Say It's Not Fake

“No, Josie. Let Whitney do it. When Katie gets tired, she gets wound up easily. Obviously, Whitney is the one she wants right now.”

Josie sat back down slowly.

“I’ll be back in a bit,” Whitney said to me, taking Katie upstairs to clean her up.

Then it was just Josie and me.

“This isn’t right, Web,” Josie said, not wasting any time.

I bit off a sigh. “What’s not right, Josie?” I asked tiredly.

“This is my family. Not hers. She shouldn’t be here,” she argued.

I couldn’t hold back my anger any longer. “You left this family, Josie. And you haven’t been back until now. Whitney is my wife and Katie’s stepmother. And Katie loves her, as you can see. So put aside your bullshit and think about our kid.”

Josie gave me a shrewd look. “She’s been your wife, what? Six weeks?”

“So?” I challenged.

Josie got up and came around to the other side of the table, sitting down beside me. She took my hand in her iron grip. “I know why you’re with her. You don’t need to replace me, Web, I’m back. I’m here now.”

Was she deluded? What the hell?

I pulled my hand away ... again. “You think I married Whitney as some replacement for you?” I laughed. “Have you lost your mind? Why does everything have to be about you, Josie?”

Josie’s eyes grew wet with tears. Here we go, the waterworks. She pulled them out at the most convenient times.

“I love you, Web. I’ve always loved you. And you love our baby. And isn’t it the best thing for her for us to be together and to be a family? That’s what she deserves.” It was her same tired argument. The same one she used a thousand times when she was pregnant.

It infuriated me.

“I’m trying to be the mother Katie needs. Can’t you see that?” she begged, tears dripping down her face. Katie had obviously inherited Josie’s flair for the dramatic.

“Then stop trying to force this happy family picture of you, me, and Katie. It’s not going to happen. I love Whitney. She’s my wife. We are a family. You can be in Katie’s life, Josie, and by extension, you’ll always be in mine, but that’s the extent of it. I am madly, deeply in love with the woman I married. Do you get that?”

There was a cough, and I looked up to find Whitney standing in the doorway. “Sorry to interrupt, but Katie is passed out.” She seemed slightly uncomfortable. Did she hear what I had just said to Josie about loving her? We hadn’t said those words to each other. I sensed Whitney wasn’t even close to being ready to hear them. Shit.

Josie got to her feet. “Well, there’s no sense in me hanging around then.” She stormed to the front door, not even trying to be quiet. “I guess I’ll text you about when I can see Katie.” She opened the door, throwing a mean look Whitney’s way, softening slightly when she turned to me. “I’ll see you soon, Web.”

Whitney didn’t mention whether she heard what I had said, and I sure as hell didn’t bring it up. Even if the words ‘I love you’ burned inside me hot enough to consume.

**

“You’re sure you can get off early enough to pick up Katie?” Whitney asked as we got ready for work. It took twice as long as it used to now that we shared space. And because getting ready typically involved a quickie before we showered.

“Of course. I’ve already told Todd and Jeff. The crew can carry on without me. So where are you, Meg, Skylar, and Lena going? Nothing too crazy, I hope.” I came up behind her, where she was sitting at her vanity, putting on makeup. I leaned down and kissed the spot beneath her ear.

“Just dinner. Meg’s about to pop any day now, so we figured we’d get one last meal in before she’s knee-deep in diapers.” She swiped lip gloss on and put on some silver stud earrings.

“Well, have fun and don’t worry about us, I have a feeling a Barbie movie is in my future.” I chuckled.

Whitney got to her feet and put her arms around me, going up on her tiptoes to kiss me. “Should I wake you up when I get home?” she purred, running her hands down my back to cup my ass, squeezing it.

“Please do,” I growled, capturing her mouth and devouring her. We probably would have ended up back in bed if her phone hadn’t started buzzing from the bedside table.

I handed her the phone, seeing an email had come in from Sunlight Studios. Whitney took the phone and opened the email, her eyes scanning it.

“What is it?” I couldn’t help asking.

“Did you know there’s an independent movie studio only forty minutes from here?” she asked, looking up at me, her expression hesitant.