Page 8 of Fake It True

“Well, the world isn’t the nicest place for women. Sometimes it’s hard to know who to trust. I do trust Leo, so I feel safe with him.” I fumbled that explanation, but it was the best I could do for now.

When I felt Leo’s thumb brush along the side of my hand, his touch felt soothing, as if he were trying to comfort me.

Our therapist tilted her head to the side, her gaze contemplative. “I think I understand what you mean. I don’t expect you to go into detail now, or ever, but I’m curious if someone you know has maybe been hurt in a relationship in a way that’s more than just emotional, like abuse.” Her tone was gentle.

“Yeah,” I said, startled at the amount of emotion that rushed through me. “Leo feels safe for me, and that’s really important, along with all of the other things he mentioned.”

When she was quiet for a long moment, I started to get worried that she knew we weren’t really a couple. Finally, she broke the silence. “Thank you for that. Was there anything in particular the two of you wanted to talk about today?”

Leo took the lead once again. “Yeah. Well, Casey knows I have a daughter. Obviously. She’s six years old now.”

Holy hell, I hadnoidea he had a daughter. I wondered if this was what Janet meant to tell me days ago now. This was some news. I’d had plenty of practice keeping my expression neutral and hoped I pulled it off. Fortunately, our therapist was mostly focused on Leo.

“Becoming a blended family can be challenging,” she said, nodding along.

Leo cleared his throat. “Right, and I’m all she has. Well, me and my parents who live next door and help out a lot. I’m just wondering how I can make this transition as smooth as possible.”

Leo squeezed my hand. If he thought I was blowing it, I didn’t know because he kept his attention focused on Delaney.

“Do you mind if I ask your daughter’s name?” Delaney prompted.

I let out a huge and silent sigh of relief. Whew! She could ask all the questions.

“Dora.” He closed his eyes, his shoulders rising and falling with a deep breath before he looked at Delaney again. “I guess you should know the background. Dora’s mom died of a drug overdose. It was an accident. She never told me she was pregnant. I never met my daughter until after she died and they called me from the hospital. They revived her with Narcan, but then she became unconscious again and never woke up.Somewhere in the middle of that mess, she told them I was Dora’s father. They did DNA testing and, boom, I was officially a dad. Dora felt like an instant child and I’m her only parent.” He gave his head a little shake. “It’s been a lot.”

“Thatisa lot,” our therapist said slowly. She glanced toward me. “How do you feel about this? I’m assuming you’re comfortable becoming a stepmother,” she prompted.

I nodded, still trying to wrap my mind around this little bombshell.

“I was hoping you could give us some feedback on how I should introduce Dora to Casey. Dora has only been in my life for a little while,” Leo added on the heels of a big sigh. “Of course, I’ve kept Casey updated every step of the way, but it’s been as much of a shock for me as it has for her. I only found out about six months ago. Since I travel a lot for my job, Casey and I have lots of long-distance times as it is.”

It was certainly a shock. I could tell our therapist was catching on that we had some serious stuff to deal with.

She studied Leo. “I’m impressed with both of you. This is a huge change. When you’re in a serious relationship and someone suddenly has a child in their life—” Her focus shifted to me. “And, for you to be supportive of this change isn’t easy. It’s important to take time to do things carefully.”

I was an expert at nodding, so that’s what I did. Again.

Leo jumped in, “I’ve only been back in Willow Brook full-time for the last two months. I thought about introducing Casey to Dora right away, but she’s been through so much. Dora, I mean,” he added.

Delaney tipped her head to the side. “There’s not an instruction manual for things like this. You and Casey are already in a committed relationship and planning to get married. You’re doing some of the hard work before you get married by coming to therapy. Even if you only come for a fewsessions, I can’t tell you how important that is. I’m not saying that therapists solve everything, or have all the answers, because they don’t. But the act of seeking feedback is one of the most important skills to have in a long-term relationship. Coming to therapy means you’re open to some feedback. As to how to introduce Dora to Casey, my primary suggestion for you would be to do it gradually.”

While I sat there, trying to absorb the implications of just how deep this fake relationship was getting in therapy, it struck me that I had no idea how to get out of this now. Unless we just quit coming to therapy, which was maybe the best option.

The session carried along, and we basically managed to bullshit our way through it before we scheduled another appointment. My plan was to tell Leo that I understood this was insane and we could cancel our next appointment. I knew that was maybe a cowardly choice, but he had a lot of priorities and they didn’t need to include therapy appointments with me.

After we walked out, we stopped beside my car and I looked up into Leo’s eyes. My pulse started to race because that’s what it did around Leo. I was formulating what to say when a motion caught the corner of my eye. I glanced over to see our therapist coming out.

“Delaney’s coming!” I shout-whispered.

Leo’s brows started to hitch up just as I curled my hand into his shirt, tugged him down, and plastered my mouth to his. He made a startled sound against my lips before he got with the program.

Leo’s reaction to my unexpected kiss was too much for my system to handle. He slid one arm around my waist and cupped my nape with the other, angled his head to the side, and claimed my mouth.

Sweet hell. He simply took control of the kiss. His tongue swept into my mouth in a slow, sensual tease. I whimpered—what the hell?!—and tightened my fingers in his shirt. I slid my arm around his waist and felt the muscles of his back when they flexed under my touch.

I forgot everything. Who I was, where I was, why I was there. All of it. The only thing flickering in my thoughts was Leo and…more.

He gentled our kiss, slowly sliding his hand out of my hair. “Was that good enough?” he whispered against my lips just before he lifted his head.

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