Page 29 of Fake Wife for Dr. Secret Daddy

“Ah. Allow me, please.” She gestures for us to follow her.

“Oh, wow. Would you look at that?” Mom points a piece of kid jewel to Luna, whose eyes widen as the diamonds glitter. She babbles and imitates Mom.

That should entice a princess, and from the look on my mother’s face, I knew without a doubt that Luna would be leaving the store with her sparkling piece of jewelry.

Mom moves closer to the glass, displaying a collection of tiaras, and I follow the attendant until we get to the aisle for wedding rings.

“This is our exclusive wedding jewelry collection. You’re free to make your pick. Is there a particular style or design you have in mind already?” She tilts her head and asks me.

“Um...” I hadn’t even considered doing extensive research because I wanted it to be a natural purchase. I tried to get a ring that called me. That made no logical sense, but I had a gut feeling that when I saw the ring, I would know it was meant for Winnie.

“Okay, that’s the wrong question.” The attendant waves the question away with a laugh and asks a simpler one: “What is your partner like? Sometimes, that helps narrow down the selection.”

The words come to my mouth easily: “She’s stunning, down to earth, kind, humble, and breathtaking.”

Those words didn’t even do justice to her, but they were the easiest to grasp at that point. Winnie was much too phenomenal for a couple of words to be sufficient.

There were a million other adjectives that I could use, but I reserved them for later.

Luckily, the words seem to be the magic key as the attendant smiles and leads me to a glass box with classy yet understated rings displayed there.

“That one.” I breathe out and point out the most outstanding ring in there.

It is simple yet stylish, and the pink stone at the center of the band is a color I know Winnie loves. The slim band has tiny pink crystals sprinkled across it. It’s dainty without being overpowering, and it’s almost as if the ring is calling out to me, and I’ll be a fool if I resist it.

Mom’s quiet footsteps announce her presence behind me. “Oh, wow. That’s beautiful.” My mother isn’t one to gush, but this ring makes her do so.

“Yeah. I know.” I understand exactly what she’s feeling. “It’s perfect.”

“Yes, it is.”

I paid for the ring and Luna’s tiara. We’re guided to a waiting room with refreshments while the ring is wrapped up for me. I sit beside my mother, who has Luna on her lap.

Luna is clutching the tiara, which has been baby-proofed so that the edges don’t hurt her hands. She’s undecided about whether to put it on her head or keep munching on it.

“You’re a great-grandmother. I hope you know that.” I nudge her shoulder, and she smiles at the compliment.

“Yeah, I had a lot of practice with the most amazing son.” My sweet mother winks at me.

“You know, I always knew that you were in love with Winnie. Even before you knew it yourself, I worried about the age difference between you.”She says this quietly, but I catch the softness in her tone.

I clear my throat, and the neck of my shirt suddenly feels tighter than it did a couple of minutes ago.

I’m suddenly uncomfortable, and I pray that we leave immediately. I’m unwilling to have this conversation here and now.

“I’m not trying to imply anything predatory, but you know, fifteen years is quite a gap, especially in this day and age when romantic relationships have a much narrower age gap between the partners.”

I have no idea why she’s still pushing it, and at this point, it would be rude to ignore it. Plus, it might make her think there’s something fishy.

“Well, there’s still a lot of sugar daddies and their girlfriends.” My joke falls flat like a pancake on the tiled floor, and my mother turns to give it a droll look. There’s no amusement written on her face; instead, her brows lift to imply how tasteless it is.

Shit.

“I mean, I understand where you’re coming from, and now that I have Luna, I can see what it must look like to many people. From the outside, the age gap is all they can see. But I never took advantage of Winnie. Not once. I made sure there were boundaries between us until she was old enough to reason fully about the decision she was making.”

“Did you ever wonder how it would be harder for her, being the younger one? And for a woman, for that matter?”

I honestly hadn’t thought so much about that. My perception had always been that our relationship, whatever was going on between us, was nobody’s business but us, and the things they said would never hurt us because we knew what was real and what wasn’t.

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