Page 100 of Fake It 'til You Make It

‘Join the queue,’ I say. I’m not a violent man but it’s true. For what he did to Abbey, for everything he’s still putting her through here in Canada, and for the confidence he zapped from her recently and never helped her find in herself for all the years they were together, I hate that man.

‘And the apartment she’s living in – should I be worried about where she’s found the money to rent an apartment in a building expensive enough for a professional baseball player to want tolive? God knows she’s no actress, despite her ruse of the last few days.’

‘Not worried. I have a feeling Abbey will work things out just fine in the end.’

I run a thumb along my chin, pondering my next words, but I am fully aware of how astute Terry is, so I tell him, ‘It’s been a better way for her to spend her wedding fund than getting hitched to that jackass.’

Terry’s eyes widen, then he gives me one curt nod and I take it as my cue to leave him alone with his drink.

I open the door, then think I best check: ‘Are you happy for me to stay here for the weekend? It’s your home and I’d understand, what with everything I’ve told you, if you don’t want me here.’

‘I trust my daughter, Theodore, therefore I trust that she knows what she’s doing. The only part I don’t follow is why you think she’d be better off with a sportsman than a very successful and level-headed businessman who seems much more her type.’

I fight the smile that threatens to play on my face at the compliment. Now that I know she isn’t an actress, maybe… But Terry is definitely not on my side here.

‘So I can stay?’

‘You can stay. On the condition that my daughter finds out the truth in the next twenty-four hours, and I’ll be here for her when she does.’

46

ABBEY

I’ve caught glimpses of Mike from my mom’s bedroom window, wearing a three-piece suit and looking hot as heck.

He glanced my way once when I opened the window an inch to let the sound of the pianist sift into the room. I don’t know why but I darted away, as if it’sourwedding day and I’m not supposed to see him until I get down there.

If my nerves today are anything to go by, if we ever did get married, I’d be a wreck. I shake my head, shaking away the thought of him being my groom. It’s not a healthy place to be because after today, Mike will fly off into the sunset, back to his high-flying life in California. That was the plan. It still is.

But God, I’ll miss him. I miss him now and we still have days together. It’s like a countdown to the end of a vacation you wish could continue forever.

‘It doesn’t fit.Damnit.’ Dee’s panicked voice brings me out of my reverie. I dash over to where she’s struggling to pull her silk dress down over her swollen tummy.

Thankfully, Mom is in the ensuite and out of earshot because Dee, Shernette and I know exactly why the dress doesn’t fit.

‘Here, let me see,’ I say, encouraging her to hold up her arms and breathe in so Shernette and I can try to tease the dress down her waist. ‘Dee, I don’t think it’s going to work.’

‘I don’t want to squish the baby,’ Shernette says. ‘There’s no give in this material.’

‘It’s too tiny to squish yet.Feck, feck, feck,’ Dee says, bouncing on the spot like she used to as a child when she took a tantrum. ‘What am I going to do?’

We all look at each other, then Dee’s eyes narrow on me and she considers the dress I’m wearing. The floaty, stretchy and kind of frumpy number chosen for me, which is only a match for Dee’s in color. ‘We’ll have to swap,’ she says.

As she speaks, there’s a tap on the door. ‘Who is it?’ I call.

‘It’s me, Abbey. Mike. Can we talk?’

‘Mike, I’d like to but now just isn’t the time. We’re having a wardrobe crisis. I’ll see you down there, okay?’ I will, won’t I? Today is what this whole performance has been about.

‘Yeah. You will.’

Phew.

‘What crisis?’ Mom shouts from the bathroom.

Shernette has gone to take a seat next to Mike, somewhere near the front of the guests, as instructed by Mom. Mom, Dee and I are standing in the summer room, behind glass-paned French doors. I can’t see them and I can’t see Dad and Nate, who should be standing at the front, because all of the sixty or so guests have been told to be upstanding.

I’ll admit, a month ago, this ceremony seemed needless and one of Mom’s over-the-top ideas, but today, it feels like the perfect way to celebrate Mom and Dad’s anniversary.

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