Page 75 of Pretend to Be Yours

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When lunch was ready,the boys took a break from their cricket game and swarmed the tables Faith and June had placed near the barbecue, which were laden with salads, bread rolls, barbecued meat, tofu sausages, and a couple of sweeter options. Faith grabbed a roll and filled it with chicken and slaw. She looked around. Shane was heading back inside for something, so when she spotted Gabrielle near the back of the yard, she headed over to join her instead.

“Hi.” Gabrielle shaded her eyes with her hand as she looked up. “You come to keep me company?”

“I sure have.” Faith lowered herself to the ground and tucked her legs beneath her. “It’s so sweet that you guys came for Dylan’s birthday. Things have been hard on him lately, but he seems to be having a great time.”

“He does,” Gabrielle agreed. “What makes you say things have been hard on him?”

“Having Diana back, and me changing roles in his life. It’s a lot to take in, especially if he was hoping for his mum and dad to get back together.”

Gabrielle scoffed. “If Shane was stupid enough to take that she-devil back, I’d disown him. But yeah, I can see where you’re coming from. I have no doubt that by the time we leave, he’ll be trying to shove us out the door.”

“I thought you were only here for the weekend.”

Gabrielle gave her a quizzical look, and she flushed. Apparently, she was out of the loop on something. “We’re here until after Christmas. I’m surprised Shane didn’t tell you. We all took leave from work, and I hired someone to housesit and care for my animals.”

“Oh.” She should have known that. “He mentioned Christmas would be here, but I didn’t realize you were staying all the way through.”

Gabrielle smiled, the expression gentler than what Faith was beginning to consider her usual. “Don’t take it personally. He probably forgot. In some ways, his mind is like a steel trap, but in others, he’s completely useless.”

“I’m sure that’s it,” Faith murmured. She bit into her bread roll so she could mull things over without having to talk. At that moment, a glass clinked loudly, and someone tapped on a microphone. Who’d brought one of those?

What’s more, who’d given it to Diana?

Faith shifted uncomfortably, but Gabrielle just rolled her eyes. “Seems like the queen is going to make a pronouncement.”

“I’d like to call for a toast,” Diana said to the crowd gathered on the lawn. She’d reapplied her vivid red lipstick and changed into a form-fitting dress that she hadn’t been wearing earlier. She was right at home in front of everyone. “To Dylan: happy birthday.” A few people cheered. Faith sought Dylan out in time to see him blush and duck his head. Famous or not, mothers could always embarrass their children. “And to Shane. Dylan is lucky to have him for a father.”

Faith and Gabrielle exchanged a look. Faith didn’t know where this was going, but she feared it was nowhere good. She scanned the crowd and didn’t see Shane. Was he inside?

“I’m sure almost everyone here knows what a steady, kind man Shane is. In fact, he’s such a nice guy that he recently pretended to be involved with someone to save her from humiliation. Faith, are you here?”

Oh, no.

Faith shrunk in on herself. Diana knew. Somehow, she knew everything, and Faith was frozen with a lump of undigested food in her stomach that she wanted to hurl back up. Fortunately, her revelation wouldn’t be a surprise to most people from the bay, but what would Shane’s family think?

“There you are!” Diana exclaimed, giving her a little wave. Everyone present turned in Faith’s direction. “For anyone here who didn’t know—most of you, I’d assume—back in high school, Faith sent naked pictures to a boy who had a girlfriend, and it blew up in her face.” She pouted, as though she actually pitied Faith, whose teeth ground together. She wanted to rip the blonde bitch’s extensions out by the roots. She got to her feet and took a step forward, but then she noticed the murmurs. Her friends and neighbors were whispering. About her? She froze in place. Opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. She searched frantically for someone to help, and at that moment, Shane appeared in the doorway and beelined toward Diana. Thank God.

“Drop the microphone!” he yelled.

Diana sped up her words. “Flash forward to this year. Darling Shane pretended to be her boyfriend to cover for her so she wouldn’t have to face up to her past. Isn’t he such a great guy?” She raised a glass. “To Shane.”

Shane reached her as she finished the toast and snatched the microphone from her hand, but the damage was done. Diana leveled her gaze on Faith and smirked. She’d won, and she knew it. Faith wanted to take the bitch down a notch. To tell her exactly what she thought of her. But Shane’s family were still watching, and the buzz around her was growing. She scanned the faces, noting their curiosity. Did they believe the story?

She heard her name and flinched. She should take the microphone from Shane and tell her side of the story. But how could she handle it if her friends and neighbors thought the worst? What if Shane’s family decided she was just another woman who wasn’t good enough for him? She closed her eyes, her heart sinking, and wished the ground would swallow her up. She’d put her life back together so carefully over the past few years and built her confidence up until she could be proud of herself. And now this.

“Please ignore everything my ex-wife said,” Shane called across the gathering. “Faith is the same person you’ve always known her to be.” He extended a hand in my direction. “Will you join me, sweetheart?”

Faith took another step forward. She could do this. She could. But then, as she moved toward him, she heard June asking what Diana meant about the naked photos and cold sweat broke out on her palms. They’d never welcome her into the fold after this, and with Shane’s past and the way Diana had painted her, she couldn’t blame them. Still, she wouldn’t take this lying down. She strode to the front and took the microphone from Shane but shrugged off the arm he tried to place around her waist. If he comforted her right now, she’d break down. She needed to activate her internal badass.

“I did send naked photos to Mason Delphine when I was eighteen,” she said, staring into the space above the audience’s heads. “We dated in secret because he was embarrassed to be seen with me. Not that I knew that at the time. He told me it was because he wasn’t allowed to date. He lied, and then he lied again to Gigi when she found the naked photos after we’d broken up.”

“You don’t have to do this,” Shane murmured.

“I really do.” Whatever happened next, she wouldn’t let the lies about her stand. “So yeah, when I found out Mason was coming to Erica’s wedding, and Mom had set me up with a blind date, I pretended to be dating Shane instead. But nothing about it is pretend anymore, and that’s the truth.”

She thrust the microphone back into Shane’s hands and bolted. She couldn’t face his family after this. Whatever they believed, they wouldn’t accept her. He deserved to be with someone they approved of. She stumbled over the lawn toward the road.

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