Fake Marriage Box Set

“Aunt Kate,” Emma agreed solemnly. She looked down at the present, her fingers clearly itching to tear the wrapping off it. But she paused, looking towards Lexi for permission. Lexi nodded.

Emma shrieked with delight when she saw the beautiful doll that her aunt had gifted her with. I saw Lexi's look of discomfort and moved towards her, lightly squeezing her hand. She relaxed noticeably, smiling over at me.

“I would have loved to have a doll like that when I was her age,” Katherine said, straightening up and turning towards us. Her smile was sheepish. “I'm sorry if I'm overstepping, I just couldn't help myself.”

“She's beautiful,” Lexi said.

There was a moment of silence. “So, the two of you seem to be settling in nicely here,” Katherine finally said, looking between Lexi and me.

“Yeah,” Lexi said, glancing over at me. “Andrew's been really great.”

“You guys are easy,” I told her, kissing her gently on the lips and hoping that would calm her down a little, too. “Emma especially.”

Lexi laughed. “She's a good kid,” she agreed.

“Any luck on the job front?” Katherine asked. “Just, Andrew said that you were looking.”

“Nothing yet,” Lexi said, a faint blush staining her cheeks, and I inwardly cursed Katherine for bringing up the job situation. But Lexi forged ahead. “I had a couple interviews recently that I'm hoping could turn into something, though. We'll see.”

“If not, it's fine,” I said.

“I know that,” Lexi said.

“I was just wondering because we might have an opening at my job,” Katherine said, sincerely sounding apologetic. “I work as a nanny, so it wouldn't pay much, but it would at least be something. I think the work's really interesting, too, and you're really making a difference in people's lives. Of course, what you'd be doing would be more like basically administrative work, but I suppose that does help us make a difference in people's lives since if the paperwork didn't all get done, we wouldn't be able to function! Plus, if I had to do all the paperwork myself, I'd cry.”

Lexi laughed again. “Thanks for the offer,” she said. “I'll look into it.” Then, she grinned. “So I guess you're the nice one, and Andrew's the gruff one, is that it?”

Katherine snorted. “I guess you could say that,” she said. Her expression turned introspective. “Andrew's always been more cautious than me,” she finally said, shrugging. “He can't help it. He's the older brother, and he always felt that he had to protect me from the world.”

“Andrew would like it if you would stop talking about him as though he wasn't here,” I said pointedly, but I couldn't help smiling.

I was glad that the two of them seemed to be getting along with one another. I hadn't been too worried, but they were two of the most important people in my life, and I wouldn't have known what to do if they hadn't liked one another.

We all watched Emma in the living room as she colored a picture and chatted away to her new doll.

“I actually didn't know what to expect from you,” Lexi piped up, cocking her head to the side as she stared at Katherine.

My sister rolled her eyes. “Don't tell me, Andrew filled your head with all sorts of strange stories.”

“Actually, he didn't tell me much of anything,” Lexi admitted. “He told me that you were really nice and that I'd like you, but that's about it.”

“Andrew,” Katherine chided, but her eyes were sparkling with amusement.

I was spared from responding by the sound of the oven timer going off. I pulled out the casserole and set it on top of the stove, waving away the smoke. “That just needs to cool and settle for a minute, and then we can eat,” I told them.

“Good,” Katherine said. “Smells delicious, by the way.”

“Thanks.”

Katherine turned back to Lexi, and with some weird sixth sense, I could tell before she even opened her mouth that I wasn't going to like what she was about to say.

Sure enough: “Well, I'm glad you're getting all settled. I think you'll make a nice addition to the family.”

I scowled at her. “Can I have a word with you in the other room?” I asked.

Katherine raised an eyebrow at me but followed me out of earshot. I whirled on her. “You can't just say stuff like that,” I hissed, mindful of my volume even though there was no way Lexi would be able to overhear us.

“Stuff like what?” Katherine asked, genuinely looking confused.