idea Josie was back in town. He’s a nice guy. A lawyer type—”

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” Adam joked.

“He said it was clear Katie had a safe and loving home,” I finished, ignoring his question.

“That’s good, man. Really good. It sounds like you and Whit sold the whole married act then?”

It was my turn to clear my throat, and I felt myself flush even though Adam couldn’t see me. “Uh, yeah. It was fine.” I cleared my throat again.

“Why are you making that noise? You sound like you’re about to hack up a furball. What’s got you so nervous, Webby?” Damn Adam and his best friend senses. He knew me too well.

“Nothing. I’m trying not to freak out about Josie being in fucking Southport, Adam,” I dodged. I wasn’t going to talk to him about Whitney and me. Not right now. There were other things I had to focus on.

“Look, Josie is going to be contacting you to set up a time to see Katie—”

“I don’t want to talk to her. I don’t trust myself not to tell her what I think about her,” I growled.

“I know you’re angry and rightly so, but you have to think about Katie. The judge granted Josie visitation. You have to do what the court says. And you have to play this right. You have to show everyone you’re willing to do whatever it takes as long as it’s in Katie’s best interest. Even if that means seeing Josie,” Adam instructed firmly. He was talking to me as my attorney, not as my best friend. I appreciated his ability to separate the two.

“Fine. When will I be hearing from her?”

“Her lawyer said she’d call sometime this week to set up a time for the weekend. I did stipulate since Josie’s a stranger to Katie that you be present for the visit. They can’t argue with that because unsupervised visits out of the gate would be unreasonable for a child of Katie’s age,” Adam said, and I sagged, feeling a little relief.

“Thanks, Adam. I appreciate everything you’re doing. I wish you’d let me pay you. You’re putting in a lot of hours on this—”

“Shut the fuck up. I won’t take a dime from you, and you know it. Pay me back in beers and wings.” Adam laughed.

“I’ll be feeding you wings and beer until you’re eighty at this rate.” I chuckled.

“Fine by me. Tell the wife I said she needs to pour you a stiff one and maybe rub your feet. You need to relax.”

“Yeah, I’m sure that’ll go over like a lead balloon,” I said.

We said our goodbyes, and I went back inside, feeling a little better.

Whitney looked up from pouring juice into a sippy cup. “What did Adam say?”

I closed the patio door. I could see Katie in the living room, pulling stuff from her toy box. She’d be occupied for at least a few minutes.

I pulled Whitney into my arms, holding her close. “He spoke with Josie’s lawyer, and she’s moved back temporarily until custody is determined. She’s going to call me in the next few days to set up a time to see Katie this weekend.”

Whitney put her arms around my waist and rested her head against my chest. “I’m so sorry, Kyle. I know this is the last thing you need.”

“It is what it is. Sure, it sucks, but we’ll deal with it. Together.” I pulled back to look down at her. “Right? We’re a team in this.”

She smiled, and the heaviness lightened somewhat. “Team Webber. All the way.”

Then I kissed her.

Because how could I not?

Chapter 14

Whitney

It was the same unknown number that had been calling me for days. They never left a message, and I never answered it.

It was just after midnight, and Kyle was sleeping soundly beside me. I hadn’t quite gotten used to sleeping in a bed with someone. I was a woman who liked my own space. In all the years that I was Gavin’s side piece, we never slept in a bed together, and there had never been any other men in my life romantically. So lying beside someone night after night was weird.

But I was pretty sure I liked it.

My phone stopped ringing and then immediately started up again. This happened three more times. I was worried it would wake up Kyle and was getting the feeling that whoever was on the other end wasn’t going to give up, so I carefully wriggled out from beneath Kyle’s arm and tiptoed down the stairs.

I had become familiar with the creaks of the stairs. I knew what furniture to dodge in the dark. Kyle’s home was becoming as familiar as my own. I picked up Katie’s doll she had left on the living room floor and placed it on top of her toybox.