Page 36 of The Secrets We Built Together

The room went suddenly silent when they realized that neither Xander nor I was responding, and in that awkward moment, I blurted out, "We're engaged!" just as Dex walked through the door, a grocery bag in each hand.

He stopped dead, looking from me to Xander and back again. "Holy shit, how long was I at the store?"

And then everyone started talking at once again. Delaney and Reece were practically in wedding planning mode already, discussing venues and color schemes like the wedding was next week.

"I'm thinking a spring wedding," Delaney gushed, one hand resting on her growing baby bump. "Or maybe fall? Oh, we should do it at the ranch!"

"You'd look gorgeous in something simple but elegant," Reece added, looking me up and down thoughtfully. "Maybe a mermaid silhouette?"

I shot a panicked look at Xander, who seemed equally overwhelmed. Booker, bless him, was watching us with narrowed eyes. He could clearly see that something wasn't adding up.

"Alright, everyone shut up for a minute," Booker said, his voice cutting through the chaos. The room fell silent immediately. "Let them talk."

Xander nodded at his brother in thanks.

"It's not what you think," I started, my voice shaking slightly. I looked at Xander, who gave me an encouraging nod, and together we explained the whole situation—all the requirements to keep Amelia with me, Xander's proposal, the DCFS visit, my lie to Susan, our plan to fake an engagement until I secured custody of Amelia. Now I was laying it all out I was almost certain normal people didn't solve their problems this way.

"We're telling you all this because you're family, and we don't want to lie to you," Xander said when we'd finished. "But the rest of the town needs to believe this is real if it's going to work."

Silence fell over the room. I could see the concern on their faces, and it twisted my heart. Delaney looked particularly disappointed, and I understood why. She'd been genuinely excited at the prospect of Xander and me together. Now she knew it was all just an act.

Then Reece leaned over and whispered something into Delaney's ear, and the two of them broke into suspiciously identical grins.

"You know what?" Reece declared, looking way too pleased with herself. "I think this is agreatidea. Now you two can figure out your feelings for each other without all that pesky dating pressure."

"We don't—" Xander and I both started at the same time, then stopped, looking at each other.

"We don't feel like that," I finished lamely, but even as I said it, a tiny voice in the back of my mind whispered,Are you sure about that?

The way my heart had skipped when he pulled me into that hug. The comfort I found in his arms. The way I'd missed his touch when he stepped away.

I stole a glance at Xander, wondering if he was thinking the same thing. His expression was unreadable, but there was a faint color high on his cheeks that hadn't been there before.

Huh.

Maybe I needed to figure out how I really felt about Xander Farrington before this whole fake engagement was over. I probably should have done that before it even began.

"So let me get this straight," Cade said, crossing his arms and looking between us. "You two are going to live together, raise a baby together, and pretend to be in love, but you're not actually together?"

When he put it like that, it sounded ridiculous.

"That's..." Xander started.

"Basically it, yeah," I finished.

"Uh-huh." Cade nodded slowly, his expression making it clear he didn’t understand anything about what we were trying to do. Oh to only have the problems of a ten-year-old again.

Trace clapped Xander on the shoulder. "You're either a genius or completely insane, brother. Either way, I'm impressed."

Booker hadn't said anything yet. His silence was making me nervous.

"What do you think, Booker?" I asked tentatively.

He studied us both for a long moment. "I think," he said finally, "that you might be missing something important right in front of you."

The way he said it made my cheeks heat. Beside me, Xander shifted uncomfortably.

"But I also think," Booker continued, "that family takes care of family. And that little girl needs you both. So whatever you need us to do, we're in."

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