Page 97 of Love Me Like It's Real
I would have expected them to be gushing about their daddy kissing his boyfriend. But no. They’re too busy chasing a cat back and forth from the other side of the enclosure.
“Well,” Hayworth starts. “That’s disappointing.”
I sigh.
“The goldfish generation. They move on so fast. I’m sonotlooking forward to the day they get addicted to TikTok.”
Hayworth chuckles and wraps one arm around me and brings me closer to him and the cat. Mrs. Lacey opens her hazy eyes and slow-blinks at me. And then she starts purring so loud I can feel it in my bones.
“So, are you adopting this young lady?”
“Thisoldlady, you mean, and I sure as hell am. Where else am I going to get such superb cuddles?”
I clear my throat and pout, looking up at him.
“Oh. That’s right,” he says and he kisses me again.
THIRTY-ONE
HAYWORTH
Sweat trickles down my forehead, down my eyebrows and into my eyes, blurring my vision. My heart is beating so fast it’s as if it’s going to burst out of my chest any moment now and my breathing threatens to turn erratic. But I’m so close. I’m so close I can almost…
“Yes! Fuck yes!” I shout when my foot crosses the red line and when I collapse there’s no one else to lift me up but him.
Felix crouches to the floor and hands me a bottle of water and a towel.
“That was incredible, Hayworth,” he says. “Congratulations.”
I nod in thanks and drink from the bottle before I spray the rest all over my face.
“Do you need a hand?” he says, reaching for me.
“Just…just give me a minute,” I pant and see Agnes walk up behind him and stand next to Felix.
“Mr. Hayworth,” she says with an almost sweet tone.
It makes me look up at her with a grimace. She never talks to me sweetly. Ever. I’m the thorn in her shoe.
“Congratulations for completing Cupid’s Fun Run and for raising ten thousand dollars for cancer. Here’s your medal.” She bends over and puts a striped red and white ribbon with a medal around my neck and stands above us for a moment, looking back and forth between me and Felix before she hums in satisfaction and walks to the next runner.
“What was that all about?” Felix asks and sits on the ground next to me and helps me take my halo wreath off my head.
“Haven’t you read? Our kiss at the adoption day yesterday made the blog. The blogger is convinced I’m legit in love.”
Felix gasps.
“What on earth gave them that idea?” he asks before he cracks a smile. “I guess Agnes reads the blog?”
“Religiously. And after the way she spoke to me just now, I’d say she believes it.”
“Good,” Felix says, tapping my bare leg. “We were supposed to rehab your image around here with our fake arrangement and I completely dropped the ball on that front.”
“That’s not your fault.” I squint at him. “I made hating love so appealing.”
“Damn right,” Felix answers and slides his hand up a little before someone clears their throat and he pulls away from me, barely able to hold his laugh in. “We should…uhm…we should get going.”
“Yeah, let’s.” I offer him my hand and he helps me up and I straighten my white robe and the wings around my back.
