Page 27 of Say Yes To The Fake Date

“Hey, hey. None of that,” King says as he pulls Haven into his arms. “You’re perfect.”

She just smiles up at him, and seeing the love they have for each other makes me feel like I’m encroaching on their personal space.

I pull Lucy into my side, and she leans into me. I gesture to King and Haven. “Haven is due any day now.”

King and Haven just beam, and Lucy asks, “Are you having a boy or a girl?”

“Girl,” Haven says, and King puts his hand on her belly protectively.

“How exciting. Congratulations.”

Haven nods. “We’re happy about it, and I am ready to meet her.”

Everyone starts to talk to each other, and even though I’m talking to the guys, I can feel Lucy tense next to me. I know my family can get a little overwhelming, so I announce, “Okay, well, Lucy and I are going to hit the dance floor.”

I pull her with me, and it’s not until we’re almost to the dance floor that I tell her, “Sorry if you don’t want to dance. We don’t have to, but you looked a little sad back there.”

She doesn’t disagree with me, but she does pull my hand toward the dance floor. “Come on, let’s dance.”

I find us a corner and then wrap her in my arms. We sway back and forth for a while before I break the silence. “You want to talk about it?”

“No,” she answers immediately.

I hold her tighter. “Lucky, come on. Talk to me. Did someone say something to you?”

My family is awesome, but they’re also protective of me. Did one of them say something that upset her?

She sighs. “It’s stupid.”

I run my hand around her waist and pull her closer. “I’m sure it’s not stupid at all.”

She leans her head against my chest. “I dunno. I just always thought I’d be a mom by now, ya know.It’s something I always wanted… I guess it’s just not meant to be.”

I tense, thinking about her pregnant. Immediately, I want to beg her to have my kids, but I know that’s ridiculous. My voice is thick with emotion. “It’s not stupid. I know how you feel. I thought we’d be parents by now too.”

She pulls back and looks at me. “We… like you and me?”

I resist rolling my eyes. Hell, she doesn’t have a clue. “Lucy, baby, you’re the only woman I’d want to have kids with.” I sigh and settle my chin on the top of her head. “Remember when we were in high school and we’d talk about the future? We talked about getting married and having babies.”

She moves closer to me. “Yeah. When I met Cole, that’s the first thing I remembered. If we… if we had stayed together, we’d probably have a child about his age.”

I lean back and look in her eyes. We’re surrounded on the dance floor, but none of these people matter. The only one I care about is Lucy. I’m about to ask her if she wants to leave when she pulls out of my arms. “I need a drink.”

I try not to be disappointed. I remind myselfthat at least she’s here with me. “Come on, we can grab a seat and I’ll get you something.”

I lead her to a table and leave to go get us drinks. I remind myself that I need to be patient with Lucy and with everything going on in her life, she doesn’t need any pressure from me. I order her an apple martini and myself a water. As I wait for the bartender to prepare my order, I watch Lucy across the room. She’s laughing with some woman at the table, and I get lost staring at her.

“Here’s your drinks, sir.”

I grab them and am about to make my way across the room when Sheila, a woman that has had her car at the garage a few times, stops in front of me. “Dominic Evans, I wasn’t expecting you to be here tonight. Are you going to save me a dance?”

I hold up my two drinks and take a step back. “I’m sorry, Sheila. My dance card is all filled up tonight. I hope you have a nice—”

She steps toward me. “Well, how about a night cap? I can wait up for you.”

“Uh—” I start.

“Dom, baby, do you have my drink?” Lucy walks straight toward me, grabs the martini from my hand, and then kisses me on the mouth. “What did you get me?”

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